Projectile baby vomiting is a recurring gag. I cried mistletoe well before the film was halfway through.

This is marginally better than most, with a few offbeat comic ideas, a reliably droll performance from Vaughn, and, as the parents, four watchable old troupers in search of a fat paycheck.

You can see most of the big slapstick set-pieces looming long before they hit but there are a few smaller routines that pack a punch just because they have an unexpectedly manic tilt to them.

Four Christmases represents the kind of passable holiday comedy that Hollywood serves up every year.