I’ve decided to try out a new thing this holiday season and hopefully make it a tradition for years to come, Eli’s Christmas Collections! Basically, I’m going to briefly describe and discuss 2 of my favorite holiday films that are yearly watches for me, my favorite scenes and elements of the movie, and the history or memories I have with the film itself. Merry Christmas everyone, let’s get into the first ever Christmas Collection!
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
I couldn’t not make this one of the very first holiday films I discussed. One of my favorites and a yearly watch for me and my family since I was a child. Christmas Vacation is thoroughly fun, funny, and zany all the way through. I would say this is my favorite National Lampoon Vacation film and probably my favorite Chevy Chase movie in general, as well. Not your typical warm family holiday kind of movie, this film leans more into the dysfunctional side of things and shows Clark (Chase) and his family try to survive the holidays at home with their crazy extended family and in laws. Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) steals the show for me and I believe most other folks as well, as he is equal parts clueless and annoying, overstepping his boundaries and causing more headaches for Clark at every turn. He’s the exact kind of character that you cannot stop laughing at on screen but would absolutely hate to deal with in real life. Some of my favorite scenes would have to be the dinner scene with the extremely burnt turkey just for the fact that everyone is together in one scene and the shenanigans that it leads to are delightful: Uncle Lewis frying the entire Christmas tree (and kitty) while lighting his cigar, an extremely fake looking squirrel getting into the house from the Christmas tree and the panic that ensues in the household over a tiny rodent, Eddie emptying his RV’s septic down the public sewer drain in a tattered robe while smoking a fat stogie much to the hoity toity neighbors dismay, and Clark’s infamous meltdown scene where he goes on about a 2 minute tangent after he finally boils over, all before destroying all the decorations outside. Christmas Vacation is filled with hilarious, dysfunctional characters and is a delight this time of year. Especially relatable for those of you who have crazy family they love but dread spending extended time with this time of year.
A Christmas Story
This is another one that had to be a part of my first collection, the 1983 classic ‘A Christmas Story’. I have many fond memories watching this one with the family during Christmas time while growing up and it’s a tradition I still continue to this day, around the big day. Initially this film was a box office bust upon its release, but over time has grown to be a staple in a lot of households and is aired all day on Christmas on TBS to this very day I believe. So even if this isn’t a personal favorite of some, most people have seen this film at one point or another whether they meant to or not. The story follows a lovable, undiagnosed ADD riddled kid named Ralphie and his rag tag group of friends and family during the holiday season in the early 1940s, on his quest to achieve the ultimate Christmas gift for a young boy, a Red Ryder air rifle. This movie is chock full of memorable quotes and moments that have survived the test of time, much like Christmas Vacation. Some of my personal favorite moments would be the famous leg lamp scene where Ralphie’s “old man” receives a “major award” from his work that ends up just being a gaudy lamp styled after a woman’s leg, Ralphie decoding a secret message from his favorite radio show “Little Orphan Annie!” to find that it was just a crummy commercial ad, the famous sticking your tongue to a flag pole scene and seeing Ralphie and Flick doing a bad job at acting innocent back in the classroom afterwards, Ralphie finally standing up to his bully Scut Farkus and giving him a beat down, and the famous pink bunny pajamas from his aunt on Christmas morning. I own a pink bunny onesie myself that I’ll break out around the season that is specifically based on this movie and I see more and more leg lamps in people’s windows this time of year so I think it’s safe to say this is a classic that will continue to live on for many years to come.
These 2 movies aren’t for sure my favorite Christmas movies ever, that’s up for debate. I don’t think I have an overall favorite, just 10-12 that I love and really try to get to on a yearly basis to get myself into the spirit. Hence the reason for doing this project in the first place, I’m very excited to discuss my other favorites in the holiday seasons ahead. These movies are just the ones I have some of the most history with, the ones I watched with my parents and brother every year around Christmas, and the ones that evoked pure joy, laughter, and holiday memories between me and my family this time of year as a kid. It wouldn’t feel true to myself if I didn’t start out with these 2 specifically for those reasons. There’s more that have been classics within my family while growing up like ‘Scrooged’ and ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ but that’s for a different collection and a different time. This was a fun little project to do and I’m excited to continue my Christmas Collections in the years to come! Thanks everyone and have a wonderful holiday season! Ho Ho Ho!
