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Crowds are flocking to Jason Orsini’s Smithtown residence each evening to take in his jaw-dropping light display: a painstaking recreation of the beloved holiday classic, "National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.”
The Griswold family station wagon donning their Christmas tree. Cousin Eddie’s RV. Aunt Bethany’s lime Jell-o mold. It’s all there.
“I didn’t expect [the response] to be this big,” the 45-year-old Orsini, a married real estate agent and father of two, told Daily Voice.
His connection to “Christmas Vacation” goes beyond its hilarious one-liners and unforgettable characters. He first stumbled onto a VHS copy of the film around age 11 while sitting out a punishment in his bedroom.
“I didn’t know what it was, I just popped it in to entertain myself,” he said. “I kept rewinding scenes that made me laugh. I even tried writing down the lyrics to the opening theme song.”
Over the years, the beloved film offered a temporary escape from a childhood that Orsini acknowledged was marred by divorce, abuse, and food scarcity.
“We didn’t grow up in a very traditional family, you know, it was really rough. And watching that movie that night was the first night I ever stayed up all night long without going to sleep. I just kept watching the movie on repeat,” he said. “It just put me in such a good mood and made me forget reality.”
Fast forward decades later and it’s clear that Orsini has realized his childhood dream of becoming “like that family.”
Since Thanksgiving weekend, a parade of gawkers have stopped by his Sheryl Crescent home for a glimpse of the stunning display, complete with 20 mannequins decked out like characters from the movie. There’s even a life-sized Clark Griswold hanging from the roof tangled in Christmas lights.
He also offers regular screenings of the 1989 comedy starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, and Randy Quaid right in his front yard, complete with hot cocoa and cookies.
But the crown jewel, Orsini says, is Cousin Eddie’s RV, which he had custom painted and turned into a “Christmas Vacation” museum featuring promotional posters for the film.
“That RV is the one that makes the whole display and the show. I wouldn’t have made this a big deal if I didn’t get the RV or the station wagon.”
Speaking of that station wagon, Orsini spent months trying to find someone selling the same 1989 Ford Taurus Wagon depicted in the film, to no avail. He finally found one for sale in Connecticut.
“He goes, ‘What do you want this thing for? It’s got no engine.’” Orsini recalled. When he informed the seller it was for a Griswold-inspired holiday display that also collected toys for Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, the owner gave him the car for free.
“Just had to pay the towing.”
Stony Brook holds a special place in Orsini’s heart: It’s where his daughter Alessandra, 5, and son Luca, 2, were born. The family has made regular trips to the hospital in recent days to personally deliver donated toys to young patients.
“I wanted my kids to experience going there firsthand to see what it was like to donate toys to people. To give back,” he said.
Orsini’s favorite scene from “Christmas Vacation” comes at the very end of the movie, when Clark – longing to give his family a Christmas to remember – proudly proclaims, “I did it.”
“That line there stuck with me for decades,” he said, recalling four or five years ago when he placed a collage with his and Mr. Griswold’s face side by side in his front yard.
Written on it were the words, “I did it.”
If You Go
Address: 41 Sheryl Crescent in Smithtown
Hours: Daily from 5 to 10 p.m.
Visitors are asked to bring an unopened toy for donation to Stony Brook Children’s Hospital.
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