10 Believable Excuses to Leave the Room During the Holidays

You love your family. But that doesn’t always mean you have to like them. So when they come over this holiday season to run through your house and criticize your cooking, here are some ways to get a moment to yourself with a sweet getaway.

1. "Do I smell something burning?"

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An easy one to use to get out of talking to your family, as your Uncle Joe has no sense of smell but an impeccable sense of timing when it comes to making an inappropriate joke upon arrival.

2. “I think I left the water on upstairs!”

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This one is good, but be careful who you use it around because it could easily be followed by "Oh, I'll check for you honey" from your spouse, who doesn't want to keep talking to your grandparents about the housing market in 1953 either.

3. “I forgot to set the DVR to record [blank]!”

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This one should be used around older family who members who have no understanding of technology. It also requires a little bit of creativity, but have some fun with it. I like to use "Perfect Strangers" as my show excuse, and that's not even on anymore, which is fine because your Great Aunt Ellen will spend the time you're gone telling everyone the story about her VCR clock.

4. “Somebody’s diaper’s full!”

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What's great about this is that it can apply to a nearby baby or anyone with a bladder control problem. Either way, no one's stopping you from leaving to take care of it.

5. “I just need some air!”

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So this one is probably the only excuse that isn't a lie. But what's nice is that unless you're in the middle of a sitcom, nobody comes outside to talk about "what's really going on."

6. “We’re out of milk!”

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This excuse can work one of two ways: You can either go out and get said milk yourself, or send that annoying cousin who won't stop blaming Obama for his lack of choices on Netflix out on a milk run for a long time. Bonus points if you can convince him to get Organic Cinnamon Pecan Milk.

7. “Wait right here, I’m going to get my old Ace of Base albums!”

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No one's waiting right here to listen to your copy of "I Saw the Sign" so use this as an excuse to pretend to dig through CDs for 20 minutes.

8. “Where’s the dog?”

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This one works even better if you don’t actually have a dog because either no one will know that you don’t have a dog, or if they do, they won’t bother you while you search around for an imaginary pet.

9. “Can you believe it’s almost election time again?”

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This is the Batman excuse, as you’re essentially dropping a smoke bomb and sneaking off in the plume of your brother-in-law’s argument against the electoral college and your Uncle Steve’s rant about why the government is covering up area 51 because “we just can’t handle it.”

10. Rub your stomach and say “Um, I gotta...go take care of some business”

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This one is admittedly gross, but no one ever questions a poopie. Ever.

So the next time you find yourself stuck in a conversation that's making you sour, drop one of these lines, make a break for it and take a sweet moment for yourself.