Clark Griswold wants a perfect family Christmas, so naturally he gets a squirrel, a kidnapping, a sewer explosion, and a jelly-club subscription. These 120 questions cover the Griswolds, Cousin Eddie, famous disasters, cast details, production stories, music, and the pool that starts everything.
Clark, Ellen, Audrey, Rusty & the Griswold Christmas
Q: In what year was National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation released?
A: 1989.
Q: Who plays Clark Griswold?
A: Chevy Chase.
Q: Who plays Clark’s wife, Ellen?
A: Beverly D’Angelo.
Q: Who plays Audrey Griswold?
A: Juliette Lewis.
Q: Who plays Rusty Griswold?
A: Johnny Galecki.
Q: What is Clark determined to create for his family?
A: A fun, old-fashioned family Christmas at home.
Q: What does the Griswold family collect at the start of the movie?
A: A large Christmas tree from the countryside.
Q: What tool does Clark forget to bring for cutting the tree?
A: A saw.
Q: How does Clark ultimately bring the tree home?
A: He uproots it and ties the entire tree, roots included, to the car.
Q: What happens when Clark cuts the tree’s binding indoors?
A: Its branches burst outward and smash windows and furniture.
Q: How many imported Italian twinkle lights does Clark place on the house?
A: 25,000.
Q: Why do Clark’s lights fail during the first unveiling?
A: A garage switch supplying the outdoor outlet is turned off.
Q: Who accidentally solves the lighting problem?
A: Ellen turns on the garage switch.
Q: What happens to the neighborhood power grid when the lights work?
A: The enormous display causes a local power shortage.
Q: What does Clark expect to buy with his Christmas bonus?
A: A swimming pool.
Q: What has Clark already done before receiving the bonus?
A: He paid a deposit on the pool without telling Ellen.
Q: What fantasy does Clark have about the future pool?
A: He imagines a sunny family gathering and flirts in his daydream with a store clerk.
Q: What store department did Clark visit when he met Mary?
A: The lingerie counter.
Q: What embarrassing mistake does Clark make while talking to Mary?
A: He claims to be divorced and fumbles through comments about underwear and the weather.
Q: Why does Clark get trapped in the attic?
A: Ellen closes the ceiling hatch without realizing he is still above it.
Q: What does Clark wear for warmth in the attic?
A: Old women’s clothing, including a fur coat, gloves, and a turban-like head wrap.
Q: What family item does Clark watch in the attic?
A: Old home movies from past Christmases.
Q: What song plays during Clark’s attic memories?
A: That Spirit of Christmas by Ray Charles.
Q: How does Clark leave the locked attic?
A: He crashes through the ceiling and falls onto a bunk bed.
Q: What happens when Clark applies lubricant to his sled?
A: It accelerates at extreme speed down the hill.
Q: Where does Clark’s high-speed sled ride end?
A: He blasts through a roadside building and into a store area.
Q: What does Clark spray on the bottom of his sled?
A: A noncaloric silicon-based kitchen lubricant.
Q: What does Clark discover when the new tree dries out?
A: It is dangerously dry and ready to ignite.
Q: Who destroys the original Christmas tree?
A: Uncle Lewis accidentally ignites it with a cigar.
Q: Where does Clark get a replacement tree?
A: He cuts down a tree from his own front yard.
Cousin Eddie, the Relatives & Holiday Disasters
Q: Who plays Cousin Eddie?
A: Randy Quaid.
Q: Who plays Eddie’s wife, Catherine?
A: Miriam Flynn.
Q: What vehicle does Eddie park in the Griswolds’ driveway?
A: A battered recreational vehicle.
Q: What does Eddie empty into the storm sewer?
A: The RV’s chemical toilet tank.
Q: What cheerful phrase does Eddie use while emptying the tank?
A: He announces that the waste system is full in much cruder language.
Q: What is the name of Eddie’s dog?
A: Snots.
Q: What does Snots drink from inside the house?
A: Water from the Christmas-tree stand.
Q: What does Snots chase through the house?
A: A squirrel.
Q: Where was the squirrel hiding?
A: Inside the replacement Christmas tree.
Q: What happens when the squirrel leaps from the tree?
