Raise your hand if you’ve ever been in this situation: It’s Thanksgiving and your entire family is in town to celebrate and it’s your task to prepare a meal that everyone can enjoy, including your vegan aunt, her nut allergic kids, and your uncle who just discovered Keto.
That’s nothing compared to your task of finding something to do with your family after the meal is over. While your grandma is grabbing the remote out of your dad’s hands to watch Golden girls, your cousin is trying to take the perfect shot of their turkey leg for their thirty-five Instagram subscribers. All the time you’re looking at the clock and doing the mental calculation for how quickly you can pack everyone in the car and take them to the airport: “So if it’s 5 PM now and their flight leaves on Monday I could drop them off tomorrow morning if they don’t mind spending a day at the airport gift shop…” So you look online for the best escape room, and make a plan.
The only answer is to get everyone out of the house and doing something. Turn off the TV, pack up the leftovers, and head for your nearest Escape Room. It might sound counter-intuitive but sometimes being locked in a room with your wacky family is the perfect way to escape the madness of getting together. Once that door closes and the timer starts, all of a sudden no one’s thinking about whether the turkey was too dry, or who voted for whom in the last election, or if they’re going to be done in time to catch the football game. Now, suddenly your grandma’s obscure piece of trivia is the answer to the riddle that stumped everyone else. And your daughter and father-in-law are talking for the first time as they collaborate on a puzzle. And your dumb-as-dirt cousin (we all have one) accidentally discovers the key you need to advance to the next room.
Then afterwards, win or lose, everyone has a shared experience to talk about that doesn’t involve politics or sports. Maybe you go back again the next day, or promise each other to make it a holiday tradition. Sure, you’re still happy to wave them off at the airport, but now, at least, you have something to look forward to next year when they return.
