These Iconic Christmas Movie Filming Locations Are Closer Than You Think

I love visiting film shoot locations. In 2009, I planned an entire vacation around the Field of Dreams house and baseball field. In 2011, after a trip to Mount Rushmore (which is another location, as Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest was partially filmed there), I returned through Iowa and stopped in Winterset, where The Bridges of Madison County was filmed. And yes, I walked across one of the bridges.

Reader's Digest has published a list of Christmas movie locations you can visit, and a few of them aren't that far away, relatively speaking.

Christmas Story House

In 2021, we visited a good friend of ours in Cleveland, Ohio, where part of the iconic holiday classic A Christmas Story was filmed. There's an enormous and comprehensive gift shop, a museum, and, of course, the house itself. It was pretty wild being there.

From where I live in Owensboro, Cleveland is about a 7-hour drive, so that wouldn't make for a good day trip. But you could certainly plan a long holiday-themed weekend. And there's no shortage of other fun things to do in Cleveland. It's something to think about.

Home Alone House

Speaking of iconic movie homes, the McCallister house from the 1990 blockbuster Home Alone is also about a 7-hour drive away from here, in the Chicago suburb of Winnetka, Illinois. But if you go, understand that it is not a tourist attraction. A few years ago, the home was made available to visitors via Airbnb, but it is a private residence, so take your pictures from the street.

Yes, it seems silly to drive all that way to see a house you can't enter. But we're also talking about Chicago, and if you can't find fun, Christmassy things to do in the Windy City, you aren't trying.

Prancer

In north central Illinois, in a town called Utica, you'll find Starved Rock State Park. It's a wonderful destination at any time of the year. But if you're doing the Christmas movie tour, know that it was used in a scene from the 1989 film Prancer.

Filmmakers also did some shooting in New Carlisle, Indiana, which is about 25 minutes west of South Bend.

Lights, camera...Merry Christmas.