How do I get out of this??!!

I'm working in a really boring office, just covering maternity leave until next Feb (been here since June), the job is tediously dull, as is the company, luckily the people I work with are nice, the girls in the dept are great and we get on well and I will def stay in touch, we are having girlie drinks for christmas in dec at a posh hotel in town, just us girls, lovely. Now, the dept xmas do is going up to another plant in another city, getting a coach up on a Thursday morning, some kind of work stuff during the day, dinner in the evening and staying the night, coming back the next day, probably the afternoon. I really don't want to go to this, before anyone posts telling me to go I might enjoy myself, please don't, I just don't wanna go it's not my type of thing and I hate staying away from home (yes I'm a big baby that's just me), I'm 42 years old (the oldest in the group I might add, even older than the guy I'm working for!) and I really am not into work 'team bonding' things, done my share of them over the past 25 years of working (god I'm old!), plus I'm only here till Feb, what's the point. My question is this, how can I get out of it?? Without offending anyone?? I was trying to keep a low profile and just assume I wasn't going but my boss just asked me to email him the list of names and he sent it back saying 'and (my name)?' and I emailed back joking 'I think she's been banned from (city)' and left it at that!! Help!!

Tell him you have family committments that day. Leave it at that.

It is quite close to Chrimbo, I suppose I could be picking someone up from the airport?!

[quote="Mistified":2056e942]Tell him you have family committments that day. Leave it at that.[/quote:2056e942] What she said. If he's any sense, he won't ask about it, and if he has no sense and does ask, just say it's personal.

[quote="trance":2sz9fdj4]It is quite close to Chrimbo, I suppose I could be picking someone up from the airport?![/quote:2sz9fdj4] Nah, don't say that because he'll only say "Sure get someone else to do it, or tell them to get a bus/train/taxi" . Nothing worse than you giving what you have decided it a great excuse only for people to try and "solve" the "problem" for you, and then you have to come up with a million more excuses to explain why their "solutions" won't work in this situation.

That's true, people trying to be helpful and 'solve' your 'problem' for you. So 'family commitements' and leave it at that. I'm terrible I always feel I need to give a big long winded explanation for everything! Thanks girls!