DR. WALLACE: I like to make homemade gifts for my family each year during the holiday season for a few reasons. First of all, I'm artistic and skilled at crafts and designs. Second, I don't have a big budget of money to buy presents with.

My family always enjoys and appreciates my gifts, and they even think my gifts are thoughtful and customized for each individual.

I usually don't exchange gifts with friends at school, but this year, three of us girls decided to do a small gift exchange with one another. One girl has been my good friend for seven years now, and the other girl just transferred to our high school last September.

When I gave each of them a custom, handmade gift, I got very different reactions! My longstanding friend was happy with her gift, since it tied in to her favorite hobby and she knew I put a lot of time and effort into crafting it for her. But our new friend gave me a sour look when she opened my gift! She asked me what "flea market" I found it at!

Needless to say I was shocked, so I simply said: "I didn't buy it anywhere. I made it myself for you." She then made another face and said, "Thanks, I guess." I felt terrible, and later I opened her gift to me, which was a small bottle of inexpensive nail polish. I of course thanked her for the gift, but the whole exchange was awkward. Later, my close friend told me that the other girl does not really like cats as much as I thought she did. She had told us a story of a funny cat that her aunt has and how much she enjoyed seeing it chase a laser pointer when she visited her house over Thanksgiving.

In the future, should I start buying gifts instead of making them myself? — Love Arts and Crafts, via email

LOVE ARTS AND CRAFTS: I feel you should absolutely continue to give out your homemade gifts in the future! You have a talent and passion for this, so don't let this one experience stop you from creating your thoughtful, customized gifts in the future. This is the first time you have had a poor reaction to one of your gifts, and it was from a person you didn't know as well as the others.

So, in the future, be sure to know the person's likes well enough to be sure the subject of your gift will be in line with that person's actual preferences. And if you're not completely sure, then go with a small, inexpensive gift from a store, like a clothing accessory you've seen that person wear. But for those you do know well, proceed as you have in the past.

MY FATHER WON'T HELP ME LEARN TO DRIVE

DR. WALLACE: I don't drive yet even though I'm a guy who just turned 17. My father is not big on me driving until I'm 18 because he says that "young drivers are dangerous drivers," and so in his mind the longer he can make me wait, the better.

I'd like to get my driver's license, but there's no way my father would lend me his car anyhow, so I feel there's really no point to it right now. When I turn 18, I can move out and get a job and learn to drive all within a few months anyhow.

Do you feel my father is overprotective about his issue? — Not Driving Yet, via email

NOT DRIVING YET: I do feel your father is both overprotective and a bit closed-minded on this topic. I fully understand that he won't be loaning you his car to drive anytime soon even if you get your license, but I do suggest that you sign up for a driver's education class right away.

The sooner you can feel comfortable driving a vehicle, the better for you. It takes time to master and can be a bit confusing at first. The good news in your particular circumstance is that you have no rush to learn to drive, so you can take your time and learn to drive carefully and gradually as you go through the training courses.

This way, once you turn 18 you will already have the skill of driving mastered, and if you have a friend who will loan you a car for a few hours, you should be able to take a driving test in your state once you're ready so that you can be issued a valid driver's license. This will have you fully prepared when the time comes for you to drive to a job someday, and having a valid driver's license is an excellent form of identification for you to have as well.

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 rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. 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.

Photo credit: karishea at Pixabay