Christmas Vacation Party 2018

We hosted our 2nd annual National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation Party. Read below for details on Griswold-inspired decorations, costumes, snacks and drinks to have your own Christmas Vacation movie party.

Our 2nd annual Christmas Vacation movie viewing party was a hit! It was so fun to see our friends get into the Griswold spirit and show up in their tackiest Christmas Vacation movie inspired costumes.

Christmas Vacation Party Costumes

Although this year we didn’t have any Cousin Eddie’s, we had THREE couples show up as Margo and Todd in their sweatsuits. HA! We had a couple variations of Clark, and my favorite was Clark’s wife! This friend spent the prior evening making her costume. She took an old dress and folded it under to look like a skirt, then took the lace from the arms of a shirt and sewed them to the neckline of another shirt! Creative!

I was Clark’s boss after Cousin Eddie kidnapped him and tied him up in a Christmas bow. This costume was the cheapest because I wore flannel PJ’s I already had (even though they were pink) and then bought a $3.00 bow at Hobby Lobby to hang around my heck. Easy peasy!

Can you guess Ben’s character? He planned this since the last party two years ago! He is the delivery boy who delivers Clark’s Christmas bonus and accidentally tears the wreath and doorknocker off the door.

Here’s a side by side:

Christmas Vacation Party Food Menu

We served the same line up of food and drinks as we did two years ago, but added a couple of extras.

Make Your Own Old Fashioned – After seeing this idea from another blogger’s party, I decided to add it to our menu as well. Everything was set out for guests to create their own Old Fashioned drink.

Evan Williams Egg Nog – Two years ago I made alcohol-free Egg Nog, but this year guests brought Evan Williams Egg Nog that we always heard was the best. And, it is! It’s really good! I have four moose mugs I set out for the Egg Nog, as well as just regular plastic cups.

Ol’ Roy Puppy Chow – This is definitely a favorite every time. It’s our favorite Puppy Chow mix (or Muddy Buddies, whatever you decide to call it).

Tic Tac Tylenol – For the “Tylenol” this year I used Tic Tacs instead of the white chocolate candies (like M&M’s). This was WAY cheaper and provided a breath mint for guests. To create the Tylenol container, I used an empty toilet paper roll and printed a Tylenol label from my computer to tape around it.

Trailer Trash – I served this last time, but didn’t post a photo of it because I was hesitant about the title of the dish, not wanting to offend anyone. I’m thinking of renaming it to RV Trash or something less offensive… any ideas? This isn’t a recipe, I just bought Pub Mix (similar to Chex Mix) from Sam’s Club and poured it into a bowl.

Aunt Bethany’s Jello Mold – This year, my jello mold was actually edible and delicious! I posted the recipe so you can make it, too. It’s a Pineapple Lime Jello Mold — yum!

Melted Ice – Another idea from a blogger, calling the water “Melted Ice” for the scene where ice crashed through the window in Margo and Todd’s house and they wonder why the carpet is all wet.

Door Knocker Pesto Wreath – This was actually my idea this time! This is an appetizer I made several times this season and realized it was a perfect themed dish for our Christmas Vacation party. It represents the delivery boy who brings the Jelly of the Month bonus and knocks the wreath off the door. The recipe is actually very easy and can be found here.

Mary’s Luscious Slush Punch – This punch is amazingly delicious. This was the second time I served this punch, and I keep meaning to post the recipe. Hopefully I will soon! In the meantime you can Google search for a strawberry slush punch recipe and come up with something close. It’s actually a combination of strawberry, pineapple, orange juices with Sprite! SO good!

Christmas Vacation Party Decorations

For decorations, I used the same props we had last time. I did update the cat “fried” into the floor this year, though, because it didn’t make it through storage since it was made of black construction paper. This year, I used black fabric so it should store better for next time!

One couple at the party brought their life-size Clark Griswold cut-out. We propped it against the tree for fun photo-ops! They promised to bring it every year!