To set the mood for the holiday festivities, it has been a tradition to do a Christmas movie marathon with your loved ones while all snuggled up on the couch enjoying a cup of hot choco and Christmas cookies. This year, why not level up your holiday tradition with a Christmas vacation? Hit the road and make new memories at the exact locations where your favourite Christmas movies were filmed:

Miracle on 34th Street

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Above Photo: Courtesy of IMDb

In Miracle on 34th Street, an old man going by the name of Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) fills in for an intoxicated Santa in Macy’s annual Thanksgiving Day parade.

With the remake of this 1947 Christmas favourite, Macy’s store actually wanted nothing to do with the production, so the name of the department store becomes the fictitious “CF Cole’s”. The exterior of “CF Cole’s” is not a department store at all, but the Art Institute of Chicago located at 111 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. 

A Christmas Story

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Above Photo: Courtesy of IMDb
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Above Photo: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Ralphie Parker dreams of owning a Red Rider BB Gun so he sets out to convince the world that this is the perfect Christmas gift. However, along the way, the young boy runs into opposition from his parents, teacher, and even Santa Claus himself.

The exterior of Ralphie’s Indiana home in the 1983 cult classic, A Christmas Story, was shot in a house at 2159 West 11th Street, Cleveland, Ohio. It still has with the original props and sets, and is open for public tours all year round! They’ve also opened a museum across the street with costumes and memorabilia from the film.

 

Die Hard

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Above Photo: Courtesy of IMDb

Since its release in July 1988, the Bruce Willis-starring action film Die Hard has become arguably the most non-Christmas Christmas movie ever made. The longstanding debate was ended when screenwriter Steven E. de Stouza tweeted that it is a Christmas movie on December 2017.

With that being said, many people didn’t know that the scene where East German terrorists take over a Christmas Eve office party at Nakatomi Plaza, which New York City policeman John McClane saves, was actually shot at Fox Plaza in Century City. What made this building extra appealing is that it had just opened in 1987 and wasn’t completely finished so it already came with totally empty floors, which is exactly what the filmmakers needed!

Location: 2121 Avenue of the Stars; Century City, Los Angeles, California

Bad Santa

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Above Photo: Courtesy of IMDb

In this dark comedy, the bad-tempered Willie T. Stokes (Billy Bob Thornton) and his partner (Tony Cox) reunite once a year, posing as a mall Santa and his elf, for a holiday con — ripping off shopping outlets on Christmas Eve.

Before the title appears on screen, Willie sits alone at the end of a bar and throws back a stiff drink as Christmas cheer pervades the establishment. He then walks into a back alley, his Santa boots leaving tracts in the freshly powdered snow, leans up against a brick wall and pukes his guts out. The alley location is located behind 1060 South Broadway, Los Angeles.

Home Alone

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Above Photo: Courtesy of IMDb
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Above Photo: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Most of us have lovingly memorised Home Alone like the back of our hands. This Christmas classic has been a part of our childhoods and is probably featured on most lists of must-see holiday movies. Our young selves can somehow relate to the bratty 8-year-old Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) who acts out the night before a family trip to Paris, which results to him getting left behind. He is happy to be in charge at first, but when thieves try to break into their house, he has to put up a fight.

The gorgeous mansion in which Kevin McCallister gets left by his parents in the 1990 movie actually still stands, as beautiful as ever, at 671 Lincoln Avenue in the Chicago suburb at Winnetka, Illinois! 

In Home Alone 2 you can visit many iconic spots all over the big apple. Kevin, who ends up on his own in New York City find himself in some stunning locations like: Rockefeller Center, Carnegie Hall, and The Plaza Hotel to name a few! 

Elf

Buddy is a human who was adopted by Santa’s elves. Once he grows up, his adopted father admits the truth and tells him two big pieces of information: that his birth father is living in New York City and that he is shockingly, on Santa's naughty list!

Buddy the elf immediately heads down to New York City. Along the way to meet his birth father, he is mistaken for a Gimbels Department Store employee. One of the best scenes is when he breaks into Gimbels and completely upgrades the store's Christmas displays in his signature “elf” way. The sprawling department store that takes up a whole block in 5th Avenue at Manhattan was digitally altered for the film. However Gimbels was actually once a real department store and a noted rival of Macy’s. It used to be located on 31st street between 7th and 6th avenue. 

Nutcracker and the Four Realms

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Above Photo: Courtesy of IMDb
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Above Photo: Courtesy of Unsplash

Young Clara is in a search for a one-of-a-kind key to unlock a box that contains a priceless gift. A golden thread leads her to the magical key but soon disappears into a strange and mysterious world where she meets a soldier, a group of mice, and the regents who preside over the different realms.

Based on the classic Christmas ballet and now in theatres, the visually beautiful Nutcracker and the Four Realms is shot in a mix of real locations in London, studio sets, and CGI. The movie magic actually drew inspiration from the Bavarian town of Rothenburg ob der tauber.

The Holiday

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Above Photo Courtesy Of IMDB

Two women from opposite sides of the globe, Amanda Woods (Cameron Diaz) and Iris Simpkins (Kate Winslet) find themselves in a similar predicament — troubled with guy problems. Desperate for a change of scenery, the two decides to swap homes for the Christmas holiday.

Looking for a getaway this Christmas like that of Amanda's in 2006’s The Holiday? Visit the picture-perfect quaint county of Surrey, southwest of London to get that small town charm. The cottage where she stays was actually a set built for the film, but the lovely country estate where she spent the afternoon with Jude Law is called Cornwell Manor and is located in Cornwell, Chipping Norton OX7 6TT, United Kingdom.

Love Actually

Eight couples try to deal with their relationships in different ways. These nine intertwined stories examine the complexities of the one emotion that connects everything — love.

Love Actually is set during the frantic month leading up to Christmas, joining together multiple characters and plots embodied of love. In one scene, Rufus (Rowan ‘Mr. Bean’ Atkinson) nearly foils Harry’s (Alan Rickman) philandering ways when he can’t wrap a necklace quickly enough at the luxury section of Selfridges.

 

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You can also visit the church where Kierra Knightley got married to her love interest and was serenaded with the song All You Need Is Love. Check out Grosvenor Chapel on South Audley Street in London.