Like a lot of people, my favorite time of year is Christmas time. Christmas time is filled with many traditions and memories for me. Some of my favorite memories or traditions around Christmas time may include looking at Christmas lights with family, decorating the house with Christmas decorations, or just listening to some of the best Christmas songs. However, the top memories I have associated with Christmas are definitely the infamous Christmas movies.

     There are many movies that I look forward to watching every December. Some Christmas movies aren’t even considered Christmas movies to some people. Movies like Step Brothers, Die Hard, and Batman Returns are some that are considered to be Christmas movies to some people and just regular movies to others. For me, however, these are some of the greatest Christmas movies of all time. Other Christmas movies that I watch every year could be Elf, Christmas Story, and Home alone – all newer movies. There are also many Christmas classics that I enjoy. Some classic Christmas movies are Miracle on 34th Street, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Christmas Carol. While all of these movies are great, and some of my favorite Christmas movies ever, there is one movie that stands above all the rest. This movie for me is Christmas Vacation.

     Christmas Vacation was released in 1989 – one of only 2 Christmas movies released that year. With a 27 million dollar movie budget, Christmas Vacation had a rather high budget for a comedy movie. In total, though, Christmas Vacation grossed about 71 million dollars atthe box office. The movie has many popular stars. The movie’s main character is played by Chevy Chase. With many famous supporting actors like Beverly D’Angelo playing his wife Ellen, Johnny Galecki playing his son Rusty, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a neighbor, Brian Doyle-Murray (Bill Murray’s brother) as his boss, and, of course, Randy Quiad as his cousin Eddie, Christmas Vacation was no doubt a very entertaining Christmas comedy.

     Christmas Vacation is a story of a family man, Clark Griswold, just trying to have the best holiday times with his family. Clark tries to make it the best Christmas they’ve had with a perfect tree and an amazing Christmas light display. However, when Clark’s family all shows up for the holidays, especially his Cousin Eddie, the Griswold’s holiday plans get interrupted. Furthermore, Clark’s plan to get a family pool gets ruined when his boss cuts out all his company’s Christmas bonuses for that year. In the end, Cousin Eddie kidnaps Clark’s boss, and the family persuades him to reinstate all bonuses that year. 

     For those of you who haven’t watched Christmas Vacation, I highly recommend you to do so. Among some of the best Christmas movies ever, I rank Christmas Vacation first. Some other Christmas movies that are some of the best, in my opinion, are Christmas Story, Elf, and Home Alone. So, if you find yourself with a little time this holiday season, please watch Christmas Vacation, as I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

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