20 Things Everyone Ignore In "Christmas Vacation"

Yuletide Facts About National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
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Yuletide Facts About National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
Jackson Sawa
| 11/28/25
On December 1, 1989, Warner Brothers Pictures released their third installment in the National Lampoon Vacation franchise — Christmas Vacation. The film did not disappoint and was equally as outrageous as its two predecessors. Today, it's regarded as a modern Christmas classic. The movie debuted at No. 2 at the box office grossing $11,750,203 during its opening weekend, although it received mixed reviews from the public and critics. Now, take a look into some of the lesser-known facts about the Christmas film that has been the essence of holiday cheer since it was first released.
The Film Is Based On a Short Story
Warner Bros.
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is actually based on the short story "Christmas 59," written by John Hughes for National Lampoon Magazine in December 1980. "Christmas 59" was a follow up to the short story "Vacation 58," which was made into the original Vacation movie in 1983.
The film pays tribute to Hughes' original short story when Clark is in the attic pulling out old family Christmas films to watch. During the process, he reveals one that is titled "X-Mas '59." This definitely wasn't a coincidence either.
Have you ever noticed some familiar-looking houses in the film?
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Hughes Didn't Like The Idea of Vacation Sequels
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Although many of Hughes' films have had sequels, he was never excited about any of them. In an interview with William Ham, he said, "The only sequels I was involved in were under duress." Even though he was a writer on European Vacation , he claims that it was only because he had created the characters.
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When the studio was begging him about another Vacation movie, he said that he went along with it because he had written a short story that would work for it already. As the Vacation films started to deteriorate in quality, he tried to distance himself from them as much as possible.
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Clark's Childhood Home May Look Familiar
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If Clark's childhood home in the old movies he found in the attic look familiar, it's because you've most likely seen them before! The house in the old tapes was the same house featured on Bewitched and also New Gidget. That house is part of what is known as the Warner Bros. backlot, also known as Blondie Street.
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The rest of the Griswolds' neighborhood was filmed on a backlot as well. The house owned by the family's uptight neighbors, Todd and Margo, was also used by the character Roger Murtaugh and his family in Lethal Weapon.
You'll never guess which director played a roll in making the film happen.
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Roger Ebert Didn't Enjoy The Film
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Although the film has been considered a Christmas classic since its first release, not everyone fell in love with Christmas Vacation . Well-respected film reviewer Roger Ebert even gave the film a two-star review.
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He described the film as "curious in how close it comes to delivering on its material: Sequence after sequence seems to contain all the necessary material, to be well on the way toward a payoff, and then it somehow doesn't work." It doesn't appear that Ebert's opinion had much influence on the public's opinion of the movie.
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Sequels on Sequels
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Warner Bros. Television
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While many people might not realize it even exists, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie's Island Adventure was released for television in 2003. It features Randy Quaid and Miriam Flynn as Eddie and Catherine who are a couple that is stranded on an island in the South Pacific for the holidays.
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It currently holds a low 12 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. While Cousin Eddie in Christmas Vacation may have been Randy Quaid's most recognizable role, it didn't pan out the same way for Christmas Vacation 2.
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Stanley Kubrick Can Be Attributed To The Film's Success
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Christmas Vacation was the directorial debut of Jeremiah Chechik, who began his career as a fashion photographer for Vogue. He then went into commercial directing where his dark, sexy, and progressive style turned some heads — including that of director Stanley Kubrick.
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Kubrick who claimed his commercials were his favorite in American filmmaking. It didn't take long for studios to began sending Chechik scripts and he was very interested when Family Vacation came across his desk.
See what happened when filming Uncle Lewis and Aunt Bethany's entrance.
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Cousin Eddie Was Based On a Real Person
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While the character of Cousin Eddie might seem like something right out of someone's twisted mind, that's not entirely the case. Apparently, Randy Quaid based the character off of somebody that he grew up with in Texas, even down to the tongue-clicking.
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However, Quaid's wife lent a hand as well an encouraged him to wear Eddie's sweater and Dickie's combo for the character's outfits. While dealing with the person Eddie was based on may have been difficult, we're glad him and Quaid crossed paths to give us such an unbelievable character.
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Ellen Griswold Lied To The Police About Kidnapping
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After the police raid the Griswold home, Ellen Griswold apologies to Mrs. Shirley, the wife of Clark's boss whom Eddie had kidnapped. She claims that "This is our family’s first kidnapping," when in fact, it is actually their second.
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In the first Vacation film, the Griswolds force Lasky, a security guard at Wally World, to open the park for them. At least we're led to believe that that was their first family kidnapping. You can never be too sure with the Griswold clan.
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Uncle Lewis and Aunt Bethany Literally Made the Set Shake
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The arrival of Uncle Lewis and Aunt Bethany wasn't just a stressful time for Clark Griswold, but apparently the Earth's crust as well. While filming the scene where Lewis and Bethany arrive at the Griswold home, you may notice a small shaking of the camera as they walk through the front door.
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This was the result of a minor earthquake during production that wasn't even really noticed until after the scene had already been filmed. It would be hard to notice without prior knowledge there was a small earthquake during that time.
You won't belive the size of the movie's budget.
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The Opening Credits Were a Rarity
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During an age when films were trying to use the latest technology around, animation seemed like it was on its way out, especially animated intros. This is what made the intro to Christmas Vacation such a rarity — especially considering that the film was live-action.
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Christmas Vacation was only one of three movies in 1989 to use animated opening credits with the others being Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Troop Beverly Hills. While back then it may have seemed underwhelming, today, it's part of what makes the film unique.
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The Film Has Connections to It's A Wonderful Life
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RKO Radio Pictures
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Believe it or not, there are lots of ties between Christmas Vacation and the 1946 classic It's A Wonderful Life. To begin, Frank Capra III was the assistant director for Christmas Vacation . Coincidentally, he is the grandson of Frank Capra who directed It's A Wonderful Life.
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Secondly, the scene where Clark takes a chainsaw to the wobbly…

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