Superfan channels Clark Griswold

For many, “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” is a must-watch seasonal classic.

For Ted Ray, the 1989 comedy about an extended family’s disastrous attempt to celebrate the holiday, is an all-consuming passion, if not a downright obsession.

His homage to Clark Griswold, the movie’s hapless hero, starts with more than 5,000 lights Ray drapes over his home in McHenry, Ill. In that effort, Ray is no stranger to Griswoldian mishaps.

“I was using so much power that I lit my garage on fire the first year I did it,” said Ray, an HVAC technician, who at 33 is two years younger than the movie.

But his enthusiasm for “Christmas Vacation” goes much further. In the driveway of Ray’s home is a 1990 Ford Taurus wagon that he bought for $300. In the movie, Clark (played by Chevy Chase) drives his family out to find a Christmas tree. But, having forgotten a saw, the Griswolds are next seen driving home with an uprooted treetied to the roof of their wagon.

This year, like last, Ray managed to procure a tree with intact roots from a nearby family farm.

This year’s tree is much larger than last year’s, and Ray had to trim it so he could see out the windshield, he said. Nonetheless, both years he’s been pulled over by police. But the officers who stop him usually want to take pictures of the wagon, he said.

Ray said he was 5 or 6 when he first saw the movie, which is frequently shown on TV in December.

“I just remember the lights, when he was out there (fidgeting) with the lights. That was it,” Ray said. “I saw all the lights on his house, and I was like, ‘One day, I’m going to do that.’”

Now a father of three, including a 2-year-old named Audrey and 4-month old Russell — yes, just like the Griswold kids — Ray can relate to aspects of the film beyond the comedy.

“It’s a man who loves his family, and he’s just trying to do everything he can to make his family happy,” Ray said. “I’m all about that. I love my family. I love making people happy. And sure, he tried doing it, and there were mishaps all along the way — many, many bad mishaps. It was terrible. But he figured it out, and he made it work.”

One practical change Ray has made is that he now uses LED lights, which use about 80% less electricity than traditional incandescent ones.

“All the house right now is only pulling 15 amps,” Ray said on a recent night. “When I did it the first time, it was pulling 188 amps.”

Ray said he watches “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” a couple of times during the summer and then 20 or 30 times during the Christmas season. While Ray’s wife doesn’t love the movie that much, she does love their light display, Ray said.

The couple’s neighbors — unlike the Griswold’s Yuppie antagonists — also are on board. During Decemer, one neighbor even calls him Clark.

Ray doesn’t mind when people driving by his home stop and take photos.

“Part of why I do this is because I want people to take photos and have a good time,” he said.