Merry Christmas to You and the Griswolds in Your Neighborhood!

I have to admit I was a little slow to catch the Christmas spirit this year. For a number of reasons, it just didn’t feel like the holidays.

It’s the first year I can ever remember feeling that way. But then, I did spend five years living next to the best holiday season kickoff ever.

Like clockwork, the weekend after Thanksgiving, I would lie in bed and listen to the sound of my neighbors putting up Christmas lights all around their house. And when I say around the house, I mean it. They wrapped those lights all the way around—even over windows. And no surprise, everyone in town called them the Griswolds, like from “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.”

Even though I often laughed at the display, it always filled me with the Christmas spirit. And now that they no longer decorate their home, I miss seeing that neon pink baby Jesus terribly. But I always think of them every year when I watch “Vacation.”

I know many of you have Griswolds in your neighborhood, so my advice is to enjoy them while you can and be sure to let some of their enthusiasm rub off on you this holiday season.

You can enjoy the fictional Griswolds Christmas Eve at 8 p.m. and Christmas Day at 8 a.m. on TV Land.

If the Parker family is who you’d rather spend your Christmas with, you’ll be happy to know that TBS is once again running its 24-hour marathon of “A Christmas Story” beginning Friday at 8 p.m.

And on Christmas Day, when you’re finished unwrapping all of the presents and have nothing left to talk about, you can enjoy TV Land’s “11th Annual Merry-Thon” featuring Christmas episodes of your favorite comedies like “Roseanne,” “The Andy Griffith Show” and “Everybody Loves Raymond.” The marathon will be interrupted at 5 p.m. by an airing of the movie “Independence Day.” I guess that’s because nothing says Christmas like watching aliens destroy the world.

But however you spend your holiday, I hope it’s a happy and safe one. Merry Christmas, everyone!

"Vacation" photo courtesy of Warner Home Video. "National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation Ultimate Collector’s Edition" is offered in both Blu-ray™ and DVD. "Andy Griffith Show" photo courtesy of TV Land.