One thing you can say about the holiday season: It's never dull. Packed with excitement, fraught with tension, the next few weeks see families and friends come together, winter carnival dances kick off, and midnight mistletoes kisses draw ever nearer.

Hoping to emerge from the madness unscathed, readers turned to advice columnist Emily Blake for sage counsel. Hardly asked illustrator Katy Harper Romeo to bring your Chrismas conundrums to life.