Every holiday season carries traditions. Some put up a Christmas tree, others visit family or friends, but only a few spend a night in the original house from the 1980s Christmas classic film A Christmas Story.
You, too, can head to Cleveland and visit the home of Ralphie and his family – take a tour of the house and explore through props, memorabilia and costumes from the hit movie.
When director Bob Clark began production of the now-classic film, he sent scouts to 20 different cities in search of the perfect home for the Parker family. Cleveland beat out the competition and the stage was set.
Clark’s choice to start filming in Cleveland largely hinged on Higbee’s, a department store only found in the Northeast, allowing the movie to be partially filmed in the store. Higbee’s would be the site of the iconic scene in which Ralphie asks Santa Claus for a Red Ryder BB gun.
After taking a tour of the home, you cross the street to walk through the museum and hold the real Red Ryder that almost shot Ralphie’s eye out. The tour also includes unique props such as Miss Shields’ chalkboard and Randy’s snowsuit.
If you still can’t get enough from the tours, spend the night at the house and live a day like Ralphie. Guests can rent the top floor of the A Christmas Story House and have full access to the entire house after 9 p.m. The house accommodates six and allows guests to sleep in the actual beds of Ralphie and Randy.
Though you won’t have to worry about the Bumpuses’ hounds eating your holiday feast, you may have some neighbors staying at the fictional recreation of the troublemakers’ house. Guests can choose between two different suites or the entire house right next to the A Christmas Story House.
Another Holiday Highlight
Explore even more of Christmas at Castle Noel, America’s largest Christmas entertainment attraction, in Medina. Its hallways, rooms and outdoor exhibits showcase all things Christmas.
Meet Santa and tour through scenes and props found in Christmas classics such as How the Grinch Stole Christmas and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. See the hallway of 75,000 hanging ornaments or slide down the big red slide seen in A Christmas Story. Take a walk down memory lane at the “I Had That” toyland experience, looking through toys from the 1950s up to the 1980s.
Kobe Collins is an editorial assistant at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenecolumbus.com.
