According to this article in the New York Times, a man has bought the house used as Ralphie Parker's homestead in A Christmas Story and is restoring it:
A San Diego entrepreneur, Brian Jones, bought the house sight unseen on e-Bay for $150,000 in December 2004. He grew up watching “A Christmas Story” every year with his family. After Mr. Jones failed the vision test required to become a Navy pilot, his father tried cheering him up by building him a lamp with a woman’s leg as the base, similar to the one that enchanted Ralphie’s father in the movie.
Mr. Jones loved the gift so much that he started manufacturing copies of the lamps himself. Complete with fishnet stocking and a black high-heeled shoe, most lamps sell for $139 each; more than 7,500 have sold. Mr. Jones used the proceeds to cover the down payment on the house.
I'm not sure which part of this story is funnier: that the guy has spent $240,000 to painstakingly recreate the movie or that he made a fortune selling fishnet-clad leg lamps.
I loved this movie, not because it reminded me of family Christmases, but because the disfunctional Parker family is portrayed so endearingly that you love them regardless of the silly, tacky, and sometimes mean behavior displayed.
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