It’s that wonderful time of the year! Time for being thankful and time for giving. It’s also that time of the year when all of your friends and family get together for celebrations. I feel like it’s usually a happy time for most people, but if you’re like me, it’s also a very stressful time as well.

My parents are always the hosts, so that means cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning to prepare for our guests’ arrival. I even have to clean my room, which no one even goes into—where’s the logic in that? Anyway, it's also stressful for me because I’m always thinking about what to wear (shocker).

This isn’t because I’m trying to impress my family members because God knows they’ve seen me at my worst, but it’s mainly because of all the “dad-joke” comments I get. Comments like, “hey, did you know your jeans have holes in them?” or “that scarf is about the size of you.” And if you’ve never received these comments, especially the hole-in-the-jeans one, your family is awesome.

Especially nowadays, I feel as if though young women are judged a little harder based on what they wear. I mean, if you think about it, your mom, aunts, uncles, grandmas, and grandpas didn’t wear anything like what young adults wear now.

My dad is always making sly commentary too about where the rest of my shirt is (uhm, it’s called a crop top dad!). So another important part to knowing what to wear to said family functions is key to not getting those comments on your clothing on top of all the questions about school and why you don’t have a boyfriend yet.

Usually, family gatherings like this are “snappy-casual,” as my sorority likes to say. This entails something nice, but not too nice. This could include T-shirt dresses, casual rompers, or a nice shirt paired with a blouse.

Normally you want to stay away from leggings, mainly because they dress down outfits to a certain point. However, it is fall/winter and all the big, comfy, and cute sweaters are broken out! That means you can totally throw on those leggings underneath one of these bad boys and call it a day.

As for shoes, wear something nice—even a heel! I know heels aren’t ideal, especially for family, because who wants to put in the effort when only your family will see you?

Well, if your family is like my family, it’s always picture-time. First, it’s with the grandparents, then the parents, then the aunt and uncle and cousins, then about a million more pictures with my sister.

So, if you smile through the pain of the heels, you’re sure to look taller and have longer legs for those pictures. That way, there’s no such thing as a bad tagged photo or an embarrassing family photo. And again, if you’re anything like me or any other girl, ever, you’ll kick your shoes off as soon as you get in the house anyway.

And since it is the season for fall and winter, I highly suggest pairing any of these cute outfits with a coat or cardigan. A nice leather jacket can either dress up a casual sweater/legging combo, or a cardigan can dress down a fancy romper. You can also never go wrong with boot socks. Break these bad boys out!

Or if you’re lacking in this department, put it on your Christmas list because this is such an easy buy for Santa Claus. I always mix up wearing boot socks with high-knee boots or booties. It just depends on the look you’re going for, but you can scrunch them, stretch them, they’re really versatile if you put your mind to it.

Whatever you choose to wear to your family functions, I hope you survive whatever clothing comments get thrown at you, and survive the array of school and relationship questions. But most importantly, be thankful for family and happy holidays!