I told him the truth: that I was dating someone and that I didn’t feel comfortable getting tipsy with another guy. I had been dating this guy Chris since the beginning of October and the relationship felt solid. Tristan looked disappointed, but said he understood. I knew that even if I didn’t have a boyfriend at the time, I still probably wouldn’t date Tristan. We were good friends. I liked it that way.

A couple of weeks later, I declared war on Chris when I found out that he had been two-timing me pretty much from the day we hooked up. I won the battle and by Christmas I was single again.

My friends and I had bought tickets for a New Year’s Eve party at a trendy brewery months in advance. Tristan was the first person I saw when I walked into the party. We talked about the final papers that we submitted in December, lame Christmas gifts we received, and our schedules for the upcoming semester. No fake conversation, no shifty eyes. We each grabbed a drink from the bar and then went our separate ways.

I was having a riot dancing with my friends and I kept locking eyes with this tall, burly, blond guy standing nearby. After smiling at him about a hundred times, I finally decided to go over and introduce myself. We talked and flirted and got to know each other better. His name was Pete. He went to school in British Columbia, but was home for Christmas and was out partying with his high school friends.

At one point, I could see Tristan out of the corner of my eye. Was he really walking toward us? And why was he looking at us strangely like that? I tensed up. What did he want? Was he going to embarrass me? Turns out I was in the middle of embarrassing myself.

My jaw fell to the grimy, beer-soaked floor when Tristan and Pete started casually talking to each other – they knew each other? What were the chances?

Not only did Tristan and Pete know each, they grew up on the same street, they spent a summer traveling through South America together, they were practically BFFs. I must have looked like such a floozy, since one month earlier I had told Tristan that I was seeing someone and there I was, snubbing him once again and wanting desperately to snag a kiss from Pete by the time the ball dropped.

I explained myself to Tristan (“I really did have a boyfriend then!”) and Pete (“I really am single now!”) and everyone seemed ok with it in the end. Pete and I kissed at midnight – which led to more kissing after midnight, too – but I didn’t see him again after that. Tristan and I were still kind of friends at school, but things were definitely different during second semester. Thankfully, for both of us, he didn’t set himself up for further rejection by asking me out again.

Scarlett, 23, Toronto

Have you ever been in a sticky situation like this? What did you do?

Got  your own hilarious, heart-breaking, or horrifying real life dating story? Send it to us. We’d love to hear it!

I told him the truth: that I was dating someone and that I didn’t feel comfortable getting tipsy with another guy. I had been dating this guy Chris since the beginning of October and the relationship felt solid. Tristan looked disappointed, but said he understood. I knew that even if I didn’t have a boyfriend at the time, I still probably wouldn’t date Tristan. We were good friends. I liked it that way.

A couple of weeks later, I declared war on Chris when I found out that he had been two-timing me pretty much from the day we hooked up. I won the battle and by Christmas I was single again.

My friends and I had bought tickets for a New Year’s Eve party at a trendy brewery months in advance. Tristan was the first person I saw when I walked into the party. We talked about the final papers that we submitted in December, lame Christmas gifts we received, and our schedules for the upcoming semester. No fake conversation, no shifty eyes. We each grabbed a drink from the bar and then went our separate ways.

I was having a riot dancing with my friends and I kept locking eyes with this tall, burly, blond guy standing nearby. After smiling at him about a hundred times, I finally decided to go over and introduce myself. We talked and flirted and got to know each other better. His name was Pete. He went to school in British Columbia, but was home for Christmas and was out partying with his high school friends.

At one point, I could see Tristan out of the corner of my eye. Was he really walking toward us? And why was he looking at us strangely like that? I tensed up. What did he want? Was he going to embarrass me? Turns out I was in the middle of embarrassing myself.

My jaw fell to the grimy, beer-soaked floor when Tristan and Pete started casually talking to each other – they knew each other? What were the chances?

Not only did Tristan and Pete know each, they grew up on the same street, they spent a summer traveling through South America together, they were practically BFFs. I must have looked like such a floozy, since one month earlier I had told Tristan that I was seeing someone and there I was, snubbing him once again and wanting desperately to snag a kiss from Pete by the time the ball dropped.

I explained myself to Tristan (“I really did have a boyfriend then!”) and Pete (“I really am single now!”) and everyone seemed ok with it in the end. Pete and I kissed at midnight – which led to more kissing after midnight, too – but I didn’t see him again after that. Tristan and I were still kind of friends at school, but things were definitely different during second semester. Thankfully, for both of us, he didn’t set himself up for further rejection by asking me out again.

Scarlett, 23, Toronto

Have you ever been in a sticky situation like this? What did you do?

Got  your own hilarious, heart-breaking, or horrifying real life dating story? Send it to us. We’d love to hear it!

Your life-saving destination: Whattodrink.com. They’ve got loads of tasty Christmasy beverages that will help you handle any holiday disaster without turning into the Grinch. Choose from a variety of cocktails, punches and even non-boozy drinks that will impress your guests and help calm your jittery nerves during this hectic, festive season.

Mentionable standouts: Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, Holiday Peppermint Martini and Almond Hot Chocolate. Click here for more delicious holiday concoctions!

What’s your favorite holiday go-to cocktail?

Dear Susie,

I’ve been dating my boyfriend for six months and he makes way more money than me. I’m still on a tight student budget and I survive on bagels and ramen noodles most days of the week. I want to buy him a nice Christmas present, but I can’t afford to get him very much. I’m worried that things will be awkward on Christmas morning when we exchange gifts (in front of his wealthy family) and I give him a homemade twig picture frame and he gives me an iPod or a Coach purse. What should I do?

