Real Estate

All I want for Christmas are these holiday movie homes. What about you?

Where are they? How much are they? And can you even buy them?

It's been 35 years since Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) decked the halls in "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." The movie is now showing on MAX, Warner Bros.

By Eileen Woods

November 27, 2024

If the Griswolds had lived in a homeowners association, they wouldn’t have had to deal with Cousin Eddie for long.

The HOA would have lost its mind when the cigar-smoking, bathrobe-wearing rube parked his RV in the driveway, let alone when he emptied its waste tank in the sewer.

“And why is the street all wet and stinky, Todd?”

“I don’t KNOW, Margo! Call the HOA!”

As we add items to our holiday wish-lists, we take a look back at the homes in films that tugged at our heartstrings, fueled our envy, and tickled our funny bones. Can you buy these yuletide properties? And even if you could, would you?

“National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” (1989)

What father hasn’t felt like Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) from time to time? As the bumbling partriarch, Clark tries to get in a festive mood only to have his plans continually go awry, whether it’s the delay of a Christmas bonus or the excessively rude intrusion on his family’s Christmas by relatives. – Warner Brothers

The homes featured in holiday movies are often in the poshest of neighborhoods, and the Griswolds’ home is no exception. While the holiday classic is set in a tony Chicago suburb, the home itself was actually on the Warner Bros. backlot in Burbank, Calif., and a only few years ago was “almost unrecognizable from the time that Clark W. Griswold (Chevy Chase) hung lights there in 1989,” Los Angeles Magazine wrote in 2013. The green shutters, arched dormers, and bay windows were gone.

Now the whole house is gone. (So are the homes from “Bewitched,” “The Middle,” and more.)

Warner Bros. bulldozed that backlot two years ago.

✏️Of note Los Angeles Magazine had also reported that the Griswolds’ home was used in the films “American Beauty” and “Pleasantville,” among others.

So, how much?

🏡In Northbrook, Ill., the Chicago suburb where director John Hughes grew up and that stood in for the fake town of Sherman in so many of his movies, the median home value was $613,318 on Nov. 13, according to Zillow. The Chicago area has seen an exodus of the wealthy and a subsequent decline in home prices (even Michael Jordan had a hard time finding a buyer for his mansion), Bloomberg reported on Nov. 14, but that doesn’t appear to be affecting Northbrook, which has seen a 6 percent increase in home values year over year, according to Zillow.

💰A four-bedroom home that is a modern take on a Colonial like the one the Griswolds owned was recently on the market for $1,179,000. Not included: a tree squirrel and a subscription to the jelly of the month club.

➡️If the price is too steep, and you don’t want to move to Chicago, you can re-create the holiday house in gingerbread with a kit sold on Instacart. Price: $17.29

“Home Alone” (1990)

holiday movie house — Security cameras are installed at the house featured in the movie “Home Alone” in Winnetka, Ill., in 2021. *– Youngrae Kim for The Washington Post*

If you want to buy the home from this storied holiday franchise, you’re just about out of luck — again. First, you missed when the owners rented it out as an Airbnb for a one-night stay back in 2021. Now, the sale of the brick Colonial at 671 Lincoln Ave. in Winnetka, Ill., is imminent.

So how much?

💰The 9,126-square-feet, five-bedroom, six-bathroom house includes a wood-burning fireplace and a hot tub. There’s also an indoor basketball court without a scary basement furnace in sight. The home was expanded and renovated in 2018. It had an asking price of $5,250,000, and the sale is pending, according to Zillow, so you’ll have to find another spot to keep your pet tarantula.

➡️Sad you missed out? If you can’t get enough of this house or movie, you can catch it when the Holiday Pops perform “Home Alone in Concert” on Dec. 27-Dec. 29.

“The Santa Clause” (1994)

This film was set in Chicago, but the home where (spoiler alert) Santa Claus fell off the roof is at 17 Chisholm St. in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. It’s a three-bedroom town house overlooking Tannery Park. You’ll have to find another dining room to eat your little slice of cheesecake, creme brulee, and hot fudge sundae with extra fudge.

So how much?

💰Apparently Ontario guards the prices of some homes like the nuclear codes, but an attached town home in this area can set you back about a $1 million in Canadian dollars.

