How to Make Aunt Bethany's Jello Mold from Christmas Vacation

Long-time readers of the blog know that we are BIG FANS of the movie Christmas Vacation. So, what better way to celebrate our all-time favorite Christmas movie than to make Aunt Bethany's jello mold for our Christmas Vacation-themed party this year.

For those of you who may not be as familiar with the movie, Aunt Bethany is the lovable older aunt in the movie. She enters with Uncle Lewis bearing wrapped Christmas presents, which are later revealed to be 1) her cat and 2) a lime jello mold.

When they serve the jello mold at Christmas Eve dinner, they reveal that it is topped with dry cat food!

Aunt Bethany's Jello Mold

Non-stick cooking spray
1 standard sized Bundt pan
1/2 cup Cheerios
3 packs lime Jello (3 oz. size)
amount of water needed to prepare 3 packs of Jello, according to package directions

1. Spray the Bundt pan generously with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside. 
2. Cut about 1/4 cup of your Cheerios in half. Mix with the remaining Cheerios.
3. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the whole and halved Cheerios into your sprayed Bundt pan. Keep the rest for later.
4. Prepare Jello according to package directions and pour into the prepared Bundt pan. If your Cheerios have moved around during the pouring process, you can use a spoon to redistribute them now. Refrigerate Bundt pan uncovered and allow Jello to set overnight.
5. The next day, remove the Bundt pan from the refrigerator and allow it to sit in a large bowl of warm water for 30 seconds to 1 minute. This will loosen up the Jello from the pan.
6. Remove from the bowl of water. Place a large plate on top of the pan and flip over.
7. Top off the Jello with remaining Cheerios. Refrigerate plated Jello mold until time for your party.

Notes:

If you have never made Jello before, it is most important to use boiling water and ice-cold water to ensure that it sets. (Make sure to actually boil a pot of water and then ladle it into a measuring cup to measure out the amount needed for the recipe.)

Make sure to set your Bundt pan on a level surface in the refrigerator or your Jello mold will set unevenly.

When dipping your Bundt pan into warm water to loosen, pay special attention to what the edges of the Jello look like. You will notice when it starts to come away from the sides of the Bundt pan and it should be ready to unmold then. The amount of time needed for this step will also depend on the temperature of water you use. So, the best indicator for this step is when the edges of Jello pull away from the Bundt pan.

Use a large plate for unmolding. If you've never unmolded a Jello mold before, this part may be tricky. We've had success by having one person hold the two handles on the Bundt pan and the plate together and the other person hold the bottom of the Bundt pan and flipping the whole thing simultaneously. (1, 2, 3, flip!) We also flipped the whole thing while standing over the sink "just in case."

If you have any melted Jello that makes its way onto your plate, you can easily clean that up with a wet paper towel for presentation purposes. (But remember, Aunt Bethany's jello mold was dripping out of her wrapped package when she arrived, so you don't need to clean it up too much!)