Christmas with Cousin Eddie Party

Christmas Vacation.

Quite possibly the best Christmas movie ever made. (There are many great Christmas movies– Home Alone is another classic fave– but there’s room for several “best” Christmas movies on any list!)

Christmas Vacation!

The thing about Christmas Vacation is that people of all ages and all generations appreciate this movie. It holds a special place in the hearts of Americans that not just any movie holds!

For this reason, plus the fact that it’s just freaking hilarious, my husband and I have begun an annual traditiion of throwing a Christmas Vacation themed party. We like to call it “Christmas With Cousin Eddie.”

Christmas With Cousin Eddie Invitation

I had a little bit too much fun getting ready for this party, so I thought I’d share some of my favorite details of this shin-dig! The party took place over the weekend and it was so. much. fun. It’s becoming a much anticipated (for Price and me, anyway!) yearly tradition!

Food and drink is the area in which I had the most fun, I think… Here are a couple of the things we served (with movie quotes when appropriate!)

Christmas with Cousin Eddie Party

Egg nog was a must. We let people add their own poison, since I’m not a good judge when it comes to mixing sometimes… When served in the moose mugs like what they use in the movie, the nog tastes so much better!

Christmas with Cousin Eddie Party

Quick shot of the aforementioned moose mug

I also wanted to have one other cocktail on hand for people to sip on, so I made a blue margarita and called it “The Blue Leisure Suit” since Eddie famously wore one during part of the movie.

Christmas with Cousin Eddie Party

The Blue Leisure Suit

Now, one of the best scenes in the movie comes when Clark famously receives a letter from his boss informing him of his end-of-the-year bonus: Enrollment in the Jelly of the Month club. So we got several types of jelly, re-labeled them, and stuck them on a cheese and cracker tray!

Christmas with Cousin Eddie Party

The December jelly of the month won the popular vote this year! It was strawberry.

Right after Clark got this disappointing bonus, he goes on a side-splitting tear about his boss! We just had to have that rant represented, sans bad words! 🙂 (Actually I missed one word on accident. I’ll remember to “bow” it out next year!)

Christmas with Cousin Eddie Party

Christmas with Cousin Eddie Party

“Where’s the Tylenol?” (or white MnM’s, so people can actually eat it!)

Another food item representing part of the movie was some puppy chow, representative of the massive amounts of dog food Eddie buys on his and Clark’s trip to Wal-Mart.

Ol' Roy

Eddie buying Ol’ Roy dog food

Christmas with Cousin Eddie Party

Our human-consumable version of dog food!

The last food item to share with you is the infamous green jell-o mold… Remember the scene where delusional Aunt Bethany brings a green jell-o mold with cat food in it to the family dinner? We had to have that represented, so we did a mold, but used Cheerios instead of cat food. It was more for a visual, but people did end up eating some!

Christmas with Cousin Eddie Party

Our version of the green Jell-o mold, made with Cheerios instead of cat food!

Enough with the food… Now for decorations and costumes!

Christmas with Cousin Eddie Party

A myriad of colored and reindeer lights add a little to the tacky theme we were sticking to!

One of my personal favorite sequences in the movie is at the very beginning of the movie when Clark and Ellen take the kids to the wilderness to cut down a Christmas tree for their house. They end up getting a HUGE one, so when they take it inside the house and realize it’s way too big, Clark says “Little full. Lotta sap.” Gets me every time! So we had to represent that somehow!

Christmas with Cousin Eddie Party

“Little full. Lotta sap”

After the “full” tree in the movie burns up and is replaced with a more normal sized one, there’s a great scene where a squirrel jumps out of the tree at Clark. When your husband comes from a family full of hunters, you might be as fortunate as I was  to find a stuffed squirrel laying around at the deer camp. Thankfully my father-in-law had no sentimental attachment to the stuffed critter, so we snagged him and stuck him in the tree!

Christmas With Cousin Eddie PartyI’ve saved my very favorite detail of this particular party for last: My husband’s outfit.

He scoured the internet and found an outfit almost EXACTLY like the one Cousin Eddie wears in the scene I like to call “the eggnog scene.” Green polyester pants, a white v-neck sweater, and a black dickie under the semi-transparent sweater. Oh, and the shoes! The white patent shoes! Price was able to find some of those too… Ladies and gentlemen… I present to you… Price as Cousin Eddie:

I'm married to Cousin Eddie...

I’m married to Cousin Eddie…

Another key to getting this look down pat was the exorbitant amounts of really strong hair gel we used to get his hair to stay like that. It was intense.

