Here’s how much you’d have to spend to get Clark Griswold’s Christmas lights
In the holiday classic “Christmas Vacation’’ Clark Griswold goes all out on the home decorations, but is this feasible? (Probably not.)
Updated from a 2014 story.
In case you haven’t seen “Christmas Vacation’’, here’s the skinny: Clark Griswold, the Griswold family’s father, makes his son Rusty help him untangle a massive ball of lights to staple up on the roof. It’s a mess.
After all the work, good ol’ Clark is excited for the 250 strands of lights to illuminate the whole neighborhood. It doesn’t go as planned.
But before we get to that, let’s take a look at how much something like this might cost.
Surprisingly, in 1989 when the movie came out, it would have cost a lot more than today. While the cost of electricity was lower, Clark was also using incandescent lights. Now, LEDs are popular, dropping the price of electricity significantly.
The incandescent lights Clark might have used would have been about 5 watts per bulb. LED lights cost more, but use significantly less electricity – only 8 watts for the whole strand on the basic model we found.
Anyway, here’s that scene you were waiting for:
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Now that you’ve had a good laugh, a Public Service Announcement – do not try this at home. We spoke to an electrician who said that would not have been a smart idea. But regardless, we were curious how accurate this hilarious scene was.
In the movie, the entire neighborhood goes dark, while the Griswold’s house stays entirely lit.
Apparently this is not what would have happened.
“Completely unbelievable,’’ a local electrician we spoke to said. “The electrical wires and outlet transmitting that much electricity to the lights would instantly burst into flames.’’
Clark seems to have two outlets the strands are plugged into: outside on the siding and in the garage. Outside, he had one surge protector with about six extension cords plugged into it. Inside, he had another surge protector with at least nine cords plugged into it. A mess of cords powering that much electricity equals a pretty bad situation.
Related: How to safeguard your home during a holiday party:
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