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This past semester, I bid adieu to typical dorm-style living and said hello to a new apartment complex near my campus. Upon receiving the keys, I was filled with a mix of thoughts and emotions. I pictured myself becoming best friends with neighbors across the hall like those in my favorite sitcoms. I envisioned making my room a little sanctuary for relieving stress, binge-watching trending Netflix originals, or even just crossing things off on my to-do list. I imagined decorating the common area with fun printed throw pillows.

Then the image gradually developed into me not taking out the trash or forgetting to pay the rent in a timely manner. However, my excitement overpowered my apprehension and little bit of fear. After all, living on my own (with a trusty roommate, of course) meant no more resident advisors, small bathrooms, and shared bedrooms.

I quickly learned that this new lifestyle would reveal some quirks and oddities. Both of us were free to choose how we wanted to use and decorate our respective living spaces. Several different scented candles? Check. Small karaoke machine we found online? Check. Designate a cabinet drawer as a "pasta drawer?" Check.

With the start of December just around the corner, it's only right that we seek advice from Home Alone's reliable Kevin McAllister. Whether you're living with a roommate(s) or flying solo, there are a few key takeaways we can all learn from this classic film. Looking for a gift to give your Home Alone fanatic? Check out Hello Giggle's movie-inspired shopping guide.

Here are four tips to keep in mind when living on your own.

About the Movie

Directed by Chris Columbus, (1990) is a comedy starring Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister, an eight-year-old who spends his Christmas defending his home from burglars after he's accidentally left home alone.

The night before the McCallister family is set to leave for their Christmas vacation in Paris, Kevin gets into a fight with older brother Buzz and spends the night on the third floor as punishment. With all of the teasing and ridicule, Kevin wishes that his family would disappear - which ends up happening due to a power outage that resets everyone's alarm clocks.

Having overslept and rushing to the airport, the family leaves young Kevin behind in all of the confusion. Kevin wakes up extremely pleased to find the house empty. However, after realizing that his neighbor Old Man Marley (Roberts Blossom) and the Wet Bandits - a pair of burglars notorious for breaking into vacant houses - are still in the area, Kevin pretends that the entire family is still home to scare them away.

Upon finding out that Kevin is staying home by himself, the Wet Bandits - Harry and Marv - plan to break into the house. And Kevin is ready to defend his territory. From setting up various booby traps to discovering the true Old Man Marley, this eight-year-old has a lot of tasks to complete before he can reunite with his family.

Want to watch the film before reading further? Find it here.

Now here's what Kevin's story can teach us about living by ourselves.

1. Do anything and everything that you couldn't do before.

Being the youngest of the large family, Kevin is often overlooked by his parents or teased by his older siblings. While most of us may panic when our family is nowhere to be seen, he is actually overjoyed to spend the holidays by himself.

The peace and quiet are soon interrupted, however, when Kevin learns that burglars Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern) may be lurking around the neighborhood. This prompts him to gather some life-sized cutouts, holiday tunes, and plenty of string to scare them away.

When living off-campus, you're no longer subjected to the rules created for the resident halls. As a result, you'll have more privacy and freedom to explore your own living style - investing in furniture that suits your tastes, choosing who can visit you and when, and cooking (or not cooking) your favorite meals.
I'm a huge fan of breakfast food items. The amount of egg and spinach sandwiches I consume is uncanny. It's quick, easy, and tasty! What's not to love?
Take this as an opportunity to try various new activities and live your way. If you're feeling stuck, you can always host a small party with close friends. No string and cardboard cutouts necessary.

2. Get to know your neighbors.

Old Man Marley's mysterious demeanor, along with the exaggerated stories about him, frighten Kevin. In the film, the eight-year-old attends a choir show, only to sit next to his intimidating neighbor. Through their brief encounter, he learns that his old neighbor had a conflict with his son and they haven't been on speaking terms. Upon discovering this fact, Kevin encourages Old Man Marley to reconcile with his family.

After befriending his neighbor, Kevin feels more at ease being home alone. When the Wet Bandits finally get ahold of the him, Old Man Marley is there to save the day.

You're not expected to become life-long friends with the tenants next door or down the hall, but it never hurts to introduce yourself and get acquainted with your neighbors. From sharing tips about the laundry facilities to giving a head's up about certain inspections, meeting your neighbors has its benefits. Besides, it's also nice to have another pair of eyes looking out for you in case anything happens while you're not at home.

3. Add some extra security.

Kevin overhears that Harry and Marv discovered he's home alone and plan on breaking into the house. In response, he creates "Operation HO HO HO," a plan to trap and keep the burglars away. With a variety of different obstacles and other antics that gradually hinder these robbers from stealing anything, Kevin knows that it never hurts to be extra cautious. From getting covered in glue and feathers to stepping on Christmas ornaments barefoot, Harry and Marv encounter plenty of setbacks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mlbio8r9bRw
When first moving in, take notice of any security issues and get them fixed, ASAP. Working locks and functioning lights are a great start to feeling safe in your new home. Most of us won't have to set up booby traps or anything, but it's always better to be safe than sorry.

