My house exploded today. That tends to happen when you combine three excited kids with four tubs of Christmas decorations.
But the official start of the season doesn't happen until husband and I and the kids watch Christmas Vacation.
There are so many great lines to this movie. But by far our favorite is this exchange:
Clark: "So, when did you get the tenement on wheels?"
Eddie: "Oh, that uh, that there's an RV. Yeah, yeah, I borrowed it off a buddy of mine. He took my house, I took the RV. It's a good looking vehicle, ain't it?"
Clark: "Yeah, it looks so nice parked in the driveway."
Eddie: "Yeah, it sure does. But, don't you go falling in love with it now, because, we're taking it with us when we leave here next month."
This line is all the more funny to my husband since many members of my family have RVs. We even have an entire weekend-long family reunion where we all stay in RVs (and some tents). I have to confess that during my youth I did sleep in an RV parked in a far-off relative's driveway. We did refrain from causing an explosive sewer situation--I'm pretty sure.
I think that every family has a little Griswold in them. We think Christmas has to be perfect, with big, fancy meals, spectacular decorations, and a huge family gathering. All of these things are great, of course, and I pursue them with all the enthusiasm of a traditional small town American woman. But as this movie reassures us, things can go wrong, terribly wrong.
So as we enter December and Christmas season enters its second (third) month, I hope your lights are untangled, your trees not too sappy, your family well-behaved, your moose mugs full of eggnog and your sled rides relaxing. Mele Kalikimaka.