How to exit a boring family gathering during the festive season

With the festive season in full swing, spending time with your family is unavoidable and practically mandatory. Whether it’s a big dinner party or a casual get-together with cousins and relatives you only see once every few years, family gatherings during the festive season always mean braving small talk, nosy relatives, and that one uncle who always wants to know “what are your plans for the future”. And of course, the painfully redundant chatter about “the good old days” involving stories you’ve heard far too many times to smile through any more. You nod politely, of course, because it’s rude not to act amused. 

Family gatherings can be heartwarming—but they can just as easily go from festive to flat in no time. You’ve laughed at every joke, used food as a distraction, and heard every family story twice. So, what now?

If you find yourself trapped in this festive time warp, don’t worry! You can still make a graceful (and believable) exit without seeming rude and uncouth. Here are a few excuses for exit strategies to keep under your sleeve just in case you need to sneak away from a boring and insufferable family gathering without a fuss.

The good old “work emergency”

You really can’t go wrong with this one, especially if you work in corporate! There’s always an “urgent” email that needs to be tended, a work deadline that has suddenly been preponed, a meeting or presentation the next day that you need to prepare for. And of course, if all else fails, then you could always mention needing to wake up early for work. After all, you could be returning to work after a few days, in which case there’s always work waiting to be tackled.

The “pet” excuse 

As a pet parent, I can promise you that I have successfully used this one too many times. But it’s still believable. A lot of pet owners struggle with leaving their pets alone at home for more than two hours. Now, whether or not your fur baby is accustomed to staying alone at home for hours together, leaving a dead gathering on account of needing to feed or simply be there for your pet, is a good enough excuse. And if you don’t have a pet of your own, you could always say that you promised a friend or neighbour that you would check up on their pet while they were away. 

Feign exhaustion or a cold 

Saying you’re tired and wish to go to bed is never a bad excuse, plus family will (read as: should) never make you feel bad for it. You could always say you have to wake up early for work or have an important errand early morning. But if you think this might be a weak excuse and won’t get you out, then you could always fake a cold with a few sniffles. You could also pretend something in the air or their decor is triggering your allergies, and excuse yourself to avoid the dreaded “sneeze-fest.” This ought to get you a free and easy exit pass. Because who would want to catch a sickness during the festive season? 

A friend in crisis needs rescue 

A good friend will always help you get out of a bad situation, and in this case, they’re helping you, even if you’re the one claiming them to need your help. Do you see the irony here? Plus there are so many ways they could need your help. Lost wallet, locked out of the house, car broke down in an isolated area with no public transport, they need your help with an urgent work project, etc. You get the gist. 

The silent slip-out

This one works if you’re at a very large family gathering and feel like you won’t really be missed because everyone is doing their own thing. In this case, you simply smile and nod at anyone who notices you, pretend to head to the bathroom, and then slip out. If anyone notices you’re missing, they’ll probably ask once or maybe twice, and by then, it’ll be too late! 

Lead image credit: Netflix 

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