DR. WALLACE: I wanted to do some last-minute holiday shopping last night with a couple of my friends. I was just about to leave when my father heard and asked my mother where we were going. My mother replied that she didn't know.

My best friend was already at our house, she had a car and she was planning to drive us. Both 17, we are great friends and attend the same high school. My dad immediately told both her and me that I could only shop at one mall, and he also told me that I had to take a picture of her car parked at that mall and another picture of us shopping in at least one store at that mall!

I was horrified and so embarrassed, but I simply said ok and told my friend, "Let's go" to get out of the house before he said anything else.

I did follow my father's instructions, but we missed out on going to a couple of other very interesting stores that we definitely wanted to shop at together. Was my father out of line on this matter? — I was Beyond Embarrassed, via email

I WAS BEYOND EMBARRASSED: Your father did not use much tact at all in this situation in my opinion. To bark out his orders in front of both you and your friend seemed a bit much, especially since he likely knew she was a close friend of yours.

I can't know why your father did this, but one possibility is that he wanted to limit the distance you would be traveling in your friend's vehicle. He certainly could've been much more discreet and spoken to you rather than making requests for photographs right in front of your friend. At your age, your father can indeed call the shots since you are still a minor, but during the holiday season, when most people wish to promote peace and harmony, his lack of finesse indeed stuck out awkwardly.

I HAVE TOO MANY NEW YEAR'S EVE INVITATIONS

DR. WALLACE: I'm a senior in high school and have been invited to seven different New Year's Eve celebrations. All of them are at the homes of various classmates or sports teammates that I know to various degrees at my high school.

What I find unusual, and a bit strange, is the amount of pressure I've been receiving from three or four of them who are absolutely putting a guilt trip on me to attend their party. My parents have been reasonable about this, and they will allow me to attend whichever of the seven parties I wish to, but they don't want me traveling around between different parties that particular evening, so I can only make one appearance at one party.

In my mind, I've already narrowed it down to one or two locations, but I'm wondering what I should do about feeling guilty about not being able to honor every invitation. — It's a Bit Overwhelming, via email

IT'S A BIT OVERWHELMING: You're learning that life is all about making choices and shepherding your resources. In this instance, the resources in play are time and bandwidth.

Since you can only be in one place on New Year's Eve, you have to make a careful selection. Go with the one that you feel best represents both your current position and where your life is going in the future.

There is still enough time in the school year to spend social time with friends you won't be able to see on New Year's Eve. At some point, you'll have to let go of some friends who will be leaving the area or pursuing different interests.

Thank everyone profusely for their invitations and suggest a follow-up meeting and social outing with each person within the first few weeks of the new year.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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