If you’re a fan of the classic holiday movie, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, you may have wondered what was in the tree that caused such chaos. In case you haven’t seen it, here’s a quick recap: Clark Griswold (played by Chevy Chase) is determined to give his family the perfect Christmas, but everything seems to go wrong. One of the most memorable scenes involves the family Christmas tree.
The Tree
The Griswold family sets out to find the perfect tree, which they eventually find after a wild ride through the woods. The tree is massive and barely fits in their living room.
As Clark attempts to put up the tree, he notices a squirrel hiding in it. He tries to shoo it out, but it escapes into their house.
The Chaos Begins
The squirrel may not seem like a big deal at first, but it sets off a chain reaction of events that leads to chaos. First, the family cat chases after the squirrel and knocks over some decorations.
Then, Clark’s son Rusty (played by Johnny Galecki) accidentally electrocutes himself while trying to turn on some Christmas lights that were plugged into an overloaded outlet. Next, Clark’s wife Ellen (played by Beverly D’Angelo) discovers that their snobby neighbors are coming over for dinner and she hasn’t prepared anything.
The Consequences
As if things couldn’t get worse, when Clark goes outside to hide his Christmas bonus from his boss in his car, he accidentally locks himself out of his house with no coat or shoes on. To make matters even more humiliating, he has to wear his wife’s robe and slippers while waiting for someone to let him back inside.
The Final Straw
After all of these mishaps, Clark finally loses it when he discovers that his boss didn’t give him a bonus after all. He goes on a tirade, which includes the famous line “Where’s the Tylenol?”.
The Lesson
While the scene with the tree and the squirrel may be funny, it also serves as a reminder that sometimes even the smallest things can set off a chain reaction of events. It’s important to take a step back and laugh at ourselves when things don’t go according to plan.
- Clark’s determination to give his family the perfect Christmas ultimately led to chaos.
- The squirrel in the tree set off a chain reaction of events that led to mishaps and mayhem.
- The scene serves as a reminder to not take things too seriously and to laugh at ourselves when things don’t go according to plan.
So, what was in the tree in Christmas Vacation? Just a small squirrel that caused big problems for the Griswold family.