Earlier this week, we told you about a Freetown Police post on social media that was going viral, after an officer on patrol spotted a yard decoration that recreated the opening scenes of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

Freetown Police Department
Freetown Police Department
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Well, the display is only growing, and we tracked down the person responsible for it. His name is Chris Cabral, and he actually started planning it last summer.

Cabral says this was the first time he’s decorated with a theme, and the idea came to him after discovering a car for sale that looked much like the Griswold family car from Christmas Vacation.

“I happened to see the car over the summer for sale for a good deal, and the first thing that came to mind was the movie,” he said. “You never see Taurus station wagons on the road anymore.”

Cabral worked with his brother Corey to set up the initial display in the yard of one of their father’s rental properties on South Main Street in Assonet, across the street from Junior’s Convenience Store. It consisted of the station wagon, Christmas tree tied to the roof, with a cardboard cutout of Clark Griswold sitting in the driver’s seat.

Once the Freetown Police shared the photo on social media and it started to go viral, the Cabrals and some friends added a mannequin dressed as Cousin Eddie emptying the waste tank of the RV, and a replica of the sled that nearly kills Clark after he adds some special lubricant to it before heading down the hill.

“Our neighbors and best friends, the Zager family, put together the Cousin Eddie decoration that we added to it,” Cabral said.

In addition to celebrating Christmas with their display, Cabral also wanted to wish a happy birthday to his mother, Diana Cabral, whose birthday is Dec. 9.

“None of this would have been possible without her,” he said.

And he plans to add to the display for next Christmas as well.

“I have some ideas in mind to add to the decoration for next year, hopefully,” he said, noting that Christmas Vacation is his favorite Christmas movie “but Die Hard is a close a second.”

Does this mean we can expect a scale model of Nakatomi Plaza?

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