Christmas Vacation was directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik, written and co-produced by John Hughes, and starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, and Randy Quaid with supporting roles by Miriam Flynn, William Hickey, Mae Questel (in her final film role before her death in 1998), Diane Ladd, John Randolph, E.G. Marshall, Doris Roberts, Juliette Lewis, and Johnny Galecki.

Filming took place in Summit County, Colorado, Silverthorne, Breckenridge, and Frisco as well as Burbank, California between March and June 1989.

Clark's holiday plans inadvertently cause steadily escalating chaos for the family's yuppie neighbors, Todd and Margo Chester.

He covers the house's entire exterior with thousands of lights, which temporarily cause a citywide power shortage once he gets them to work properly.

Ellen's cousin Catherine and her redneck husband Eddie arrive unannounced with two of their younger children, Rocky and Ruby Sue, and their pet Rottweiler, Snots.

Frank's wife Helen calls the police and a SWAT team storms the Griswold house and holds everyone at gunpoint.

Frank decides not to press charges and explains the situation to his wife and the SWAT leader, both of whom scold him for canceling the bonuses until he reveals his change of heart.

Before Clark can stop him, Uncle Lewis lights another cigar and tosses the match into the drain, causing a giant gas explosion which sets a Santa's sleigh decoration afire and launches it into the sky.

The entire family, along with the Shirleys and the SWAT team, go inside to celebrate while Clark and Ellen share a Christmas kiss.

[9] From there the production moved to Warner Bros. Ranch Facilities in Burbank, California, where the set of the Griswold family's house and street is located.

[11] The song was covered in 2007 by High School Musical star Monique Coleman for the 2007 Christmas album Disney Channel Holiday.

In 1999, a bootleg copy containing music featured in the film along with select cuts of dialogue dubbed as the "10th Anniversary Limited Edition" began to appear on Internet auction sites with the claim that Warner Bros. and RedDotNet had pressed 20,000 CDs for Six Flags Magic Mountain employees to sell to customers entering the park but that only 7,000 had been sold and now the remainder were being made available to the public.

The site's consensus reads, "While Christmas Vacation may not be the most disciplined comedy, it's got enough laughs and good cheer to make for a solid seasonal treat.

[30] Entertainment magazine Variety responded positively to the film stating, "Solid family fare with plenty of yucks, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is Chevy Chase and brood doing what they do best.

"[31] Rita Kempley of The Washington Post gave the film a positive review explaining that "it will prove pater-familiar to fans of the 1983 original and the European Vacation sequel.

Randy Quaid, Miriam Flynn, and Dana Barron reprise their roles from the previous Vacation films alongside series newcomers Jake Thomas, Edward Asner, Sung Hi Lee, and Fred Willard.