Once Thanksgiving is over, it is officially the holiday season! At least, that’s when I’m willing to start decorating and celebrating.
Growing up, one of my all time favorite Christmas movies was A Christmas Story. I don’t really know why, it just was and I’ve loved it ever since. Now, in 2022, they have released a sequel (a real one not a crappy one that no one should ever speak about) called A Christmas Story Christmas starring Peter Billingsley as Ralphie again as he goes back home with his family to spend Christmas with his mom since his Old Man recently passed away. He sees a lot of friends and foes from the first movie, which makes for an incredibly nostalgic 98 minutes.
Chris and I watched it after decorating the tree and I absolutely loved it. It’s hard to make a sequel and have fans feel the same way they did watching the original. It’s obviously not the same, but there are so many Easter eggs and references from the first movie that make you feel warm and fuzzy inside.
But this isn’t a movie review, I’ll leave those to Chris, though I do highly recommend you watch it. Several years ago I learned that the house Ralphie grew up in actually exists and sits as a museum and hotel-ish spot in Cleveland, OH. Since the discovery, I’ve wanted to visit it so bad. It wasn’t until this year that we finally pulled the trigger and got tickets online. I had learned that the owner was selling the place (thankfully they’re looking for someone to keep up the tradition and keep it to it’s movie-like state) and that was the biggest factor that made me say, “we’re going!”
Let me just tell you how incredible of an experience it was. The feeling I got when we pulled up to the street and the house was just right there… That was so cool.
They own I think 3-4 different properties: A Christmas Story House, The Bumpus House (you remember the dogs who ate the turkey), the gift shop across the street and the museum. You start your journey at the gift shop and they send you over to the house to do your tour. Ours was self guided but it’s usually guided, I believe. The house is set up as a replica of the house in the movie and they made it interactive so you can touch things, which I thought was such a different experience. You see the living room with the tree, presents and leg lamp, the upstairs with Ralphie and Randy’s room, the bathroom with the soap and Little Orphan Annie decoder, the kitchen with the turkey and the backyard. I have to say that the coolest part was the phone upstairs. They had it so you could pick it up and you heard the phone dialogue when Ralphie’s mom called Schwartz’s mom when he said he learned “oh fudge” from him… When it was really his Old Man. That is a plot piece that bothers me, but I digress. That was such a cool piece of the experience.
After you see the house, you go across the street and see the museum which has the real props and costumes from the movie, which is why the house is able to be as interactive as it is. You learn about the cast, see behind the scenes photos and see the iconic costumes worn in the movie.
Then of course there’s the gift shop, where you inevitably spend your money at… I know I did!
A Christmas Story House was such a fun experience and I’m so happy I finally got to see it with my own eyes. It’s one of those things you say you’ll have to do one day but don’t really get to it. I have to say that I highly recommend it. If you’re in Pittsburgh, it’s about a 2 hour drive so you could easily do it in an afternoon like we did. They’re also open year round so you don’t need to do it around Christmas, which is obviously the busy season.
Enjoy some photos I took on the property below! ☺️
Abigail McNatt Photography 