On its surface, Home Alone is about a family that forgets one of their kids, Kevin (Macauley Culkin) amidst their chaotic sprint to the airport, leaving him at home to fend for himself for a couple days when a pair of bumbling criminals — Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern) — try to ransack the house.
But if you recall the POV of Kevin’s mother, Kate (Catherine O’Hara), then might see Home Alone as a story about a family splintered apart by circumstance, which leaves Kate to do everything she can to save Christmas using perseverance, ingenuity, and a little bit of luck. Should you end up feeling overwhelmed over the holiday, here are some Home Alone lines to help give you a little bit of inspiration on how your family can come together and save Christmas together.
“Bless this highly nutritious microwavable macaroni and cheese dinner and the people who sold it on sale. Amen.” – Kevin
At first, when Kevin realizes he’s actually alone in his house with his family half-a-world away, he’s ecstatic at the limitless possibilities. Naturally, he does a fair amount of gorging on junk food, watching R-rated movies, and riding his sled out the front door (ah, the simple ambitions of a child), it doesn’t take long before Kevin realizes that he has to pull it together and act like an adult if he’s going to make it through the next couple days.
It’s not quite as grand or elaborate as some of the other Christmas-saving endeavors on this list, but with everything in disarray, Kevin takes the time to acknowledge what he’s got going for him: a nice macaroni and cheese dinner purchased at a sensible price. Saving Christmas doesn’t always have to be about booby-traps and zip lines — sometimes the best way to make the most of the holidays is to take a minute, step back, and appreciate everything that you do have.
“Think positive, Frank!” – Peter
After a storm knocks out the power to the McCallister home, the family is left scrambling through the airport to try and make their flight on time. While Frank McCallister (Gerry Bamman) starts in with his typically cynical prediction that they’ll miss the plane, his brother Peter (John Heard) implores him to keep a positive mindset despite everything. It may not seem like much, but keeping a can-do mentality will do wonders to help you rise above the calamity of the Christmas season and lead your holidays successfully into the new year.
“This is it! Don’t get scared now!” – Kevin
No one ever said saving Christmas would be easy, and with Harry and Marv at the door, Kevin learns to face his fear and defend his family’s home with everything he’s got. While you (hopefully) don’t have to fend off a couple of nitwit bandits, Christmas isn’t exactly a passive holiday, and it can be easy to buckle under all the pressure and crawl under your bed to wait it out until sometime in mid-January.
This year, take a deep breath, repeat Kevin’s mantra, and face this holiday season (and last minute shopping) with the same wide-eyed amazement you would have as a kid. It’s just Christmastime. You got this.
“Will you please tell Santa that instead of presents this year, I just want my family back. No toys. Nothing but Peter, Kate, Buzz, Megan, Linnie, and Jeff. And my aunt and my cousins. And if he has time, my Uncle Frank. Okay?” – Kevin
After wishing his family away the night before their big vacation and then spending some quality time alone in his house before turning it into a fortified castle of pain and destruction, Kevin starts to realize what’s really important at this time of year. Besides successfully defending his home from Harry and Marv, all Kevin wants is to wake up Christmas morning and be with his family (even Buzz). In fact, he wants it so bad that he even asks a rent-a-Santa (Ken Hudson Campbell) for his help.
Gifts and decorations aside, Christmas is a time meant to be spent with your family, and the only way to truly save it is to gather with your loved ones and celebrate it together. While Santa probably won’t be able to help with any of this, he might be able to give you a couple of Tic Tacs for your trouble.
“This is Christmas! The season of perpetual hope! And I don’t care if I have to get out on your runway and hitchhike! If it costs me everything I own, if I have to sell my soul to the devil himself, I am going to get home to my son.” – Kate
Echoing the sentiments of her son hundreds of miles away, Kate fights her way through airports across the U.S. and Europe, flat-out refusing to give up on her quest to make her way back home to reunite with Kevin in time for the holidays and ultimately save Christmas for the McCallister family. Even as her patience is worn down to a thread, she never loses sight of her objective and proves that she’s willing to do anything, even hitch a ride with a polka band on their way to Sheboygan to get home.
Just when you think everything is lost, your determination to make things right will help you carry on, so whatever you do, don’t lose site of your holiday goals. You never know, you might make some pretty sweet connections in the Midwest polka touring circuit while you’re at it. It is the season of miracles, after all.
“You guys give up? Or ya thirsty for more?” – Kevin
Saving Christmas isn’t always a one-and-done deal. With Harry and Marv determined to Grinch-up the holidays for Kevin, not to mention the rest of the McCallisters, Kevin’s determined to battle it out until the very end. This year, don’t let a fractured and misguided holiday ruin your spirit. Deck the halls, sing your favorite carols, and reach out to the people in your life, both new and old. When it’s all said and done, you can look back proudly on the season knowing full well that you did everything you can to help save Christmas.
If you need a refresher on these moments and the rest of Home Alone, check it out on Blu-ray.
