The best Christmas outing. In search of a little magic!
The best Christmas outing is an escape room! I love wandering around every Christmas market, visiting a Christmas circus and going to church to hear a choir sing carols, but for me Christmas isn't complete until I've visited an escape room.
I'm mad about the time around Christmas. The dark days. The time of reflection, but also of coziness, candles and being together. I always have two weeks off then (teachers have nothing to complain about) and for me those two weeks are packed with traditions. For me, those traditions are: watching all the Harry Potter films, listening to as much of the Top 2000 radio countdown as I can (for some songs I even set my alarm) and playing at least one escape room with my dear friends or family. Because an escape room simply is the best Christmas outing. The one place where you can still experience real magic.
Snuggling up a little closer
For me, Christmas stands for giving attention to your loved ones. Your family, your friends... you snuggle up a little closer to them again, so to speak. It is cold, after all, during the dark days of the year. An escape room lends itself perfectly to this. Because you step into a new world together that's unfamiliar to everyone, you take on that adventure together! Especially if the escape room is a little scary (or very scary, if that's your thing), you live through it with each other. It creates a special bond that you share only with the people you played the escape room with. It's no coincidence that an escape room is also so popular as an escape room bachelor party, then too you want to share something special with your group. In a DarkPark room you also literally huddle up against each other and hold each other's hand now and then. That's a bit different from going to the movies together or visiting a museum. There, you're at a bit more of a distance and feel it all a little less. Fun too, but no real magic.
A different atmosphere than usual
The atmosphere around an escape room venue is often different during the Christmas holidays too. Especially if you book a room the owner built with blood, sweat and tears, you'll notice that the Christmas season lends itself well to some extra attention and cheer from the escape rooms themselves. We once played a room on the day after Christmas. The reception area was decorated, the owner was wearing a Santa hat and welcomed us in an ugly Christmas sweater. She wanted to make it the best Christmas outing for us too. We were all wearing ugly Christmas sweaters ourselves, by the way, so we clicked with each other the moment we walked in.
We played terribly that day, but that didn't spoil the fun. The owner made the best of it, we had another drink and left the room with a cheerful (Christmas) feeling. I realize I may be creating some expectations with these statements, because not every escape room will go about it this way. My experiences so far, though, have simply been very positive. It feels as if everyone is a little touched by the magic of Christmas.
Special Christmas escape rooms vs. normal escape rooms
Of course, you can choose to book a special Christmas escape room with Christmas as its theme. These rooms are scarce, but they exist. I only do this when I'm playing with children, though. They're often temporary rooms that get dismantled or converted after the Christmas season. When I play with friends or family, I go for a normal escape room, one you can also book outside the Christmas season.
Well, normal. Maybe that's not quite the right word either, because I like a bit of theater in the room. There can be lights, suspenseful music, smoke machines, a plot twist and an actor (or two). As I said before: magic!
You'll have something to talk about at Christmas dinner
Like most people, I sit down to Christmas dinner with my family in the evening. If these are the people you played with, I guarantee you'll have something to talk about all evening. You won't talk about anything else. "Wow, that moment when you...", or "Man! How we jumped when...", and "That effect was so special!"
If you're at the table with people who will never play an escape room (hello, father-in-law of mine), you can happily spoil away and tell the story from beginning to end. Makes those obligatory family gatherings a little bit fun after all.
Oh yes, one more thing that comes to mind: if you don't feel like obligatory family dinners, an escape room is the perfect way to lose a family member or two by accident. Oops.
Into the DarkVerse
This year I'm playing Into the DarkVerse at Christmas. To be precise: on Christmas Eve. I have no idea what to expect, because this is DarkPark's most mysterious room. I have, however, gotten the impression from Into the DarkVerse that you step into something and never come out again. So I hope I won't miss the Top 2000. That would be a bit of a shame, wouldn't it? Anyway, wish me luck and merry Christmas!
