The classic film Christmas Vacation is one of our favorite Christmas movies to revisit. It’s a great mixture of physical comedy, one-liners, and priceless characters. It’s hard to pin down what element makes it the best.
The more we’ve thought about it, the more we’ve realized how terrible the animals are and how awful they make things for everyone else around them. But if we’re being honest, it’s not just them; it’s the humans, too. Here are some of the shenanigans we can’t stop thinking about.
Animals: Snot Drinking The Christmas Tree Water
It happens every year. You go and find the perfect Christmas tree, whether it be at a farm or the store, and bring it home to brighten your home for the holidays. The biggest struggle once it comes home is keeping it alive. Clark Griswold is not the least bit prepared for the arrival of Cousin Eddie, and he certainly isn’t prepared for his enormous rottweiler with a serious mucus condition.
When Snot comes into the house, he heads straight for Clark’s precious tree he inexplicably pulled out of the ground. Because of this, the tree does dry up, just as Clark predicts, making it a fire hazard later in the movie. Thanks a lot, Snot.
Humans: Ellen Leaving Clark In The Attic
One morning after the family has arrived, Clark wanders up into the attic, only to be trapped by accident by his mother-in-law Nora after she closes the ladder entrance. For some reason, everyone is in a rush to get to the mall, and when Ellen realizes Clark hasn’t come out of the house yet, she is distracted by Art, who tells her Clark can drive there on his own.
Art insists he needs to eat lunch so he can take his pills, which is selfish and ridiculous in its own right, but seriously, Ellen? Just run inside real fast and make sure that Clark isn’t having a heart attack somewhere!
Animals: Cat With Nine Lives
Cats don’t get off easy in this movie. When Aunt Bethany and Uncle Lewis come to Christmas dinner, Aunt Bethany hands the family presents, one of which turns out to be her cat she wrapped by accident. It is eventually released from captivity and hides under a chair.
When Clark tries to turn on the Christmas lights on the tree, it just so happens that the cat is also chewing on the cord, causing the tree lights to go out and leave a cat-shaped hole in the floor. Why didn’t you just go sleep on the couch like a normal cat?
Humans: Clark Being… Clark
The holidays aren’t easy for any family, especially the Griswolds. But, more often than not, Clark makes the situation worse than it already is. From nearly killing the family because he can’t stand someone passing him on the highway to sending a potentially deadly icicle through his neighbor’s window, Clark is his own worst enemy.
So many situations could have easily de-escalated if he simply took some deep breaths when he starting seeing red, rather than leaning into it. Maybe his boss should have given him a year’s subscription to Headspace instead.
Animals: Christmas Tree Squirrel Getting Loose
Thanks to the first Christmas tree literally going up in flames, Clark decides to go into the yard and cut down whatever tree he can find. After cutting it down and trimming it with all the holiday garb, he starts to hear noises coming from the tree.
To everyone’s horror, it turns out the tree was already home to a terrified squirrel, who goes through the house, breaking things and causing Snot to lose his mind. Why didn’t you get out while the getting was good, squirrel? Was the chainsaw not your first clue?
Humans: Frank Shirley And The Jelly
Clark may not be the best employee at his company, but his boss is also lacking in interpersonal skills. When Clark opens up what he thinks will be his Christmas bonus, he is infuriated to discover the bonus has little monetary value. Rather than it being some extra cash to secure the pool he’s planning to install, the gift that Frank Shirley has given Clark is a subscription for the jelly-of-the-month club.
Many other subscriptions might have proven to at least be interesting, but a jelly-of-the-month club? That’s low, Shirley.
Animals: Bad Turkey
Somehow, despite Thanksgiving being just a month earlier than Christmas, there has come to be a cultural expectation for Christmas dinner to rival that of Thanksgiving. For the Griswolds, it’s no different. But when Clark gathers the family around the table and cuts into a beautiful turkey, it practically shrivels up, to everyone’s shock and dismay.
This doesn’t stop the family from trying to eat it, however, the dry-as-a-desert turkey threatening to destroy everyone’s teeth. Suddenly, a jello mold with cat food doesn’t sound so awful.
Humans: Cousin Eddie Showing Up Unexpectedly
Clark doesn’t always get his way in Christmas Vacation, but one of his finest moments is when he finally gets all his outside Christmas lights/displays to light up the entire neighborhood, sending his electric meter overboard. He has a smile he can’t wipe off his face, walking around and hugging all the family in sight.
That is until Cousin Eddie suddenly appears out of nowhere. Nobody appreciates the family that shows up without warning, especially someone like Cousin Eddie who, among other things, disposes of his RV waste in the sewer. It’s probably the only way he can come to family events because no one in their right mind would invite him.
Animals: Snot And the Garbage
Snot doesn’t do himself any favors come Christmas dinner either. As Clark and Ellen try to enjoy their Christmas dinner, they suddenly hear Snot making gagging noises beneath their feet. After throwing up, Clark not-so-kindly suggests that Eddie shouldn’t be feeding him from the table.
Eddie thinks for a moment, then responds nonchalantly that it was probably because Snot got into the garbage. Sure enough, the camera pans to a garbage can with its contents on the floor. C’mon, Snot. Couldn’t you have just let someone feed you from the table like every other dog?
Humans: Uncle Lewis Smoking
At this point, it’s hard to decide who is the worst come Christmas dinner, but Uncle Lewis may take the cake. In addition to being a complete jerk to Aunt Bethany, he decides to leave the table and light up his cigar. Rather than simply going outside, he stands practically up against the Christmas tree while lighting up.
Thanks to the tree’s highly flammable state after being dehydrated (thanks again, Snot!), the tree goes up in a flash. Clark runs into the room, distraught and yells, “My tree!” Uncle Lewis merely responds, “So what’s the matter with you?” To top it off, he has no idea that he is on fire, causing Clark to have to bring him to the ground and put out the flames. Goodness, Lewis. You could at least thank the man for saving you from a Christmas hospital trip.
