John Hughes, who wrote the first Vacation film and co-wrote European Vacation, was approached to write another film for franchise, but said he would only do so if he had a good story to use. He felt like he was somewhat unnecessary to craft a story, since the franchise had metastasized into a vehicle for Chevy Chase. However, when looking back on his old material from his time working at National Lampoon Magazine, he found an old short story titled "Christmas '59" that he thought would fit the bill and accepted the job. There is further allusion to this in the film when Clark finds the home movie reel while being trapped in the attic; you can see the label which reads: "Xmas '59".