Thanks,

Melanie

Modest Melanie,

Kudos to you – sticking to a budget is a great way to manage your finances (although, I do worry about the long-term effects of your sodium-rich diet!). Show your boyfriend everything you’ve learned about budgeting by sitting him down to make couple’s financial plan for his-and-her holiday presents.

Unless your boyfriend’s got the brainpower of a plastic Christmas tree, he’s probably realized by now that you’re not exactly rolling in coin and that you might not be able to spend much on gifts for him. It’s the thought that counts, though, right? And we all know that an expensive item doesn’t always translate into a thoughtful or meaningful present. Anyone – with money – can walk into a store and buy a costly item and expect that the high price tag or chichi brand name will be enough to thrill the recipient. What a pile of horse poop! It takes a lot more thought and creativity to find something that your special someone will appreciate while sticking to a slim budget.

You’ve got to level the playing field so that you and your guy are equals. You might not be able to match the amount that he wants to spend on your gift, but he can certainly lower his budget to match yours. Tell him that you feel anxious because you have to stick to your budget in order to cover your monthly expenses, but that you also want to give him something to open on Christmas morning that doesn’t look like a kindergartner’s art project. Give him the exact budget that works for you and tell him that you want him to stick to the same price point – and no matter how much he protests that he wants to buy you diamond studs from Tiffany or Chanel ballet flats, you must insist that he stay within the agreed-upon budget. That way, when you exchange gifts on Christmas morning, nobody will feel sheepish about giving an “inadequate” gift.

Brilliant back-up plan: buy him something small (a set of golf-balls, a new tuque, a CD of his fave band) to open on Christmas morning and then take him shopping after the 25th when all of the stores have mega-sales and you can get really cool stuff for half the price. You’ll still have to set a budget, but this way, you’ll get more bang for your hard-earned buck.

Are you on a tight budget this year? What will you do to buy gifts for your significant other without breaking the bank?

Bet you’ve got your New Moon tickets already! Don’t be embarrassed. We’re not here to judge.

I’m curious about New Moon. I suffered through all four books of the over-hyped Twilight series last winter and was quite disappointed, with the exception of the gorgeous male lead, with the first film. It was low budget and rife with cliché teenage angst. Just like the written version. Maybe that’s what some people like about the books, though? So, if the best part of the first film was Robert-as-Edward, then I’m definitely not rushing to see the second film, especially since, in the book anyway, Edward isn’t even around for much of New Moon.

As you’ll remember, the second novel opens with a severely depressed Bella moping around Forks with a perma-frown as she longs for Edward, who is in Italy. And who stays in Italy for most of the story. Except for a few hallucinations in which Bella stupidly puts herself into danger and sees a vision of Edward’s lovely face just when she think she might die (she doesn’t), he’s pretty much M.I.A.

With Edward gone, Bella starts using Jacob (who is actually a werewolf) as her understudy boyfriend. They hang out, go for motorcycle rides. Jacob falls in love. Bella doesn’t. She’s still pining for Edward, even as she and Jacob become more buddy-buddy. It’s not until the end of New Moon that Edward resurfaces again. At least the moviemakers chose a sexy (edit: very sexy) actor to play Jacob. Good move, casting crew. You know us well!

True or false: Based on the New Moon trailers, Jacob looks sexier with his crew cut than with his shoulder-grazing hair? I say “true.” Those abs make our eyes rejoice, too. Lucky girl, that Taylor Swift is, as I’m sure you’ve heard by now that she’s dating the actor who plays Jacob, who also happens to be named Taylor (Lautner).

Also true, it’s kind of weird to date someone who has the same name as you. But in the case of Swift and Lautner, we get to nickname them “TayTay” – and that’s a catchy name we’re definitely into!

There was this super hot chick in my Biology class. She was seriously the hottest chick I’d seen since I started university.

I spent most of the class staring at her ‘cause I liked her hair and the way she only ever smiled or laughed if something was funny as balls. I tried all of my class-clown tricks and smart-ass jokes to see that laugh, or at least a smile. Nothing worked.

Then one day, I just asked her out. She said yes and I couldn’t speak. I was so pumped and excited. We planned to meet at the campus pub the next night.

I was nervous before our date, so I went early and had some beers.  I didn’t want to be drunk when she got there, just something to bring back my cool. I was thinking about what she’d look like in a wet t-shirt when she walked into the pub.

“Hey,” she said.

I tried to step down from my barstool to give her a hug and my legs got caught in the rungs and I nosedived to the ground. I felt so embarrassed. And sore. What a disaster.

But from the ground, I could hear her laughing. I had actually made her laugh! She thought something I did was funny! I would have stayed down there forever if it meant that she would keep laughing. But I wanted to see that smile. So I stood up.

And there it was. Like a prize. A gold medal that I had finally won with an embarrassing fall from a barstool. I looked at her and smiled back and we kept laughing and looking at each other.

“God, that was hilarious,” she said, still smiling.

My prize slipped through the gutter, though.  I got cocky, I guess. I was nervous. We were really hitting it off. So I just blurted it out, like a belch:

“You’re so f***ing hot!”

You can imagine it got pretty awkward after that. I know it wasn’t smooth, but I couldn’t stop myself. She stopped laughing and I could see her tense up. Things were going so well, and the mood just changed. We had a drink, and mostly small-talked, but whatever semblance of chemistry I felt between us before was gone. I screwed up. Big time. Go figure.

Phil, 22, Eugene, OR

What would you have done if you were his date? Would you have given him a second chance? Let us know. Maybe it’ll make Phil feel better!