Counting down the days until Christmas means curling up on the couch with friends and family with a warm cup of hot chocolate to watch traditional holiday films.

A must see, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is simply the best one out there.

This film brings out all the the best during the holiday season including laughter, love and the deeper meaning of Christmas.

This Christmas movie stands apart from the others because it is family friendly and can be understood by all ages, but never gets old.

Growing older, the once magical holiday loses some of its spark. This movie never fails to put you in the Christmas spirit. Traditional movies like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman are fun to watch and later make you reminisce about childhood, but aren’t movies you really enjoy watching over and over again, simply because you have outgrown them.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation really emphasizes the idea that no matter how many obstacles you have to overcome during the holiday season, all of that will be overlooked when you are spending quality time with the people you love.

The characters in this film  have a deeper meaning, relating back to all sorts of families during this time of year.

Cousin Eddie and his family, for example, resemble the less fortunate that can’t always provide their families with loads of gifts under the tree. They purely live through the holidays as joy of being with family as their gift.

Clark Griswold, as said many times in the film, is a true “family man.” Clark tries so hard to overdo everything to make his family Christmas perfect, even though it can cause him look like a fool. Clark is one of the funny factors of the film, but he invites the entire family into his home for Christmas, sets out to find a worthy Christmas tree and covers the house in Christmas lights, all out of his heart to make his family happy during this time of year.

The holidays can become so stressful, but watching movies like this one with family can be a great reprieve, and can also serve as a reminder of what Christmas is really about.

This movie has so many “one-liners” that after you have seen it so many times,  you will be able to recite full scenes. The memories I will forever hold onto is laughing to my favorite scenes of the movie with friends and family during this time of year.

I would 100 percent recommend to anyone to watch National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation during the holidays. It’s the moments watching movies and spending time with loved ones that make an impact on your life, not the gifts we open on Christmas day.