Stay overnight in Cleveland’s A Christmas Story house

What it's like to stay overnight in the A Christmas Story House in Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood. Relive the holiday classic.
14 December, 2020travel, , , , , , Standard
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This yellow clapboard house with the green trim at 3159 West 11th Street looks like one of the many modest century homes in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood. But it was the only one selected to be the childhood home of the Parker family in the 1983 classic holiday film A Christmas Story.

Want to spend Christmas reliving the classic holiday film A Christmas Story? You could catch the 24-marathon of the movie on TBS or TNT on Christmas Eve. Better yet, pack your bags, head to Cleveland, Ohio, and stay overnight in the house featured in the iconic film. Here’s a peek into what it’s like after hours in the A Christmas Story house, one of the city’s best-known cinematic landmarks.

A lot of people visit the A Christmas Story House armed with every detail of the film’s plot and movie quotes on the tip of their tongues. A lot of local visitors or museum workers will tell you what they were doing when the film crew was in town in the early 1980s. Perhaps they were an extra in the parade scene or were waiting in line to see the movie’s Santa at Higbee’s, a now-defunct department store in downtown Cleveland.

Even though we live in the Cleveland area, my daughter had never seen the movie A Christmas Story when she first set foot into the museum and house dedicated to the film for an after-hours visit. I wondered if she would be bored by staying overnight in some random house in Cleveland (at least in her mind), but she curiously explored the home and its strange artifacts, including a a glowing leg lamp and a BB gun in the living room. Because we were there after museum visits had concluded, there was no docent to explain why a plastic turkey was on the table in the kitchen and she didn’t get the significance of the Life Buoy soap on the bathroom sink. Now that she knows, I’m pretty sure she is glad we don’t offer that punishment for bad behavior in our own house.

In A Christmas Story, the movie, the narrator takes us back to his childhood and his burning desire for a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-Shot, Range Model Air Rifle.
In A Christmas Story, the movie, the narrator takes us back to his childhood in the late 1930s and his burning desire for a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-Shot, Range Model Air Rifle.

With the holiday season upon us, we finally sat down to watch the Christmas classic together as a family. It was a joy to see her reaction to the various scenes in the film. She shouted and pointed to the TV when she recognized the yellow clapboard house. “I remember that!” she continue to exclaim throughout the viewing. Since everyone else had seen it a million times, it was great fun to experience it again with a newbie.

We may have done Cleveland’s A Christmas Story experience in the reverse order, but we still managed to create a new fan and ensure the holiday tradition of watching the film will continue long into the future.

What to expect when you stay overnight in the A Christmas Story house.

Play board games in the light of the infamous leg lamp in the living room of the A Christmas Story House. Once the tours are finished for the day, overnight guests have the run of the place.
It’s a bit surreal playing board games in the light of the infamous leg lamp in the living room of the A Christmas Story House. Once the tours are finished for the day, overnight guests have the run of the place.
The infamous leg lamp at the A Christmas Story house
The leg lamp draws a lot of attention to the A Christmas Story after hours. There’s a steady flow of movie fans that stop to take pictures outside—some come right up on the porch. When you stay overnight here, privacy is not always guaranteed, especially if you’re in the living room.
Hiding out under the sink at the A Christmas Story House
In the kitchen, lots of day visitors reenact the scene in which Randy took refuge under the sink after Ralphie got into a fight with his bully. Randy was sure their father was going to kill his brother. When you stay overnight in the house, you won’t have to use the classic kitchen appliances to make your meals. There’s a modern kitchen in a private guest suite on the second and third floors of the house.
The hallway phone at the A Christmas Story
Get an earful from Mrs. Schwarz when you pick up the second floor hallway phone.
Kids can spend the night in Ralphie and Randy's room.
Kids can sleep in Ralphie and Randy’s room. At the end of the day, the museum staff cleans the room, removes the blue bedspreads (like the ones seen in the movie) and switches them out for fluffy, white comforters.
Two kids read a classic kids book while lounging on the bed in Ralphie's room at A Christmas Story House in Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood.
Vintage books and toys in Ralph and Randy’s room provide old-school entertainment for young guests.
third floor loft of a christmas story house in cleveland. In this photo, two young kids run to the couch flanked by two leg lamps.
A Christmas Story House’s private third floor loft provides refuge for guests for the entirety of their stay. You can watch the DVD of A Christmas Story in the living room. Guests can also use the rest of the house from an hour after closing until 9 am the following day.

If the A Christmas Story House is booked, you can stay overnight in the Bumpus House next door.

The Bumpus House, located next door to the A Christmas Story House, has two more themed suites available for overnight stays in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood. Fans of the movie will know the Parkers’ next door neighbor had a roving pack of hound dogs that frequently bothered Ralphie’s dad and even barged in on Christmas Eve, gobbling up the delicious turkey Mrs. Parker had just taken out of the oven.

Exterior shot of The Bumpus House, located next to the A Christmas Story House in Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood.
The “Hound Dog Haven” suite on the first floor of The Bumpus House can accommodate up to 4 guests per night. The “Stolen Turkey” suite on the second and third floors can accommodate up to 6 guests per night. Unfortunately, guests staying here don’t have access to the A Christmas Story House after hours and they have to pay for museum admission.
The custom made quilts in The Bumpus House were designed and machine pieced by Emily Metz and machine quilted by Linda Sekerak.
The Hound Dog Haven Suite looks and smells a lot better than what I would expect from the Bumpus family and their terrorizing dogs.
The Bumpus House has two units for overnight guests as well.
The living space in The Hound Dog Haven Suite has 1940s and 1950s-era furniture.

What are the rates for staying overnight at the A Christmas Story house in Cleveland?

A Christmas Story House rates range from $445 to $995 in 2021, but staying Christmas Eve and Day costs $3,995. The stay includes a free museum tour for up to 6 guests.

Guests in the Bumpus House suites do not get a free tour. Rates range from $245 to $995 depending on the room, day of week and time of year.

For up-to-date rate information, please visit AChristmasStoryHouse.com.

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