A: The family panics, furniture is overturned, and Snots begins a destructive chase.
Q: Who finally catches the squirrel?
A: Snots chases it from the house after chaos spreads through the living room.
Q: What pet does Aunt Bethany bring in a wrapped box?
A: Her cat.
Q: What happens to Aunt Bethany’s cat?
A: It chews a light cord and is electrocuted beneath a chair.
Q: What does Aunt Bethany recite instead of saying grace?
A: The Pledge of Allegiance.
Q: Who begins standing during Aunt Bethany’s recitation?
A: The family gradually stands and joins her.
Q: What gift does Aunt Bethany wrap for Clark?
A: Her cat, although she appears confused about the package.
Q: Who is Aunt Bethany’s husband?
A: Uncle Lewis.
Q: What does Uncle Lewis destroy with his cigar?
A: The Christmas tree.
Q: Who are Clark’s parents?
A: Clark Sr. and Nora Griswold.
Q: Who are Ellen’s parents?
A: Art and Frances Smith.
Q: Why do Clark and Art clash?
A: Art constantly criticizes Clark and his holiday plans.
Q: What does Eddie claim caused the metal plate in his head?
A: An accident connected with his military service and a lack of proper protection.
Q: What gift does Eddie ask Clark to provide for his children?
A: Christmas presents because Eddie cannot afford them.
Q: What does Clark agree to do for Eddie’s family?
A: Buy gifts for Eddie’s children and keep the help private.
Q: What are Eddie and Catherine’s children called in the movie?
A: Rocky and Ruby Sue.
Q: What physical problem did Ruby Sue previously have?
A: She had crossed eyes that corrected themselves after a fall.
Q: Who are the Griswolds’ next-door neighbors?
A: Todd and Margo Chester.
Q: Who plays Margo?
A: Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Q: Who plays Todd?
A: Nicholas Guest.
Q: What happens to Todd and Margo’s stereo?
A: A tree crashes through their window and destroys it.
Cast, Production, Music & Behind-the-Scenes Trivia
Q: Why does Eddie kidnap Clark’s boss?
A: He hears Clark’s angry wish that Frank Shirley be brought to the house.
Q: Who plays Frank Shirley?
A: Brian Doyle-Murray.
Q: What does Frank give employees instead of cash bonuses?
A: Memberships in the Jelly of the Month Club.
Q: Why is the replacement bonus disastrous for Clark?
A: He has already committed the expected money to a pool deposit.
Q: What changes Frank Shirley’s mind?
A: Clark’s outrage, Eddie’s kidnapping, and the family’s explanation make him restore the bonuses.
Q: What extra amount does Frank add after restoring the bonus?
A: Twenty percent.
Q: Who arrives after Frank is reported kidnapped?
A: A police SWAT team.
Q: Why does the sewer explode near the end?
A: Uncle Lewis lights a match while sewer gas from Eddie’s dumping has accumulated.
Q: What decoration appears to fly after the explosion?
A: A Santa Claus lawn decoration and sleigh launch into the sky.
Q: Who mistakes the flying decoration for Santa?
A: Aunt Bethany.
Q: Who directed Christmas Vacation?
A: Jeremiah S. Chechik.
Q: Who wrote the screenplay?
A: John Hughes.
Q: What John Hughes story inspired the movie?
A: Christmas ’59, first published in National Lampoon magazine.
Q: Which studio distributed the film?
A: Warner Bros.
Q: When did the movie open in U.S. theaters?
A: November 30, 1989.
Q: Which number is Christmas Vacation in the original theatrical Vacation series?
A: The third film.
Q: What was Jeremiah Chechik’s background before directing the movie?
A: He was known primarily for commercials and had not directed a feature film.
Q: Where were many snowy outdoor sequences filmed?
A: Breckenridge, Colorado.
Q: Where was the Griswold house exterior filmed?
A: On a Warner Bros. backlot residential street in California.
Q: Why could the Griswold neighborhood look familiar from other productions?
A: The backlot houses and streets have appeared in multiple films and television shows.
Q: Who composed the film’s score?
A: Angelo Badalamenti.
Q: Who performs the opening song Christmas Vacation?
A: Mavis Staples.
