
Visible crew/equipment: Just as Clark is about to smash through the hut on the greased up sled, the shadow of the camera is on the hut. (00:50:57)
Continuity mistake: When the grandfather is sleeping in the top of the bunk bed, there's a cheesecake poster on the ceiling. When Clark falls through the attic floor onto the bunk bed, it's not there.
Revealing mistake: When Snots the dog chases the squirrel into the Griswolds' dining room, he barely brushes a high-back dining chair that immediately falls on its side. If you look closely, a string attached to the the right side top of the chair can be seen tightening which then pulls the chair down.
Continuity mistake: In the scene of Clark standing in the snow trying to figure out why his Christmas lights did not work, the paper he is holding in his right hand is mid torso to him, but in the next shot when Rusty leaves him, his right hand has instantly dropped to his side and he raises his paper-holding hand again.
Continuity mistake: When Clark, Eddie, and Catherine are admiring the Christmas lights of the Griswold house, Clark is very close to Eddie with his left arm draped over Eddie's shoulder, but the next quick cut to Clark when he says, "Eddie?", shows Clark further away and his left arm at his side, and not stretched out.
Revealing mistake: The stunt double for Nicholas Guest is obvious after Julia-Louis Dreyfus punches him. The hair style of the stunt double is different from Nicholas Guest's hair, which is heavily slicked back.
Continuity mistake: In the Christmas dinner scene, closeups of Rocky show his right hand raised to his face, but the overhead shots do not.
Continuity mistake: The first time Clark fails with the lights, Ellen's mother says she hopes the kids see what a waste of resources it is. During this scene the level of her martini changes.
Continuity mistake: After the tree burns, Rusty says, "Dad's gonna flip out." Clark Sr.'s left elbow is close to and behind Rusty's head, but in the next instant shot of Rusty, Ellen, and Audrey, Clark Sr.'s elbow is not there.
Continuity mistake: When Santa Clause's sled passes in front of the moon at the end, why is the sea so dark? It wasn't in previous shots.
Factual error: Even though this movie takes place at Christmas and there is lots of snow around the outside of the house, you can tell this was filmed during the summertime due to the short shadows in some outside scenes. At Christmas time, shadows are longer all day long.
Other mistake: When the lights don't work, Clark punches Santa and knocks the antlers off the reindeer. When the lights come on and the family comes out, the antlers are back on their heads.
Continuity mistake: When Clark is looking at his "bonus check", he's holding both the envelope and "check" together in both hands. In the next shot he's only holding the "check" in both hands and the envelope is no longer under it.
Continuity mistake: When Clark falls over while on the ladder, after ripping his sleeve off, his hands keep changing position on the ladder. When he first starts to fall, his right hand is gripping the side and in the next shot both hands are gripping the rung. In the next shot both hands are on the side of the ladder until the shot after he pushes himself away from the tree and they go back to being on the rung for a shot.
Continuity mistake: When Clark has the entire family outside to witness the lighting of the house, the positions of the in-laws change instantly from being clumped together to strung out in a line, depending on whether the shot is overhead or at ground level.
Factual error: When Clark is sliding on the saucer, he shoots out a shower of sparks when he crosses the street. Those old saucers were made of aluminum, and aluminum can't create sparks like other metal does.
Revealing mistake: When the SWAT team arrive at the house, a member of the team runs towards the house and dives in the snow. However, instead of falling in the snow as you would expect, the white fabric on the floor bunches up.
Revealing mistake: When Clark (on the saucer sled) reaches the bottom of the snow hill, and is on the highway, as the headlights of the truck are coming at him and the "sparks" are flying from under the sled you can see the wheels underneath to make it roll across the highway to reach Walmart's parking lot.
Continuity mistake: The entire Christmas bonus scene at end, Clark's tie changes. Take note of the pattern on the knot, which changes from shot to shot.
Continuity mistake: When Clark is talking to the pretty saleswoman and she says "well, you do have your coat on", he tilts his head down and to his right. In the next shot his head is to his left and he moves it to the right.
Answer: YES! You are 100% correct about the deleted turkey-cooking scene! Both my husband and I remember this scene. It was Catherine and Eddie that cooked the turkey to thank Clark and his family for being hospitable. They had never cooked a turkey before and they thought cooking it at a low temperature for a LONG time would be ideal. It looked great, but completely dehydrated. THIS is why Catherine is so upset when the turkey pops open and steams - she ruined the turkey for everyone.