Free shipping on all orders over $75🎄

You know those people who go overboard at Halloween and cover their yards in fake spider webs and plastic gravestones and skeleton hands coming out of the ground? Or the neighbors who find it totally cool to hang a giant tarantula on their front door and do full, head-to-toe, family-themed Halloween costumes? 

Well, that’s me—only not for Halloween. In fact, I’d be fine if everyone skipped right on over that creepy holiday and jumped right to December when the Christmas festivities are in full-swing. (But who am I kidding? I start decorating for Christmas and blasting Michael Buble’s Christmas album the day after Thanksgiving. My family says it’s too early. I don’t care.) 

So yes, I live for all things Christmas. Dragging out all of the holiday decorations—from unboxing the ornaments to the stringing of lights to the hanging of stockings—while “Jingle Bells” and “Silent Night” play in the background—there is nothing that brings me more joy.

The other part of this season I love is watching holiday movies with my family. The Grinch (all versions), Charlie Brown’s Christmas, A Christmas Story, A Christmas Carol (again, multiple versions including the Mickey Mouse one obviously), The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Polar Express, and of course, an all-time fave—National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation will all get played via our TV or DVR or Netflix or Amazon Prime account at some point on or before December 25.

So, as a Christmas-obsessed person, when I spotted this gem of a lawn decoration online, I fell in love. I mean, who doesn’t want their own NLCV inflatable RV?!

Gemmy 7.5Ft. Wide Christmas Inflatable National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation Uncle Eddie's RV Indoor/Outdoor Holiday Decor...

Especially since among all the holiday movies, the Cousin Eddie scene from this Clark Griswold special is probably the most hilarious and relatable.

OK, so maybe you’ve never had the unexpected surprise of a dilapidated RV on your front lawn, and maybe you’ve never had to witness said RV’s toilet emptied in your street’s sewage drain by a half-naked man in a bathrobe. And maybe you’ve never taken your family outside on Christmas to look at the night sky and reflect on the real meaning of Christmas, only to have your 100-year old grandpa light a cigar and cause a radioactive sewage explosion, accompanied by Grandma belting out The Star-Spangled Banner.

However, most families do have a Cousin Eddie-type relative who is wildly inappropriate and embarrassing—but you put up with him because it’s Christmas. Even if he doesn’t bring his dog called Snots and invite himself to stay for an entire month, we all can appreciate what this beautifully hideous inflatable RV signifies.

And that is this: there is always something beautiful at Christmastime, even if it’s under a pile of RV sewage.

Okay, maybe that’s a stretch. But this lawn decoration is hilarious nonetheless.

Because, like Eddie says, “It’s a good-looking vehicle, ain’t it? But don’t go falling in love with it, cos we’re taking it with us when we leave here next month.”

If you’re more partial to the Griswold-mobile, have no fear—you can buy a giant Christmas-tree-clad inflatable station wagon here. 

Gemmy Airblown-NLCV Station Wagon w/Tree-Scene-WB

Christmas is a time of joy, and a time for all of us to celebrate in ways that bring us joy. For some, it’s baking dozens upon dozens of cookies. For others, it’s covering their lawn with obnoxiously large inflatable lawn ornaments that cost $200. Either way, as long as Mariah Carey is playing “All I Want for Christmas” in the background, and you’re eating your weight in sugar, tis the season.

 

Wait! Don’t go without checking out these other hilarious Christmas Vacation goodies for the Griswold lovers in your life:

At Her View From Home, we love sharing all the things we’re crazy about with YOU. Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, and we may receive a small commission if you decide to purchase from any of them. To check out other products we love, visit our Shop page HERE.

 

So God Made a Mother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our new book, SO GOD MADE A MOTHER available now!

Order Now

Karen Johnson

Karen Johnson is a freelance writer who is known on social media as The 21st Century SAHM. She is an assistant editor at Sammiches and Psych Meds, staff writer and social media manager for Scary Mommy, and is the author of I Brushed My Hair Today, A Mom Journal for Mostly Together Moms. Follow Karen on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/21stcenturysahm/, Twitter https://twitter.com/21stcenturysahm , and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/the21stcenturysahm/

Memories are What Matter—Watch the Chevy Holiday Ad Making Us Cry

In: Living
Chevy holiday ad

I don’t know about you, but the older I get the more I find that this time of year feels fragile. I love the holidays, don’t get me wrong. But these days I recognize a comingling of joy and sadness that envelopes so many during this season. It’s a giant heap of emotion as we sort through the good, the bad, the happy, and the sad of the past year and try to make sense of where we are right here, right now, in this moment of time. So when I saw Chevrolet’s new seasonal ad last night, I was...

