The movie is actually based (mostly) on Ralphie and Flick rehashing old times at Flicks bar. The reason this movie works so well is because of its representation of Americana. I don’t think they can produce that emotion anymore.
its not my favorite Christmas movie but it did represent middle class America...
those monstrous snow suits....the furniture and the kitchen...the Santa parade...
Not really. The original stories by Jean Shepherd appeared individually in Playboy magazine. The book "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash" was a compilation of those Playboy stories. The Flick's bar interludes were created as glue to tie them all together and serve as lead-ins to the next story.
To any fan of the original movie, I recommend that you get a copy of the book and read that (a Kindle version exists). It fleshes out many of the segments of the movie and is much, much better. To me, the movie was disappointing because I was already familiar with the book, and so much was left out to keep the movie family friendly, and a reasonable length.
The stories were written for adults about kids.