Have you ever sat and watched a great holiday film, or one of the classic Christmas TV episodes and wondered where they shot it? While many times it’s shot on a Hollywood backlot, sometimes even during the summer, you can find numerous locations out in the real world where famous moments from your favorite holiday movies were originally shot. Here are five locations you can visit today from some of the great holiday classics.
Breckenridge Ski Resort
In the film National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, there’s a scene in which the family patriarch, Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) speeds down a snowy hill on a greased-up metal sled. This scene takes place somewhere in the Chicago suburbs, but the sledding was actually shot at Breckenridge Ski Resort in Breckenridge, Colorado, on Peak 8. If Christmas Vacation is one of your holiday traditions, this is a great way to get away and enjoy one of the moments from one of your favorite holiday films in a new way.
Starved Rock State Park
While the original exact location of a scene from the film Prancer is no longer available to the public, you can visit the park where they shot a scene in which Prancer meets up with Santa again after a long time apart. Interestingly, films are no longer allowed at the state park, supposedly because the film crew cut down a large tree during filming.
The House from A Christmas Story
Ralphie and the rest of the Parker family lived in the fictional Hohman, Indiana, which was actually portrayed by Cleveland, in the film. While the neighborhood that gave us the exterior of the house from A Christmas Story has changed over the years, the house’s exterior has not. The interior, however, has been changed to match the film as closely as possible, since the interiors were shot on a set, as in most films. You can stay in the house, get a tour featuring real props and, of course, visit the gift shop for a leg lamp and more goodies from the film.
The House from Home Alone
Located at 671 Lincoln Ave in Winnetka, Illinois is the house that poses as the exterior for the McAllister’s residence in the first two Home Alone films. The ten bedroom home is a private residence, though they have in the past opened it up to rent on AirBNB, with the interior of the house mad up to resemble the interior of the house from the film (those scenes were filmed on a set in Illinois – inside an old school gymnasium).
The Town from The Santa Clause
While The Santa Clause, starring Tim Allen takes place somewhere in Illinois, the part of the town is actually played by Oakville, in Canada, just outside of Toronto. Much of the town’s main street was featured in the film, and many of the original shops are still there, as well. You can also visit the Toronto Zoo while you’re there, as some of the film was also shot in the zoo.