Q: What animated imagery appears in the opening credits?
A: Santa endures a series of slapstick accidents while delivering gifts.
Q: Which Hawaiian Christmas song plays during Clark’s pool fantasy?
A: Mele Kalikimaka.
Q: Who made Mele Kalikimaka famous in the recording heard in the movie?
A: Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters.
Q: Which Ray Charles song underscores Clark’s attic home movies?
A: That Spirit of Christmas.
Q: What casting connection links Brian Doyle-Murray with National Lampoon history?
A: He appeared in several comedies tied to performers and writers from the National Lampoon circle.
Q: How old was Juliette Lewis during production?
A: She was a teenager, roughly sixteen years old.
Q: What later sitcom made Johnny Galecki especially famous?
A: The Big Bang Theory.
Q: What later sitcom made Julia Louis-Dreyfus a household name?
A: Seinfeld.
Quotes, Franchise Connections & Hard Christmas Vacation Trivia
Q: Which actress plays Clark’s mother, Nora?
A: Diane Ladd.
Q: Which actor plays Clark’s father?
A: John Randolph.
Q: Which actor plays Ellen’s father, Art?
A: E. G. Marshall.
Q: Which actor plays Ellen’s mother, Frances?
A: Doris Roberts.
Q: Which actress plays Aunt Bethany?
A: Mae Questel.
Q: What famous cartoon characters had Mae Questel voiced?
A: Betty Boop and Olive Oyl.
Q: Which actor plays Uncle Lewis?
A: William Hickey.
Q: Which character did William Hickey voice in The Nightmare Before Christmas?
A: Dr. Finkelstein.
Q: What title appears on the film’s theatrical poster beneath the Vacation name?
A: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
Q: What is Clark’s middle initial in the Vacation movies?
A: W., commonly included when he gives his full name as Clark W. Griswold.
Q: What nickname does Ellen use for Clark?
A: Sparky.
Q: What does Clark call Rusty in a recurring franchise joke?
A: Russ.
Q: Why do Audrey and Rusty look different from film to film?
A: The Vacation franchise repeatedly recast the Griswold children.
Q: Who played Rusty in the first Vacation film?
A: Anthony Michael Hall.
Q: Who played Audrey in the first Vacation film?
A: Dana Barron.
Q: What film immediately preceded Christmas Vacation in the series?
A: National Lampoon’s European Vacation.
Q: What theatrical sequel followed Christmas Vacation?
A: Vegas Vacation in 1997.
Q: Which television movie focuses on Cousin Eddie at Christmas?
A: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation 2: Cousin Eddie’s Island Adventure.
Q: What year did Cousin Eddie’s Island Adventure premiere?
A: 2003.
Q: Who delivers the envelope Clark expects to contain his Christmas bonus?
A: A company messenger.
Q: Who calls the jelly club “the gift that keeps on giving”?
A: Cousin Eddie.
Q: What does Clark do after learning about the missing bonus?
A: He launches into an angry rant about Frank Shirley.
Q: What household object does Clark damage during his rant?
A: He attacks holiday decorations and eventually cuts through a railing post with a chainsaw.
Q: What does Clark wear when the police storm the house?
A: A hockey mask while holding a chainsaw, making the scene look wildly incriminating.
Q: Why is Clark holding a chainsaw?
A: He used it to cut down the replacement tree and fix holiday problems with escalating enthusiasm.
Q: What patriotic song does the family sing after the explosion?
A: The Star-Spangled Banner.
Q: What does Clark see in the sky as the family sings?
A: The launched Santa decoration appears to fly past the moon.
Q: What happens to Margo when she confronts Clark at the door?
A: The SWAT team crashes through and knocks her down.
Q: What holiday display causes Clark to fall from the roof?
A: He struggles with tangled lights and a slippery roof edge.
Q: What makes Christmas Vacation unusually durable as a holiday comedy?
A: The disasters are huge, but Clark’s wish for family closeness and recognition remains painfully ordinary.
How Did You Score?
If you knew Snots, the attic movie, the garage light switch, and Clark’s exact bonus substitute, your holiday spirit is full. I would reward you with the Jelly of the Month Club, but apparently that is reserved for executives.
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