Pretend to Lose Possessions
1. Lose Your Car Keys.

Tell your parents that when you were about to leave the party at your friend’s house you couldn’t find your keys. Everybody had to stop dancing, turn off the movie, and search for your car keys. Finally, after half an hour someone found them! They had fallen into a crevice in the couch and landed on the carpet. Thank goodness someone checked there!

2. Forget an Expensive Item.

Tell them when you were half way home you remembered that you had left your cell phone (camera, wallet, or purse) wherever you were at. Quickly, you turned around in your car and went back to retrieve the item. You knew your parents wouldn’t be pleased if you came home without it. Plus, you didn’t want anyone to steal it.

Fake a Distraction

1. Delayed by an Accident.

Observe your surroundings. Take note of what streets you take home. Look for the busiest intersection for the most believable car crash to occur at. When you arrive home, have a worried expression on your face. Tell your parents you just witnessed a horrible car crash and you had to pull over and talk to the police for a detailed statement of what you saw. Add a few tears to the end of your story and you’ll have them patting your back.

2. Running on Empty.

When you arrive home, tell your parents you had to stop at the gas station. You had 5-10 miles of gas left so you had to fill up your tank or else you wouldn’t have been able to drive home. You knew they would have been mad if the tow company called to confirm their credit card number for the charge. (Don’t forget to have a full gas tank before you go to the party.)

3. Drive the Speed Limit.

Apologize, but refuse to admit you were late. You were only a few minutes past curfew. If you would have drove a little bit over the speed limit you knew you would have been home on time. Tell your parents you were following the rules of the road in order to avoid a ticket so you were going five miles per hour under the speed limit and stopping at every stop sign for at least 5 seconds.

4. Ran into an Old Friend.

You were just about to leave when your old neighbor (mom’s friend, dad’s friend, friend) stops you to see how you are doing. The person is so excited to see you that they talk to you for about a half an hour before you can slip away. You didn’t want to be impolite and interrupt their stories about how their new neighbors are boring compared to your family.

Go to the Movies

1. Movie got out Later than Expected.

Call on your way home that you had gone to the movies with a couple of friends and the movie got out later than you guys expected. You couldn’t leave the movie early because you had to find out the ending! Those stupid previews had taken about 25 minutes; it’s not your fault the movie started late. Also, explain you went to the movie, “Into the Wild,” for an extra credit opportunity for English class.

Change the Time

1. Push Clocks back in House.

Before you leave to go out at night, go around to each room in your house and push back the time on the clocks an hour later. Make sure to alter the computer’s digital clock too. In addition, if you can slyly get hold of your parent’s cell phones, change the time.

2. Change the Time on Your Car and Cell Phone.

If your parents happen to be watching the TV Guide channel to observe the exact time you arrive home, act surprised and bewildered when you pull in an hour late. Your cell phone and clock in your car read 12:00 when you entered the neighborhood. Tell your parents they should call Cingular or get your car checked out. It may be time to trade in your Yugo for a new Mercedes.

Stay Out Late with Friends

1. Have your Friend Drive.

Find out which one of your friends has the latest curfew. Then, snag a ride with her during the weekend. It’s not fair that she has to leave the party early so you can be home on time.

2. Dropped Off Last.

Tell your parents your friend had to drive six other people home. Unfortunately, all of them live in completely opposite directions. She chose to drop you off last because you live the closest to her house.


3. Drop off a Stranded Friend.

While pulling out of the driveway, your friend runs in front of your car and stops you from pulling onto the road. She doesn’t have a ride home. You can’t leave her stranded so you tell her to hop in the car and you’ll give her a lift home. Tell your parents they would not want you to call them late at night asking to come pick you up.

4. Sleep Over.

When you want to stay out late with your friends have a sleep over at your friend’s house that has the latest curfew. Your parents will never know you were out until 2 a.m..

Bribe

1. Come Home with Presents.

Before your parents can start yelling at you for not answering your cell phone and strolling into the house three hours after your curfew, give them the gifts you were out buying all night. Present to your mom the diamond earrings you bought. Next, whip out the front row Bears tickets you purchased from a broker. Finally, leave your parents in awe as you ascend up the stairs and into your bed. It was a long night.

Be Aware

Excuses in the above instructions may buy you different amounts of time. Therefore, choose appropriate explanations to extend your curfew when needed. Using the same cover up for coming home late may lead to your parent’s not believing you, so do not use these tips frequently.