➡️Sad you missed out? You can re-create Santa’s fall, albeit safely on a toy ladder, with this climbing Kris Kringle on Amazon. Price: $97.04.

“Elf” (2003)

holiday homes elf — Actor Will Ferrell (Right) played Buddy the Elf in the hit movie. – REUTERS/Alan Markfield/New Line Productions/Handout

You’ll have to “sit on a throne of lies” somewhere else unless you can fork over several million dollars with your maple syrup spaghetti.

So, really. How much?

💰A three-bedroom apartment at 55 Central Park West in Manhattan sold for $4.8 million, but that was back in 2020. We assume that Walter and Emily Hobbs had a three-bedroom unit because they had a bedroom, Michael had his own, and there was a guest room for Buddy.

➡️Sad you missed out? You can catch a performance of “Elf, Jr.” at the Sorenson Center for the Arts in Wellesley on Dec. 13-15. Remember: The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear, but don’t do that during the performance unless they specifically ask you to. If you do it anyway, you’re a “son of a nutcracker!”

“The Family Stone” (2005)

Much of this movie was shot in New Jersey, but this stately mansion is at 144 Riverside Ave. in Riverside, Conn. The home, which has five bedrooms and 3.5 baths and sits on 1.4 acres, is not on the market, according to Zillow.

So how much?

💰Zillow’s Zestimate has it valued at $5.13 million.

➡️Sad you missed out? You can fill up on relationship troubles with Meredith Goldstein’s Love Letters column and on caustic family dynamics in Robin Abraham’s Miss Conduct column, including relatives that secretly abscond with the leftovers. I know you have a freak flag, so you’d better fly it.

“The Holiday” (2006)

The home where Amanda (Cameron Diaz) lives and where Iris (Kate Winslet) spends her Christmas vacation is at 1883 Orlando Road in San Marino, Calif. This Spanish Colonial property that architect Wallace Neff built for himself has seven bedrooms, 6.5 baths, a walk-in bar, iron wall sconces, and a library with a fireplace and a carved wood ceiling, according to Zillow.

💰Zillow’s Zestimate has it valued at $11.12 million.

➡️Sad you missed out? I know we all “understand feeling as small and as insignificant as humanly possible,” but “be the leading lady in your own life” and go find your holiday cheer at “The Slutcracker,” a saucy adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s famed 1890s ballet now through Dec. 31 at the Somerville Theatre.

“Miracle on 34th Street” (1947)

You’ll have to head to Long Island to find the dream home of Susan Walker (Natalie Wood). Located at 24 Derby Road in Port Washington, N.Y., the home with the front shed dormer (number of bedrooms unknown) sits on more than a quarter acre. According to the Long Island Press, the weather was so cold when the movie was filmed that it froze the cameras, nearly nixing the famous shot of the home’s exterior.

So how much?

💰Zillow’s Zestimate has it valued at roughly $1 million.

➡️Sad you missed out? Don’t be a Doris Walker (Maureen O’Hara) and believe that Christmas is only for children. Join the Bad Santa Bar Crawl, which includes venues in the Theatre District, Seaport, West End, Downtown, and Fenway neighborhoods. It’s happening on Dec. 10. Just don’t tug on anyone’s beard.

“A Christmas Story” (1983)

A Christmas Story holiday house — . – Larry E. Highbaugh, Jr for ThisIsCleveland.com

Snagging this house would have been a major award, but you’re too late. The home at 3159 West 11th St. in Cleveland sold in October 2023, but it’s a museum you can tour. It won’t be the same without the bloodhounds next door.

So how much?

💰Zillow’s Zestimate has the four-bedroom home valued at $188,000.

➡️Sad you missed out? Just as Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) astutely noted: ” Oh, life is like that. Sometimes, at the height of our revelries, when our joy is at its zenith, when all is most right with the world, the most unthinkable disasters descend upon us.” Oh, fudge!

Cheer up. Drink some Ovaltine and order the “Christmas Story” advent calendar, which has a picture of the house on the box and a figurine of an annoyed Ralphie in his pink bunny suit. It’s $14.31 on Amazon. While you’re there, consider the “Oh, fudge” and “You’ll shoot your eye out” pair of holiday towels. Price: $17.99.

Ho, ho, ho! (Shove).