Photography: Sarah Crowley for Airbnb
The classic Christmas movie Home Alone is a must-watch every year. It’s got all the hallmarks of a holiday film: family dramas, festive spirit and a feel-good ending.
Who doesn’t love watching the bad guys getting outsmarted by quick-witted eight-year-old Kevin and (spoiler alert) his heart-warming reunion with his mum in the finale.
The film starring Macaulay Culkin came out in 1990 and continues to grow more iconic as the years go on. Just recently, on December 1, 2023, the now 43-year-old actor was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The national treasure gave a sweet speech, including an emotional thank you to his fiancée Brenda Song, who was there supporting him with their two young children.
In another special moment, he was reunited with his Home Alone mum, actress Catherine O’Hara who also showed up to see him honoured. The pair embraced and were all smiles, just like a real-life mother and son.
We will of course be playing Home Alone on repeat again this year, not only for the famous slapstick moments, but also for the house.
The house in Home Alone must be acknowledged as not only the setting of one of the best Christmas movies of all time, but also interiors and exterior goals. It’s a charming mansion that we wouldn’t mind living in ourselves.
Now watching the movie as adults, we can’t help but wonder what Kevin’s parents did for a living to afford the picture-perfect place in the Chicago suburbs where the story is set, while also taking their five children on a trip to Paris (mistakenly leaving their youngest Kevin behind).
Turns out that Kevin’s dad’s brother, who was transferred to France, paid for the family vacay (a detail you might have missed as a kid), but still, that house would have cost more than the average income.
We take a look at the Home Alone house all decked out with decorations, find out how much it’s worth now and other fun facts.
1. Where is the real Home Alone house?
From outside, the Home Alone house is delightful to behold, especially when decorated tastefully with simple fairy lights around the windows and woven throughout the gardens. It might look familiar to those passing by, but you wouldn’t necessarily know it was the McCallister’s home unless you were told the address, which is 671 Lincoln Ave, Winnetka, Illinois.
2. Can I visit the Home Alone house?
The Home Alone house is privately owned so you can’t take a tour. Back in 2021 it was put up for a one-night-only stay by Airbnb, hosted by Kevin’s older brother Buzz (yes, the one who owned the spider that was let loose on the bandits). Apart from that, you can enjoy it from the sidewalk, along with plenty of other fans who flock to see it every year.
3. How much is the Home Alone house worth?
For most families, the real Home Alone house, which reportedly has six bedrooms and six bathrooms, is more than big enough. We can see why Kevin felt like he was living a life of luxury left all alone to enjoy it (and why burglars wanted to break in). According to American real estate website Zillow, the property is currently valued at $US2.3 million, while Realtor.com values the house at around $US1.942 million. In Aussie dollars, that’s $2.8-$3.5 million. So, like we said, probably not so affordable for your average family.
4. How many siblings does Kevin have in Home Alone?
With all the chaos going on in the opening scenes of Home Alone where everyone is running back and forth and up and down the stairs, it’s easy to get confused about how many siblings Kevin actually has (there are some cousins, Aunt Leslie and Uncle Frank heading to the airport with them, too). Kevin is the youngest of the McCallister family, with parents Kate (Catherine O’Hara) and Peter (John Heard), two brothers, Jeff (Michael C. Maronna) and Buzz (Devin Ratray), and two sisters, Megan (Hillary Wolf) and Linnie (Angela Goethals).
5. Where did they film Home Alone?
While you’d think the whole movie would have been shot in the mansion, it was reportedly not big enough to fit the whole film crew. A lot of the classic scenes, which were written by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus, were shot at the abandoned building of New Trier Township High School. They recreated the house in the form of a two-storey set in the high school gym.
6. How did they make the snow in Home Alone?
One of the most magical parts of the Home Alone movie is the snow. It makes the movie all the more magical and the charming interiors feel even more cosy. Word is that snow wasn’t in the filming budget but there just so happened to be a blizzard at the start of shooting, so to keep it consistent they used snow machines for the rest of the project. It wouldn’t be the same without it!
