Wigan boss Paul Jewell demanded better from his players despite seeing them consolidate their position at the top of the second division.
Jason De Vos gave Wigan the points with a powerful header from Peter Kennedy's corner in first-half stoppage time and while the goal from the Canadian skipper was enough to get Wigan's Christmas festivities off to the best possible start, Jewell was not a happy man.
He said: "We struggled from start to finish and we can and will play better than that.
"They came to frustrate us and they succeeded up to a point and while this was not a game for the purist I am delighted with the three points.
"We have got 50 points from 22 games and kept 16 clean sheets so far this season so we must be doing something right." Huddersfield made it difficult for the in form home side as they defended in large numbers, but they could have taken a shock first half lead.
Andy Booth saw his shot saved by keeper John Filan, and his follow up played off the line by Matt Jackson - but for the most part it was the home side who did the pressing.
Nathan Ellington, Gary Teale and substitute Paul Mitchell all went close to adding to WiganÂ’s lead while midfielder Tony Dinning saw his close-range effort mysteriously ruled out by referee Mike Pike.
Huddersfield boss Mick Wadsworth thought his side deserved a point, commenting: "In the first half especially we played very well and frustrated Wigan which was our plan.
"We worked hard and I didnÂ’t think the gap between the two teams was in evidence today judging by the way we played.
"We made a fair fight of it and I'm disappointed not to come away with anything."