Where to see 'National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation' and 'A Christmas Story' on Long Island

Get ready to drink in some 1980s-style holiday cheer at two venues on Long Island as a pair of Christmas perennials bloom again on the big screen.

First up is the nutty-as-a-fruitcake Griswold clan, headed by Chevy Chase, who'll make merry in "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" at YMCA Boulton Center in Bay Shore on Dec. 17 at 8 p.m. A stockingful of laughs abounds in the 1989 comedy about the family's attempts to have a good old-fashioned holiday. Their plans literally go up in smoke by film's end as the entire clan -- and a SWAT team -- sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" on the front lawn as a fiery Santa and reindeer set flies over their house.

Then, on Dec. 19, two helpings of the Jean Shepherd charmer "A Christmas Story" (1983), will be served at 7 and 9 p.m. at the Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts. The story of a boy, a leg lamp and a BB gun has become a holiday favorite, and maybe even gave some people a yen for Chinese food as Christmas dinner.

Tickets for each are $8. For "Vacation" tickets, go to boultoncenter.org, and for "A Christmas Story," go to smithtownpac.org.