It's also strongly advised to not give out any clues that you're going out of town since it'll attract burglars like Harry and Marv. With today's digitally connected world, it's important to pay attention to what we post on social media when it comes to vacations and trips away from home.

Interested in how to keep your home safe? Check out Safewise's checklist.

4. Schedule time to leave.

After all of the chaos with the Wet Bandits, Kevin realizes that he misses his family and wants them to come back. To his surprise, he's greeted with his mom (and the rest of the family), who travels home to Chicago with a polka band after having bad luck with flights.

Living on your own doesn't mean you have to love being alone. While it's great to embrace your independence, there is no need to be in solitude all of the time.

It's easy to stay secluded in the comfort of your own home. But you'll soon find yourself developing cabin fever, bored beyond belief, and even a little lonely. To avoid that feeling, meet up with a few friends, explore a local park, or visit local art museums. Before you know it, you'll be thankful that you left the house.

Thoughts?

Do you have any stories about living on your own? Any other tips you'd like to share? What movie are you watching next? Start the conversation - comment below!

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This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you purchase through our links. Please read our full disclosure here. This past semester, I bid adieu to typical dorm-style living and said hello to a new apartment complex near my campus.

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5 Lessons We Can Learn From Home Alone’s Kevin McCallister

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He may be small but when it comes to preventing theft, Kevin McCallister knows how to think big. Here are 5 lessons we can all learn from the hero of Home Alone.

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There is much to say about Home Alone, the 1990 Christmastime comedy written by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus. After getting upset at his family for constantly dismissing him, indignant eight-year-old Kevin McAllister (Macaulay Culkin) goes to bed one December night wishing his family would vanish. When he wakes up the next morning, he finds that they have. (Really, they have accidentally left him behind when heading to the airport to catch their flight to Paris, where they plan to spend the holidays. But he doesn't know that.) Kevin ecstatically celebrates having house all to himself, as his fantasies of zero-supervision come to life. But the movie takes a more threatening turn when two thieves begin preparations to rob his home-and so a circumstance which starts out as a child's greatest dream seems to turn into a child's worst nightmare.

When you're a kid, there are few things more genuinely terrifying than invaders entering your home, especially without parents there to protect you. Notably, though, this tonal oscillation between freedom and peril doesn't feel so extreme in Home Alone, mostly because of the surreal resolve and wiliness of the kid protagonist. Our Kevin, alienated from his family already, is revealed to us as a kind of lone wolf, and this experience reveals his nearly supernatural, innate capabilities for self-defense and self-preservation.

His guarding of the house moves from clever obfuscations to the implementation of a spectacular cat-and-mouse game designed to torment and humiliate the two thieves as much as possible as they try to force their way in. He catches them in a series of elaborate, ingenious, and very painful Rube-Goldberg torture devices. The thieves, Harry and Marv (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern), are only more fueled to try to catch Kevin, with each obstacle thrown at them, with each maiming they face.
Our Kevin, alienated from his family already, is revealed to us as a kind of lone wolf, and this experience reveals his nearly supernatural, innate capabilities for self-defense and self-preservation.
If you've never seen Home Alone, what I've described just now might seem to conjure a horror movie than a family-friendly holiday flick. It's not. Home Alone possesses the same slapsticky buoyancy and physical elasticity of Looney Toons; no matter how many anvils are dropped on the aggressors, they'll still spring back up a few moments later and resume the pursuit at hand. Underscoring this vibe is that Daniel Stern has the high-pitched scream of Daffy Duck and Joe Pesci makes angry, incoherent mutterings that have drawn comparisons to Yosemite Sam.

I must admit, few films make me laugh harder (after repeat viewings, no less) than Home Alone. (I don't know what it is about me, but when someone in a movie slips on a banana peel, I lose it.) I love Home Alone. I love its gags. I love its performances. It is so well-written, with the right balance of memorable throwaway comic lines and clever dialogue. It has a lovely, triumphant score by John Williams. I watch it every year. (Though, it must be said, my love for this film also has to do with a fabulous cameo from John Candy as the Polka King of the Midwest.)

But even I can't deny that Kevin does possess a certain smugness, up against the harried and increasingly-enraged bandits-resembling the self-satisfaction of Bugs Bunny more than the blithe, innocent darting of the Road Runner. The difference between Bugs and the bird is that Bugs lays traps for the idiots chasing him, while the Road Runner allows Wile. E. Coyote to get caught in his own-there is an obvious, aggressive arrogance associated with the former.

Similarly, there's no doubt that Kevin is (to use Bugs's choice word) a 'stinker'-bratty to his family and arrogant to the bandits, and this on the whole makes him a bit harder to like. It also fully changes the tone of the whole film, for some, including my best friend Michael, who has said that Kevin's need to show up these bumbling adults in such extreme ways (his traps light them on fire, drive nails through their feet, smash their faces with swinging cans of paint, and brand their hands, for example) feels a tad sociopathic. As such, there's a popularly-circulated fan theory positing that Home Alone is the origin story of the Saw movies, and that Kevin McAllister is actually going to grow up into the cruel serial killer Jigsaw.

