There will always be a special place in my heart for Jeremiah Chechik’s National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. In my adult life, I have made it a Christmas eve tradition to rival any sappy joy-filled movie you may watch with your family. Whether I’m hundreds of miles from home or right next to close friends and family, this movie reminds me of the best Christmas years of my own life. Large family gatherings, plenty of food and yes, plenty of Auxillary Nuclear power-required mishaps. There is no Christmas like a Griswold Family Christmas. And to celebrate this love, our weekly Scenes We Love entry takes a look at one of Clark Griswold’s most iconic and explosive moments.

It’s the final countdown. Dunuh na naaaa. Less than two weeks to go until Christmas, so naturally now’s the time to start buying things. Who needs organizational skills when you can imbue that action-film frenzied spirit into your final rounds of festive gift buying? Since I’m the collectible fiend around these parts, I’ve been tasked with listing the essential holiday gifts from that world for every film fan. It hasn’t been easy, and I’ve mentally spent way too much money in compiling the list myself. But hey, occupational hazard. Anyway, here follows 15 of the must-have collectibles for this holiday season, some regulars of the Merch Hunter column will recognize, and some will be brand new. Either way, they’re what movie lovers want. As this is my handiwork, you can expect a general mix of the uber-expensive and ultra-collectible as well as the affordable and accessible, more charming options. No snob am I….

Well, Merry whatever you celebrate. Because no matter what it is, we’ll be there to celebrate (and drink heavily) right alongside you. All of you. Seriously.

Clark W. Griswold (Chevy Chase) just wants to have a good ole’ fashioned family Christmas at his place, but Karma (or some other unstoppable, twisted force) is working against him.

And in the spirit of all things Christmas, this being Christmas Eve and all, I’ve decided that a clip from my personal favorite holiday comedy is more than appropriate.

There are many elements that go into our favorite Christmas movies. The least of which often being the quality of the actual film. In general, I’ve found that most people cling to Christmas movies to which they can relate, or that they’ve shared fondly in years past with friends and family.