Continuity mistake: When Clark is stapling the lights to the roof, his leg is tangled in the sting of lights causing him to lose his balance and slide of the roof. As he slides/falls grabbing the gutter the string of lights around his leg disappears.
Factual error: The family is reacting to where Clark went flying down on his saucer, ending up in a Wal-Mart. With the speed and length of the trip, he would've been out of sight in seconds. There was no way that they could see him from where they were.
Continuity mistake: When Rocky runs out of the RV and stands in front of his mom, her mittened right hand is on his shoulder but in the next shot it's not.
Continuity mistake: After Eddie's arrival Clark is on the lawn with "Snots." Clark's left had is shown as he is there alone with the dog trying to get his attention and his glove and wedding ring have both disappeared.
Visible crew/equipment: Just as Clark is about to smash through the hut on the greased up sled, the shadow of the camera is on the hut. (00:50:57)
Continuity mistake: When the grandfather is sleeping in the top of the bunk bed, there's a cheesecake poster on the ceiling. When Clark falls through the attic floor onto the bunk bed, it's not there.
Continuity mistake: The first time Clark fails with the lights, Ellen's mother says she hopes the kids see what a waste of resources it is. During this scene the level of her martini changes.
Plot hole: When cousin Eddie kidnaps Mr. Shirley, Shirley's wife immediately calls the police. She describes Eddie as 'brutish and huge' or something similar, and wearing a 'blue leisure suit'. She also mentions that she got the license plate number of the vehicle. But how did the SWAT Team know to go to the Griswold's house to find Mr. Shirley? Eddie's RV is not registered in the Griswold's name so the plate numbers would not be much help in finding the culprit.
Continuity mistake: During Clark's rant, the shot goes from seeing him from behind the whole family to a frontal view of the family looking at him in shock. In the first, they are standing in line with the entrance to the room. You can even see Eddie's shadow on the wall as he's very close and slightly behind it. Also, on the other side, Audrey's arms are going down to her side and she's a little behind Art. In the next shot, there is no wall and Audrey is in front of Art. Her arms are also crossed.
Factual error: Even though this movie takes place at Christmas and there is lots of snow around the outside of the house, you can tell this was filmed during the summertime due to the short shadows in some outside scenes. At Christmas time, shadows are longer all day long.
Other mistake: When the lights don't work, Clark punches Santa and knocks the antlers off the reindeer. When the lights come on and the family comes out, the antlers are back on their heads.
Continuity mistake: When Clark is looking at his "bonus check", he's holding both the envelope and "check" together in both hands. In the next shot he's only holding the "check" in both hands and the envelope is no longer under it.
Continuity mistake: When Clark falls over while on the ladder, after ripping his sleeve off, his hands keep changing position on the ladder. When he first starts to fall, his right hand is gripping the side and in the next shot both hands are gripping the rung. In the next shot both hands are on the side of the ladder until the shot after he pushes himself away from the tree and they go back to being on the rung for a shot.
Continuity mistake: When Clark is talking to the pretty saleswoman and she says "well, you do have your coat on", he tilts his head down and to his right. In the next shot his head is to his left and he moves it to the right.
Answer: YES! You are 100% correct about the deleted turkey-cooking scene! Both my husband and I remember this scene. It was Catherine and Eddie that cooked the turkey to thank Clark and his family for being hospitable. They had never cooked a turkey before and they thought cooking it at a low temperature for a LONG time would be ideal. It looked great, but completely dehydrated. THIS is why Catherine is so upset when the turkey pops open and steams - she ruined the turkey for everyone.