It happens every December. You’re sitting there, maybe with a glass of eggnog, watching Clark Griswold deal with a sap-covered sapling or a cat getting fried by a strand of lights. Then, that scene hits. Clark is in bed, wearing those glorious pajamas, trying to read. But his fingers are coated in a thick, sticky layer of tree sap. He picks up a copy of People magazine in Christmas Vacation, and suddenly, the pages are fused to his hands. It’s a brief, hilarious moment of physical comedy that feels so real because we've all been stuck to something we shouldn't be.
But have you ever actually looked at that magazine?
Most people just laugh at Chevy Chase’s frustrated face. They don't realize that the magazine Clark is struggling with isn't just a random prop grabbed from a newsstand five minutes before filming. It’s a very specific issue from 1989. Honestly, if you’re a fan of 80s pop culture, that single prop is a time capsule. It captures the exact moment National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation was being etched into the holiday canon.
What’s Actually on the Cover of that People Magazine?
The issue Clark is trying to read is the December 11, 1989 edition of People. This is a bit of a "glitch in the matrix" moment for movie buffs. Think about it. The movie was released in theaters on December 1, 1989. Yet, here is Clark, in the movie, reading a magazine that was technically hitting newsstands after the film premiered.
The cover features Matty Rich, who was a 19-year-old filmmaker at the time. He had just made waves with his film Straight Out of Brooklyn. It’s a stark, serious cover that contrasts perfectly with the ridiculousness of Clark’s sticky-fingered situation. You can see the headline "A Director at 19" if you pause the frame at just the right millisecond. It’s funny because Clark is so checked out from reality—obsessing over a pool he can't afford and a family that's driving him crazy—that the high-brow success story of a teenage director is probably the last thing on his mind.
Chevy Chase is a master of prop work. People forget that. The way he flips the pages, or tries to, is a masterclass in "the slow burn." He doesn't just rip the magazine; he fights it. He treats the People magazine in Christmas Vacation like a living enemy.
The Logistics of the Sticky Page Gag
How did they do it? It wasn't just maple syrup. Prop masters on sets like John Hughes productions usually had a cocktail of substances to get that "perfect" stick. For the Griswold bedroom scene, they needed something that wouldn't just look wet, but would actually create that spider-webbing effect of glue when the pages pull apart.
🔗 Read more: Anjelica Huston in The Addams Family: What You Didn't Know About Morticia
They used a mixture of pine resin and spirit gum.
It was a nightmare for the wardrobe department. If that stuff got on the bedding or the pajamas, it was game over. You’ve probably noticed that Clark eventually gives up and tries to wipe his hands on the pillows. That wasn't just a scripted beat; it was Chevy leaning into the genuine mess of the scene. The magazine itself had to be specially prepared. You can't just put glue on a standard magazine and expect it to behave for ten takes. They likely had a dozen copies of that specific December 11th issue ready to go, each one pre-glued so the "pull" looked consistent on camera.
Why This Specific Prop Matters for 80s Nostalgia
Usually, movies use "Greeked" props—fake brands like "News Weekly" or "The Daily Paper"—to avoid legal headaches or licensing fees. But Christmas Vacation went for authenticity. Using a real People magazine in Christmas Vacation grounds the Griswolds in our world. They aren't some cartoon family in a fictional town. They live in Chicago (suburban Long Grove, really), they shop at the same malls we did, and they read the same tabloids.
In 1989, People Magazine was the undisputed king of the checkout aisle. There was no Instagram. There was no Twitter. If you wanted to know what was happening with celebrities, you waited for that glossy cover.
- Matty Rich was the cover star.
- The "Picks & Pans" section in that issue likely reviewed the very movie it appeared in.
- The advertisements inside were for things like Virginia Slims and the Nintendo Game Boy.
Seeing Clark struggle with it makes the movie feel like a home video from our own past. It’s a relatable piece of "clutter." Our coffee tables in 1989 were covered in these things. By using a real issue, the production team accidentally created a timestamp. We know exactly when the Griswolds were "living" their nightmare.
