Iconic Christmas Movie Became Reality for This Family’s Holiday Road Trip
By Movieguide® Contributor
To celebrate their son’s remission from leukemia, the Hayhurst family embarked on a road trip inspired by NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION, a journey that ended up having all too much in common with the movie.
The Hayhurst family got the green light to travel for Christmas shortly after Thanksgiving, leaving them little time to arrange their travel plans. Embracing the spirit of their favorite Christmas movie, NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION, the family rented an RV so they could drive up to their family’s house and surprise them for the holiday.
“God knows we deserve an exciting Christmas this year,” Amanda Hayhurst recalled telling her husband Marcus. “What if we surprised our families and just showed up in Indiana unannounced? Wouldn’t that be perfect?”
The movie follows the Griswold family and their humorously disastrous Christmas:
The third installment in the National Lampoon’s Vacation series, NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION, stars Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold, father of the Griswold family whose intentions to have a good Christmas with his family face several setbacks. Between his arguing parents, the uncooperative decorations, and the unexpected arrival of some unwanted distant relatives, Clark’s dreams for a wonderful Christmas seem to be fading, forcing him to take some comedically drastic measures.
Even before the Hayhursts embarked on their journey, things began to follow the spirit of the movie when the RV the family rented became unavailable after getting into an accident. Because it was now so close to Christmas, the only replacement RV available was dingy and beaten up, but the family took it anyway, just as the Griswolds would have.
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The dinginess of the vehicle extended beyond cosmetics; everything shook and rattled when they got onto the highway, forcing them to drive slower than desired and adding four hours onto the already long trip. Eventually, the Hayhurst family reached their destination and surprised everyone who had been held captive by Marcus’ sister who was in on the secret. Amanda quickly forgot the long night of family time, however, when she woke up the next morning to find the sewage of the RV had leaked everywhere inside.
The RV had struck again, ruining all of the gifts that Amanda had gathered for her family. Quality time, however, reigned supreme, and she refocused on why they had come in the first place, rather than worrying about the gifts that were now ruined.
As Christmas came to a close and the Hayhurst family prepared to return home, some of their relatives asked to join them on their trek back to Georgia. This decision proved crucial to saving Amanda, Marcus and their kids from the final of their NATIONAL LAMPOON-like journey as a rogue tire that went screaming down the highway incapacitated the RV. The family members who caravaned with the Hayhursts crammed them into their vans for the final journey home.
“Safe and sound back in Georgia, we laughed ourselves silly telling stories from this crazy trip that wouldn’t end until it had delivered all its gifts,” Amanda said. “It was the family vacation that kept on giving. I wouldn’t have changed a thing. It definitely was not the Christmas I had envisioned, but it would be a hard one to top. Perfect, you might say, for us would-be Griswolds.”
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