Before Clark Griswold was stringing thousands of Christmas lights across his roof and Cousin Eddie was emptying his RV’s septic tank, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation started as something much smaller.
In December 1980, John Hughes published a short story titled “Christmas ’59” in National Lampoon magazine. Nine years later, that story would serve as the inspiration for one of the most recognizable holiday comedies of all time.
Hughes, who also wrote and directed classics including The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, had a long-standing relationship with the humor magazine. Before becoming one of Hollywood’s most recognizable filmmakers, he worked in advertising in Chicago and began submitting short stories to National Lampoon.
“Christmas ’59” followed a family navigating the chaos of an old-fashioned Christmas celebration, complete with relatives, presents, and plenty of unexpected mishaps. The original story was told from the perspective of a child and drew on the kind of family holiday dysfunction that would eventually become central to the movie.
Interestingly, the story was set in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, where Hughes grew up, rather than the Chicago suburbs where the film takes place. The Griswold family name also has a Detroit connection, reportedly inspired by Griswold Street in the city.
When the studio approached Hughes about making another Vacation movie, he initially wasn’t eager to revisit the franchise, but he eventually agreed because he had a story he wanted to bring to the screen.
“The studio came to me and begged for another one, and I only agreed because I had a good story to base it on,” Hughes said, according to Turner Classic Movies.
The result was National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, which arrived in theaters on December 1, 1989. Directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik and written by Hughes, the movie starred Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold and Beverly D’Angelo as his wife, Ellen.
Unlike the family’s previous adventures, Clark wasn’t planning a cross-country road trip or a European getaway. He simply wanted to give his family the perfect Christmas at home. Naturally, just about everything that could go wrong did. From an unexpected visit from Cousin Eddie to a Christmas tree that brings an unwelcome surprise, the movie turned the familiar stress of holiday gatherings into comedy.
More than three decades later, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation remains a seasonal favorite, with audiences returning to the Griswolds’ chaotic holiday celebration year after year.
Related: M&M’s Is Giving Its Holiday Candy a Makeover Inspired by ‘Elf,’ ‘A Christmas Story’ and ‘Christmas Vacation’
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