Great Excuses You Can Use To Get More Vacation Time

I may procrastinate over the daily inbox cleansing, but I often flag older items like "25 Creative Excuses For Taking Extra Vacation Time" to share with you.

These excuses come from Choice Hotels International, the franchiser of  6,200 hotels, representing more than 500,000 rooms in the US and more than 30 other countries and territories at the time of writing, who worked with Research Now to interview 1,200 American adults about their Fall 2013 Travel Intentions. Their survey found:

1. 66% of Americans reported they plannned to take a leisure trip in late summer/fall.
2. 63% said they could use more vacation time, primarily to relax (58%), see family and friends (49%), visit a city (42%), hit the beach (37%) and enjoy nature (31%).

However, 11% said they had to come up with an excuse to get additional time off, which gave the survey sponsor, Choice Hotels International, an opening to find out what their excuses would be.  Trust me, we can all learn from this!

Top 25 Creative Excuses for taking time off from work:

Zombie Attach image from digboston.com

Out-Of-This World
·       I had to stay home to prepare for the zombie apocalypse.
·       Martians kidnapped my boyfriend, and I must rescue him.
·       I was ambushed by zombies.

(Un)natural Disasters
·       My aquarium busted, and I must save my fish.
·       A garbage truck is on fire at the end of my driveway.
·       There's a snake on my porch.

What We Do For Love
·       I had to attend a pop-up wedding.
·       My mother's car broke down on a cross-country trip, and I had to go and assist her.
·       My child came home with a really contagious eye infection. I should stay away from the office  until its safe.
·       My husband will be out sick today, Friday and Monday.
·       My sister got kidnapped, and I must go find her.

Bad Hair Days
·       My wife got a terrible hair-coloring job, and I must stay home to provide moral support.
·       I'm having a hair malfunction.
·       My hair dye turned out to be orange, and I cannot be seen in public.

Health & Wellness
·       I'm under the weather due to a sympathetic pregnancy.
·       I got mercury poisoning from a busted thermometer.
·       I had an out-of-town dental appointment.
·       I gave up my seat on the plane to an elderly person and couldn't get back for a few days.

Pet Peeves
·       My dog did not wake me.
·       My dog ate my shoes.
·       My dog hid my car keys.
·       My bird is sick.

Busted
·       My grandmother died (twice in one year).
·       I'm having trouble with my prostrate (reported by a woman).
·       I am meeting on a project with a co-worker (who was actually in a meeting at the time with the caller's boss).

Let us know what works for you!