Keep Reading

This Is Why Moms Ask for Experience Gifts

In: Faith, Living, Motherhood
Mother and young daughter under Christmas lights wearing red sweaters

When a mama asks for experience gifts for her kids for Christmas, please don’t take it as she’s ungrateful or a Scrooge. She appreciates the love her children get, she really does. But she’s tired. She’s tired of the endless number of toys that sit in the bottom of a toy bin and never see the light of day. She’s tired of tripping over the hundreds of LEGOs and reminding her son to pick them up so the baby doesn’t find them and choke. She’s tired of having four Elsa dolls (we have baby Elsa, Barbie Elsa, a mini Elsa,...

Keep Reading

6 Things You Can Do Now to Help Kids Remember Their Grandparents

In: Grief, Living, Loss, Motherhood
Grandfather dances with granddaughter in kitchen

A month ago, my mom unexpectedly passed away. She was a vibrant 62-year-old grandma to my 4-year-old son who regularly exercised and ate healthy. Sure, she had some health scares—breast cancer and two previous brain aneurysms that had been operated on successfully—but we never expected her to never come home after her second surgery on a brain aneurysm. It has been devastating, to say the least, and as I comb through pictures and videos, I have gathered some tips for other parents of young kids to do right now in case the unexpected happens, and you’re left scrambling to never...

Keep Reading

When You Need a Friend, Be a Friend

In: Friendship, Living
Two friends having coffee

We have all seen them—the posts about the door always open, the coffee always on, telling us someone is always there when we need support. I have lived with depression my entire life. From being a nervous child with a couple of ticks to a middle-aged woman with recurrent major depressive and generalized Anxiety disorder diagnoses. Antidepressants, therapy, writing, and friends are my treatments. The first three are easy, my doctor prescribes antidepressants, I make appointments with a therapist, and I write when I feel the need. RELATED: Happy People Can Be Depressed, Too The fourth is hard. As I...

Keep Reading

When You Just Don’t Feel Like Christmas

In: Faith, Living
Woman sad looking out a winter window

It’s hard to admit, but some years I have to force myself to decorate for Christmas. Some years the lights look a little dimmer. The garlands feel a bit heavier. And the circumstances of life just aren’t wrapped in a big red bow like I so wish they were. Then comparison creeps in like a fake Facebook friend and I just feel like hiding under the covers and skipping it all. Because I know there’s no way to measure up to the perfect life “out there.” And it all just feels heavier than it used to. Though I feel alone,...

Keep Reading

To the Parents Who Coach: Thank You

In: Living, Motherhood
Mother with young son in soccer uniform, color photo

I always planned on being an involved parent, whatever that would mean. Never an athlete, always athletic, I joined the swim team in high school, taught swim lessons for spending money as a college freshman, played intramural soccer at 10 p.m. on weeknights on a college team with a ridiculous name. Later, mama to only one baby, finding extra dollars wherever I could, I coached track. And then, my own babies really started to play sports. I promised myself I would volunteer as possible, but something always stood in the way, and all I could manage was to get my...

Keep Reading

Now That I’m There, 30 Doesn’t Seem That Old

In: Living
Woman holding a sign with the number 30 and chocolates, color photo

I turned 30 this year. The change of a decade has caused me to reflect a lot. This is the first time I’ve hit an age ending in zero and sort of wish I could go back a ways. At 10 and 20 years old I was still eagerly waiting to get older. That desire slowed down and stopped around 25 years old. Still, I haven’t lived my first 30 years with a lot of regrets. I have four little ones who call me mom. Some days they make me feel old. Often they keep me acting young. Dance parties...

Keep Reading

Give Me Friends to Do Everyday Life With

In: Friendship
Two women at a sporting stadium, color photo

She sees me coming. A small wave from her house window and a silent invitation to come on over for our morning coffee. An unsaid invitation to connect with someone who gets the joys and challenges of being a mother. A quick, small, and valued break from life and stress and my house messes has become the perfect way to start the morning. A neighbor who has become a dear friend. Prior to this encounter, alarm clocks were ringing, breakfast was made, backpacks were packed, and shoes were missing. School mornings are rough. Motherhood is rough. The world around us...

Keep Reading

Teachers Carry the Weight of Their Classroom in Their Hearts

In: Living
Stressed teacher sits with hands on temples

I would like to argue there really isn’t anything that hard about the doing of a teacher’s job. Oh, there are overwhelming, too much to do moments. And exhausting moments. And early morning, long day moments. But there isn’t really anything that hard about the doing of a teacher’s work. It’s the being a teacher that’s hard. For in being a teacher, your heart splits open with all the things you cannot fix and all the things you cannot do or cannot do enough of. When your heart aches for a family you barely know and you long to comfort...

Keep Reading

Sometimes Friendship Is Tested

In: Friendship
Two women friends hugging

Sometimes our own experiences can be hard on our friends, especially when those experiences have to do with fertility and pregnancy. My friend and I met when our children were six months old at a mom’s group Christmas party. She was the only other mom there without a partner, her husband having refused to attend in favor of playing video games in the silence of an empty home just like mine. Her son was a day younger than my daughter. Although she was almost 10 years older than me, we became fast friends, bonding over the loneliness that is staying...

Keep Reading