Top 10 Excuses to Leave Work Early for the Holidays

You go to leave for work one cold winter morning, and all of the doors in your home have been locked from the outside. You push, you pull, you shove, but nothing seems to get the doors open and all of your work devices are at the office. You look out your window to see tinsel has been wrapped around your front door. It’ll take at least a couple of hours (or days) to get someone to come and untangle that mess, so you’re forced to ditch the office for the sofa until help arrives. You’re furious – right?
 

To make this tinsel tangle excuse a reality, you’ll need plenty of tinsel to hand because a little elf told me it’s not the best material for securing doors. You’ll also need a way back into your home one every entrance is blocked – but don’t look at us for that. 

Imagine this: you’re busy working hard in the office when get get a call from your casting agent friend. You’ve been cast for this year's biggest holiday movie! Not only that, but you’re needed he set as soon as possible for one of the most important scenes in the movie.
 

Read more: I let ChatGPT to plan the Holidays
 

Tell your boss how excited you are and reassure them that your newfound stardom won’t change you. Once you leave, be sure to go to your local Christmas market and take a couple of photos that you can tell your co-workers was the set. Then, once the movie is out, just say you didn’t make the cut. Sad times.

You're, immersed in the holiday hustle when your phone buzzes with a text from your neighbour. Apparently, a reindeer has entered your yard and is munching on those precious snowdrops you planted in the summer. You have no choice but to leave the office immediately and fend off these festive intruders before your yard is turned upside down. 
 

Blame it on Rudolph and his adventurous spirit if you have to. Armed with a frantic email and a determination to protect your garden, grab your coat and tell your boss you need to leave to face Rudolph head-on. 

You’ve just got to the office when you get a surprise call about an emergency meeting of the Office Elf Union. Santa has gone on strike, and only you can persuade him to deliver his presents on Christmas day. Your elf duties are calling, and you have no choice but the leave the office immediately.
 

Tell your boss you’ve been pulled for an emergency meeting in the North Pole and Christmas is cancelled unless you make it on time. Your boss will most likely let you leave work early, but if they don’t just tell all your co-workers they’ve ruined the holidays. 

It’s a couple of days until Christmas and you’ve forgotten to wear that (non-existent ) Christmas sweater you’ve been babbling on about since Halloween. The entire office is in uproar. You need to run home and retrieve your sweater as quickly as possible so you don’t feel left out! That gives you plenty of time to get some Christmas shopping done and skip that boring morning meeting in the office. 
 

If you can’t be bothered to go back to work, tell your boss you found the sweater but had an allergic reaction to the material when you finally put it on. I’m sure he’ll believe you.

Sometimes, the best excuse to leave work early is the simplest one. Tell your co-workers about your yearly appointment with a cup of hot cocoa and a warm blanket. Be sure to explain how important the appointment is for your well-being, and that the comforting embrace of a cosy blanket and the soothing warmth of cocoa is the only thing that will get you through the week. They're sure to understand the importance of self-care during the festive season.

For this excuse, you’ll need to continuously bring into conversation how hard it has been to find wrapping paper in your area in the weeks leading up to the holiday break. A couple of days before you leave work for the holidays, tell your co-workers that you still can’t find wrapping paper anywhere and still haven't wrapped your presents. Then say that a shop right around the corner from your house has just got some stock in. But their stock is running out – fast. 
 

You’ll have no choice but to leave work early and get some wrapping paper before it all runs out. If your co-workers offer to bring some in for you, tell them your family only likes a specific type of paper that’s only found in your area. I’m sure they’ll believe you. 

You’ve been working day in, and day out on a beautiful gingerbread house to bring into the office for everyone. Tell your colleagues that your meticulously crafted gingerbread house has suddenly collapsed and needs your immediate attention to salvage what's left. If you don’t get home in time there’ll be no gingerbread left for the office and Christmas will be ruined! 

To make this excuse work, you might actually have to build a gingerbread house. You can always buy one too, but be sure to add a few cracks and chips to make it believable!

Share the news with your co-workers of an impromptu snowman-building contest happening in your neighbourhood. Tell them that the competition is one of the most important events in your neighbourhood and your neighbours are all waiting for you to work on your frosty masterpiece. 
 

Of course, this excuse only works if it’s snowing. But if it isn’t, just tell your co-workers you recently moved to the mountains. Finding a good excuse to leave work early is about always having answers at the ready. Be prepared!

A tip has come in that the Grinch has been spotted near your neighbourhood, and your presence is urgently required to save the holidays. Tell your boss that everyone in the company needs to go out and look for the Grinch before he steals the joy of the holidays The fate of the holiday spirit lies in the balance, and you are the hero they never knew they needed.
 

If your boss doesn’t believe you, buy a Grinch suit on your lunch break and walk past their window. If they still don’t believe you, accuse them of being the Grinch!