National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is one of the best movies during the Christmas season. The Griswold family finds themselves in unfortunate situations as the Christmas season approaches. This movie takes a unique comedic twist on all of our fears and ideals during the Christmas season to the day it arrives. From the perfect Christmas tree, to the family gatherings, to the flawless Christmas dinner and decorations, Clark Griswold strives for the perfect Christmas but manages to fall short at every turn.

The Griswold family features many stereotypical family members that we all can relate to. It features the creepy rude uncle, the cousin no one really likes but puts up with, and of course that elderly family member who is just a little nutty. This movie takes these stereotypical family member tropes to the extreme for the sake of comedy. However, we all can relate to that in some way. The movie even features grandpas sleeping in the chairs with their mouths open wide and snoring loudly. Something that I can still remember from my childhood.

Even with some tame scenes this movie has many outlandish ones that would not happen in real life. One of the most famous scenes in the movie features Clark Griswold, the main character and the person hosting Christmas, taking his family out to find the perfect Christmas tree. He finds the largest tree he can and brings his wife and children along as they freeze from the long walk. His wife insists that the tree will not fit in the house; however, Clark believes that it will. Upon bringing the tree into the house, it doesn’t quite fit and breaks the windows once the binding is undone. While this scene is exaggerated, some of the events are relatable. I can remember several years where my family fought over the perfect tree, froze, and then realized the tree didn’t fit the way we wanted it to. The relatability and the comedy doesn’t just end with scenes with Christmas trees breaking windows. Later the lights burn out and the tree catches fire. We all can remember the lights not working or overall just struggling with our tree. 

Last but not least we see Clark hoping for a Christmas bonus check so he can put in a swimming pool for the family. This check doesn’t come and Clark loses all hope for his picture perfect Christmas. I for one know that I have this idea of what Christmas is supposed to look like and it never does. Of course, Clark ends up making the money for the pool thanks to a bizarre series of unfortunate events which helps lighten the mood after many intense scenes.

The main point of Christmas Vacation is that Christmas doesn’t have to go how we want it to make it memorable and delightful. While this is a comedy and it can be outlandish, it really shows us the importance of Chirtstmas is not making it ideal, not having that perfect gift, or having things go to plan, it’s about spending time with our family members, even ones we don’t like. So the next time you need a little Christmas pick-me-up, sit down, grab a drink, and remember the importance of family during Christmas with this classic holiday comedy.