I'm sure you all read Tobias' preview of the A Christmas Story house and museum with bated breath, eagerly awaiting a review of the house and museum itself! Luckily, I live all of ten minutes from the place, and took advantage of the fantastic weather to head over and check it out.

Perhaps you also read in this morning in Cleveland's Plain Dealer that some 3,000 people visited the house this weekend when it opened on Saturday. This absolutely astonishes me, because it was pretty crowded when I went on Sunday, and there is very little organization in this house! There are no lines or dividers, shepherding people from room to room, or keeping them from bouncing on the living room couch, or cozying up to the radio and pretending to be Ralphie. I think that this might be something that the staff might want to consider in later years, since dividers definitely help keep the large crowd from barreling through areas and knocking each other out of the way. It helps to remember that the house on West 11th Street in Tremont was a house! It was rented from a local Tremont guy for a month, and very little renovation was done to it to make it either more movie-, or more visitor-friendly. But seeing the bathroom where Ralphie gets his mouth washed out (there was Lifebuoy soap on the sink!), and the kitchen where Randy hides under the sink was very nostalgic.

And of course, taking pictures of the leg lamp from outside made me feel like at any minute Ralphie's Dad would walk out and say, "It's a major award!" As a visitor, you're allowed to take a picture with pretty much everything, including a lamp halfway out of its packaging in the driveway. The staff, by the way, is very knowledgeable and pleasant. I learned from the volunteer guarding the bathroom that there was no "boys' bedroom" filmed in the house - Ralphie and Randy's bedroom was built on a soundstage. Learning new things!

The museum, which is located across the street at 1103 Rowley, is just as crowded as the house. Neither of which have signs, by the way! You'll have to use your scouting eye to figure it out. Again, very pleasant staff, and lots of interesting stills from the movie and bits and pieces of movie paraphernalia (like Randy's snowsuit and French movie posters) to walk around and look at. Also, the museum has some great little trinkets, like leg lamps in three sizes from Red Rider Leg Lamps, Ovaltine and chocolates shaped like leg lamps and BB guns. I really wanted a little chocolate bunny suit, but didn't see one. Sigh. I also want a life-sized pink bunny suit, so maybe next year, merchandising department!

The museum also hosted Jim Moralevitz, a local Tremont man who was an extra in the movie! Jim works in the museum and tells the story of sitting in the Rowley Inn (local bar), and volunteering when the casting director walked in and said, "Hey! Who wants to be an extra in a movie?" Jim worked as the second freight man who delivered the lamp - if you rewatch the movie, which I totally expect you to, he's at the back end of the crate. After that working in that scene, which took quite some time to film because the box was too big to fit through the door, Jim stayed on set and worked as a babysitter for Peter Billingsley (Ralphie) and Ian Petrella (Randy).

In a brilliant move of commercialism, the C&Y Chinese Restaurant has been chosen as the official restaurant of the museum/house. The restaurant, located on 2222 St. Clair Avenue, offers 20% off the bill if you bring your ticket stub. And yes - the menu includes "Chinese Turkey," or Roasted Pei King Duck. You can feel just like Ralphie! I'd feel more like Ralphie's mom - who wants a surprise duck beheading? Not this girl.

Overall, I thought A Christmas Story house tour was worth it - it's only $5, and I'll totally pay that to mooch around someone else's house and gawk at things that are vaguely famous and recognizable. The house is open from 10 to 5 pm Wednesdays through Saturdays, and from noon to 5 pm on Sundays. This would definitely be something fun to do before Christmas - think about watching the 24-hour marathon of A Christmas Story knowing that you've walked through that same kitchen - and maybe thought about kicking the Bumpus hounds yourself!