Crawford card goes Christmas Vacation

WASHINGTON — Dull Christmas cards have been a Capitol Hill tradition for decades.

Stacy Crawford, wife of U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, was determined to change that.

“I wanted to do something funny and fun,” she said. “He’s got a great sense of humor, and I wanted people to see that side of him.”

So she re-created a couple of scenes from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,a

1989 comedy film about the dysfunctional Griswold family, starring Chevy Chase.

The movie features a toobig Christmas tree, a Christmas light display big enough to black out an entire city, annoying relatives and a squirrel. It grossed $71.3 million at the box office and has gained Christmas classic status. It’s also a Crawford family favorite.

“We’ve watched it so many times. We quote it all the time,” she said. “It’s just so funny.”

Stacy Crawford wanted the re-creations to be as accurate as possible, from a green taffeta skirt and Chicago Blackhawk jersey down to a funky-colored station wagon. It wasn’t easy.

“It took about three months of preparing for it to pull it together,” she said.

Her husband, the Republican from Jonesboro, their son Will and daughter Delaney all played along. So far, feedback has been positive, she said.

“I’m pretty proud of it. I’m going to be honest,” she said.