“It’s a beaut Clark! It’s a beaut!“
An homage to National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and its star Chevy Chase, a family in Waconia, Minnesota has been handing out “Clark W. Griswold” awards for “Excellence in Exterior Illumination” for 16 years.
A couple of members from a Waconia community page on Facebook posted the fliers left at their homes in December, wondering who to thank for the gesture. The family said through a friend that they prefer “the magic of being anonymous” when handing out these awards.
That same friend of the anonymous family told Bring Me The News they started distributing the awards in 2006, which was named for this line in the movie:
So how does the family do it?
“Sometimes we split the city and do it over a few nights, but most of the time we hop in the car and spend between 2-3 hours driving around the streets and neighborhoods,” the family said.
They do it for a number of reasons, especially when the recipients understand the movie reference.
“We appreciate the effort residents put into lighting displays and play Christmas music while we drive around — it’s FUN!” the family said. “Plus, we enjoy looking at lights — it’s always an entire family experience.”
When judging if a household is worthy the award, there are some guidelines the family follows. One rule of thumb involves no outside help with the setup, such as hiring a company to assist. It’s all about the individual effort, the family said.
“We enjoy displays that show that a lot of effort has been put into making their home look nice,” they said.
“Lights that are high up in a pine tree, or on roof peaks, or are neatly arranged and show some thought went into the display definitely grab our attention.”