The "Director" Connection
There’s a bit of an inside joke here, too. The cover story on Matty Rich was a big deal in the industry. It was about a young kid making it in Hollywood against all odds. Meanwhile, Jeremiah S. Chechik, the director of Christmas Vacation, was making his directorial debut. He had never directed a feature film before this. He came from a background of high-end commercial work.
💡 You might also like: Isaiah Washington Movies and Shows: Why the Star Still Matters
So, you have a movie being directed by a first-timer, featuring a lead actor holding a magazine about a teenage director. It’s a meta-layer that 99% of the audience misses. Most people are just waiting for the scene where the squirrel jumps out of the tree. But for film nerds, that People magazine in Christmas Vacation is a nod to the craft itself.
Dissecting the Scene: Frame by Frame
If you have the 4K restoration of the film, you can actually see the internal pages as Clark fumbles with them. In one shot, as he tries to unstuck his fingers, you can see a glimpse of an ad for a Ford Taurus. It’s incredibly mid-Western. It’s incredibly 1989.
The sound design is what really sells it. That crrr-ick sound of the glossy paper separating. That was added in post-production to emphasize the viscosity of the sap. Without that sound, the magazine is just paper. With it, you can almost feel the residue on your own fingertips. It’s one of the reasons this specific scene stays in people's minds. It triggers a sensory memory of being sticky.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Timeline
There’s a common myth that the magazine Clark is reading is an old issue from the year before. People assume this because movies take a long time to film. "How could he have a December 1989 issue if they filmed it in the spring?"
Actually, they filmed Christmas Vacation in the spring and summer of 1989. The scenes in the house were shot on a soundstage at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank. The snow was a mix of crushed marble and plastic. Because they knew the movie was coming out in December, they worked with the publishers of People to get an advance cover or a mock-up of an upcoming issue to ensure it looked current.
This happens more often than you'd think. Magazines will provide "future" covers to film sets so the movie doesn't look dated the second it hits theaters. So, when Clark is holding that People magazine in Christmas Vacation, he’s essentially holding a piece of the future.
📖 Related: Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett: Why Fans Are Still Divided Over the Daimyo of Tatooine
How to Spot a Genuine 1989 Issue Today
If you’re a collector looking for this specific piece of movie history, you have to be careful. The December 11, 1989 issue isn't particularly rare, but it is sought after by Griswold superfans.
- Check the mailing label. Genuine copies from that era often have the yellow or white subscriber address printed directly on the bottom left.
- The Matty Rich photo is a close-up. He’s wearing a dark jacket.
- Look for the "Special Double Issue" or "Year End" teases that started appearing around that time.
Owning the magazine is like owning a piece of the set. It’s one of the few props from the movie that an average person can actually find on eBay for twenty bucks. You can't easily buy the original RV (though fans have built replicas), but you can definitely buy the magazine.
Bringing the Griswold Vibe Home
If you're planning a watch party, having a copy of that People magazine in Christmas Vacation on your coffee table is the ultimate deep-cut decoration. It’s better than a leg lamp. It shows you know the lore.
Honestly, the best way to appreciate these details is to realize how much work went into making the Griswolds feel like a real, messily functioning family. They didn't just throw a generic book in Clark's hand. They chose a magazine that everyone in the theater would recognize. They chose a moment that everyone could relate to. They chose to make Clark a victim of his own holiday ambition, even down to the reading material.
To really lean into the experience, you should look for the 35th Anniversary editions of the film. The clarity allows you to see the textures of the props in a way that the old VHS tapes never could. You can actually see the "sap" glistening on the edges of the magazine pages.
Next Steps for the Ultimate Fan
If you want to track down this specific issue, your best bet is searching for "People Magazine December 11 1989" on secondary markets. Most sellers won't even realize the Christmas Vacation connection, so you can often snag it for a low price. Once you have it, resist the urge to put actual pine sap on it—it’s a nightmare to clean off, and unlike Chevy Chase, you don't have a prop department to hand you a fresh one for the next take.
For those who want to dive deeper into the filming locations, look up the "Griswold House" on Warner Bros. Ranch in Burbank. Sadly, many of the facades have changed over the years, but the spirit of Clark's disastrous holiday remains alive in every sticky page and every blown fuse.