We Need To Discuss The Most Ridiculous Part Of Christmas Vacation That No One Talks About

We all have the Christmas movies we watch on repeat each December and not before December. Watching Home Alone in August doesn't feel right. If you absolutely need to watch something then throw on Die Hard because that is the most fringe Christmas movie of the bunch. 

One of the heavy hitters in my house is Christmas Vacation for a multitude of reasons:

The amount of quotable lines (mostly from Cousin Eddie):

"Clark, is your house on fire?"

"Don't push me down Clark."

"Bend over and I'll show ya."

The list goes on and on. 

The slapstick humor makes it timeless. I know every year Clark is going to mash his face with those boards but I still laugh. 

Perhaps one of the parts that makes it so great is even though it's set in 1989, is the relatability for almost anyone across the country. The hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping, year end bonuses, and of course, family. 

Maybe I noticed in previous years but there was one fact that really stuck in my craw the first time we fire it up this season and it turns out a lot of you take umbrage as well. 

I would like to make one thing extremely clear before I go any further. I love my parents and my in-laws. I absolutely enjoy spending time when they are over or when I'm visiting their homes. I got extremely lucky with fun parents and normal in-laws.

That said, I cannot imagine having them in my house for 10 DAYS leading up to Christmas. You could give me a 20,000 sq ft house and it would still feel like they are on top of me at all times. Hosting Christmas is hectic. The week and a half leading up to hosting is a massive undertaking if you're doing it right. A ton of prep goes into all the accoutrements, food, and errands that are required for a Martha Stewart-esque day.  

Now imagine your mom is there asking where you keep your Splenda? Or your old man has too much cheese and makes a mess of your toilet. The amount of times you see your wife mentally lose it on your mother-in-law would be off the charts. (Speaking of, Ellen Griswold's parents are absolutely brutal. If my father-in-law insulted me at every turn I'd probably cry.) Throw a 1 year old and dogs in the mix and it was probably less chaotic leaving Saigon.

I will never stop loving Christmas, that's a promise, but I guess you view these movies differently as you get older. In fact, they become less "movie" and more just "life."

"It's Christmas and we're all in misery."