Ernest Saves Christmas Turns 37 This Year, And These BTS Family Pics Of Jim Varney Have Me In My Feels, Vern

If you can believe it, Ernest Saves Christmas, one of the best holiday movies (and best Ernest flicks, period), hits its 37th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion, Jim Varney’s nephew shared a couple of genuinely sweet family photos from Christmas Eve 1988, taken during the same stretch when Ernest Saves Christmas was still playing in theaters. And yeah… I’m in my feels.

On his X account, Justin Lloyd (also the late star's biographer) posted two snapshots from that night at his grandmother’s house. In one, Varney is seated and leaning forward with his arms folded, rocking a vivid blue button-up that’s pure late '80s holiday gathering. In the other, he’s standing behind Lloyd mid expression, like someone just said something off camera that almost broke him:

No set lights, no prosthetics, no Ernest voice. Just Uncle Jim, looking like a regular guy, spending time with family for the holidays. That’s the part that gets me. Ernest Saves Christmas offers some life lessons worth learning, which is why it's a '90s kids' movie I still love. The flick has always been a comfort watch for a certain generation, less “official canon” and more “found on TV when you needed it.”

Jim Varney’s superpower was sincerity under the chaos. Ernest is a walking cartoon, sure, but he’s also weirdly sweet, like a golden retriever in a work vest. Seeing the Beverly Hillbillies star in an ordinary family moment makes that warmth feel even more earned.

Because these are Christmas Eve photos, you can almost feel the atmosphere around them: the too warm living room, the wrapping paper scraps, the background chatter, the pause where everybody gets a little more aware that time is moving. Of course, I’m not the only one who felt the images pull at their heartstrings.

Fans Respond To The Jim Varney Family Pics

The replies under Lloyd’s posts quickly turned into a group hug, with fans swapping memories and thanking him for keeping the legacy visible. Some of the best reactions:

• David Vineyard (@DavidVineyard9): “Ah, the rayon shirt era.....🤣”
• Justin Lloyd (Jim Varney's Biographer/Nephew) (@jimvarneybook): “SIlk.”
• A.D. (@ADTONYTONE): “I Grew Up On All Them Movies. I Can Remember Riding My Bike To The Video Store To Grab A Copy Of 'Ernest Scared Stupid' & Having Them Hold It For Me Until I Rode Home To Get My Mom To Go Rent It.👍”
• Crypdoh (@Crypdoh): “My family Loves Earnest in general we watch all of the movies to this day! Jim was one of a kind. Earnest Saves Christmas is a must watch!”
• Darby Bailey, Ph.D. 🖍️💫 (@Darbybailey): “Love that guy.”
• Carissa (@njoyzgrl81): “He was a great talent that has not been memory holed for me. ♥️”
• Dr. Boom (@1776_ghost): “Thankful to have watched so many if his films. He was very funny. Probably a great man outside of acting as well. Cheers 🍻 to Earnest lol always making us laugh our asses off for generations 🤣”
• Chewwwyyy (@HeyNowDeke): “Know what I mean Vern?” Your uncle is the embodiment of nostalgia for our generation! I bet he was a hoot! Thanks for the memories!”
• adamantem (@1adamantem1): “'Goes to Camp' shaped my childhood. Learned about the world fighting for Kickakee in my mind. 'Death from above, that’s good' [is the] greatest line ever spoken in a movie for a young herpetologist.”
• The Chapped Ass of Hugh Glass (@BodyByTroll): “I love the old pic of him with the DeLorean in the leather jacket, lookin' like Hot Shit about to chase tail. That picture has stuck with me since I was a kid. People remember Ernest, but I remember THAT photo. 😁”

Lloyd even sprinkled in a small family story in the replies, as he remembered Jim Varney using his mom’s hair dryer to help get a fireplace going one Christmas Eve. That hilarious act reportedly made Lloyd’s dad laugh for five straight minutes. It’s the most Ernest thing imaginable, except it happened off screen.

If you needed a reminder that the man behind Ernest made people feel good in more than one world, these photos do it. Know what I mean, Vern? Other '80s and ‘90s movies might not have stood the test of time, but Ernest Saves Christmas is an exception. Don’t believe me? Well, you can revisit the Christmas classic; it's available to stream with a Disney+ subscription.