Here’s a full body shot of Price with his friend Jared, who also had the pretty sweet blue leisure suit look going on. These boys nailed it!!

Christmas with Cousin EddieFor next year’s big par-tay, I’m going to be on the lookout for one of those little candle-powered windmills like what Eddie breaks in the egg nog scene as well as some of the silver suits that Todd and Margo wear after they work out.

If anyone finds a good deal on either of these, please keep me posted! The party will be much better next year with these additions! 😉

*****addendum*****

>> As this party grows each year, so does the quality! I now have food/drink labels, quote bubbles, and jelly of the month club labels available as printables on my etsy shop! <<

>> See recap of CHRISTMAS WITH COUSIN EDDIE 2019 here <<
>> See recap of CHRISTMAS WITH COUSIN EDDIE 2017 here <<
>> See recap of CHRISTMAS WITH COUSIN EDDIE 2016 here <<
>> See recap of CHRISTMAS WITH COUSIN EDDIE 2015 here <<
>> See recap of CHRISTMAS WITH COUSIN EDDIE 2013 here <<
>> See recap of CHRISTMAS WITH COUSIN EDDIE 2012 here <<

21 Comments

  1. Nikki @Seeded at the Table December 15, 2013 / 9:49 pm

    What a great party! Love all the details you put into it. And, here’s a funny story: My husband found your site when Googling ideas for a Christmas Vacation party. He read your post, laughed and said you had great ideas so handed me his phone to read it. As I was reading it, somehow I started thinking “This girl sounds like she lives in Mississippi.” 🙂 I’m not sure why I was thinking that (actually, the “deer camp” tipped me off, I think) and then I hopped over to your Etsy site and saw you’re in Madison, right here in the same town as me!

    All that to say, we might just crash your “Christmas with Cousin Eddie” party since we’re probably neighbors. haha! 🙂

    Merry Christmas!
    -Nikki

    • thelovelybee December 17, 2013 / 11:18 am

      That is hilarious!!! I love it! I’ll email you an invite to this year’s party! We’d LOVE y’all to join us!

  2. Dave December 25, 2015 / 6:40 pm

    Hi

    I would love to do one of these next year. Where did you get the moose glasses as they look a lot more authentic than the ones I’ve seen for sale on the internet.

    Happy Holidays 🙂

  3. Sarah November 30, 2016 / 12:19 pm

    Hi!! I love this!! May I ask where you got your printables for like where’s the Tylenol etc??

    • thelovelybee November 30, 2016 / 12:32 pm

      Hey! Thank you!!! I actually just made all of them in photoshop! You are the second person today to ask about printables, though, so I definitely need to make some for people to download!!!! Not sure I’ll get to that in time for this year’s parties though!

  4. Ginger December 21, 2018 / 9:33 pm

    I’ve been trying to make the jello mold but mine always turns out runny. Did you really just use regular package directions and it set up correctly? Both the hot and the cold water? (I even tried the “Jigglers” recipe with just the hot water but it didn’t set up 100% and tasted kind of gross.)

    • Laurel at THE HIVE December 23, 2018 / 2:43 pm

      Hey Ginger! I typically just buy the grocery store brand of lime jello and made it according to the box! I do typically double it before letting it set in a bundt pan… Not sure if that makes a difference or not. So sorry I don’t have any better tips for you!

  5. Wayne January 13, 2019 / 8:32 pm

    Laurel, trying to find a white v-neck sweater that will definitely show through the dickie. I see you succeeded! Possible to let me know which one you purchased? thx!!!

    • Laurel at THE HIVE January 14, 2019 / 10:00 am

      Hey Wayne! Sadly, the online shop where we purchased ours is no longer up! If I find something that would work, I’ll email you!

      • Wayne January 14, 2019 / 11:45 am

        Not a problem! I’ll continue the search…thx!

  6. DominionCinemas September 28, 2023 / 11:19 am

    What a holly jolly read! This post perfectly captures the festive spirit of a Christmas with Cousin Eddie party. The decor ideas, recipes, and party tips are not only creative but also practical, making it easy to bring the fun and chaos of the Griswold family into our own homes. I absolutely love the attention to detail and the enthusiasm that shines through every word. Thank you for sharing such a delightful and nostalgic post that got me in the merry mood, just in time for the holiday season! Cheers to creating unforgettable memories and celebrating with a touch of eccentricity. Warm regards, Gary Ford

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