Q: I do not get along with my sister-in-law. She is nosy, rude and catty, and it is difficult for me to be around her for more than a few minutes. However, it is important to my husband and me that we spend time with his brother and our nieces and nephews, and so we continue to be friendly and take whatever she dishes out (asking how much things cost, opening drawers in our home, eating our food without asking, asking personal questions about our relationship, gossiping about other family members, talking nonstop about herself, etc.).

With the holidays coming up, can you give me any advice for dealing with her without letting her get to me? Don't use my name since she may read this column.

A: Who will read about this "nosy, rude and catty," food-scarfing, drawer-rummaging, boundary-trampling wildebeest you describe, and recognize herself?

Your name is common (I withheld it anyway), and so for her to be open to seeing herself in such an unflattering light, she'd likely need both humility and self-awareness — and people with humility and self-awareness don't rummage through a person's fridge/drawers/business uninvited. Right?

Now flip that around: To be as intrusive as you describe, your sister-in-law would have to be oblivious to her own rudeness. Either that, or she is arrogant or consciously evil — which is possible, but cluelessness and self-absorption make more sense.

That's

Now take this argument a step further, and note that for her to be unaware of how intrusive she is, there has to be something she finds sympathetic about herself.

What could that be? How does she justify her actions to herself? Or, what forgivable frailty drives these actions? Reach for ideas. Then, supplement those ideas with this: Why did your brother-in-law date her, fall for her, marry her, have children with her?

Even if you throw out your expectations and spin her straw-like assets into gold, I still wouldn't expect you to like this sister-in-law.

But good thoughts about her are essential. An intense dislike of someone so easily becomes a self-justifying one: Since no one wants to be the bad guy, time with enemies is often spent in search of new reasons to blame them for our own hostile feelings. It's a natural process — and, it's exactly the process you need to thwart if you want to get through roast-bird season without screaming.

Force yourself to challenge, even debunk your hostility.

"Tell Me About It" by Carolyn Hax appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. E-mail your questions to tellme@washpost.com or fax 202-334-5669.