Indeed, Kevin seems to relish tricking and injuring the thieves (who have styled themselves "the Wet Bandits," because Marv likes to flood the houses they've robbed, as a kind of calling card). The film justifies his torment of them enough because they are ultimately willing to kill him-so, yeah, bad dudes. But the film also spends a long time characterizing Kevin as being phenomenally precocious, a kid so clever and capable that adults can't handle him. He is mean, yes, but he is also constantly underestimated and belittled by everyone, and frequently-bullied by his four older siblings and his mean uncle.

There is pity in this. As much as he is represented to us as being a kind of wunderkind, he is also still a child; he is lonely, he is discouraged, and he longs to have his abilities recognized and respected. Horror movies teach us that the desire for one's genius to be recognized (especially coupled with rejections from society), is a slippery slope into madness and violence. But the intensity with which Kevin comes at these thieves when they set foot on his family's yard also offers a unique reading on adulthood, one which is defined by anger, revenge, and-above all-the myths of self-defense and the protection of property.

For the most part, adults in Home Alone are bad-or at least, they're lacking. Kate and Peter McAllister (Catherine O'Hara and John Heard) ultimately leave their son behind and head to France, and don't realize that they've left him back in the suburbs until they're flying over the Atlantic Ocean. They don't defend him when their eldest son Buzz (Devin Ratray) bullies him, or when his nasty Uncle Frank loudly calls him a "jerk" in front of all fourteen family members. (It's a needlessly hostile family. Everyone seems to be at each other's throats.) When Kevin accidentally steals a toothbrush from a local general store, the proprietors sic a cop on him. The incompetent neighborhood police that the frantic McAllister parents send to check on Kevin don't care that he's potentially in danger. And Kevin spends the entire film being terrified of his silent neighbor, Old Man Morely (Roberts Blossom), who (according to the trouble-making Buzz) once murdered people with his snow shovel.

The Wet Bandits, ultimately, decide to proceed with their robbery of the McAllister house after they confirm that Kevin is indeed home alone. "I think we're getting scammed by a Kindy-gardner" Harry slyly tells Marv. Indeed, Kevin has managed to trick them four-FOUR-times into thinking that the house is occupied, thus scaring them away temporarily. The first time they creep around outside, Kevin sees them as exaggerated shadows through the sheer curtain (looking like the exact kind of specters that would terrify an unattended kid), and he runs through the house, flicking on all the lights. The second time Harry and Marv drive by, Kevin has ingeniously faked a holiday party inside, blasting Christmas music and setting up an enormous display of moving, human-like puppets (dress forms on spinning turntables, cardboard cutouts taped to moving train sets), so that the bandits will see their shadows through the windows and be scared away. (Fighting scary shadows with scare-inducing shadows is how Kevin asserts he is on the same level as these adults.)

The third time, when Marv comes sneaking around the yard, Kevin plays an old gangster movie by the side door, making Marv think other criminals are already inside, beating the Wet Bandits to the job. The fourth time, the time they realize that Kevin is all alone, they spy through an open window that Kevin is alone inside, and he pretends to be talking to his dad, but ultimately, the bandits don't buy this one. Knowing now that they are only up against a child, they're confident that they can trick/scare/intimidate him into getting what they want.
When he first realizes that his family is gone, he constructs a new identity for himself as the "man of the house," a figure who gets to use the space however he wants.
So, on their fifth attempt, Kevin fights back, showing them what he's made of. And he has a lot of anger fueling this encounter. Rather like Jaws 's grizzled sea captain Quint hates sharks, Kevin hates adults. He loathes them. When he first realizes that his family is gone, he constructs a new identity for himself as the "man of the house," a figure who gets to use the space however he wants. He watches movies he's not allowed to watch, eats a giant bowl of ice cream for dinner because no one can forbid him from eating it. Apostrophizing, he mockingly calls out to them as he's doing all of this: "you better come out and stop me!" He rides a sled down the stairs, through the open front door, which he would normally never be allowed to do. After all these shenanigans, though, he decides he needs to act like a grown-up, and he begins performing tasks he sees adults doing: shopping, cleaning, doing laundry, putting on aftershave. He even chops down his own little tree to decorate. Here, he seems to confirm a suspicion that adult life is easy, and that he can do it better, as a second-grader.

In the scenes when he's not outwitting bandits, watching Kevin playact adulthood is where the film can also be its most fun. This element is construed for us as "cute"-grown-up life, but in miniature. But just as this might somewhat diminish Kevin in the eyes of the viewer (reinforcing his childhood primarily because he tries to abandon it), it elevates Kevin in his own worldview. He foils suspicious adults (like the grocery store checkout employee who asks where his parents are) by asking them, in return, what on earth a child would be doing wandering around by himself, pretending to be an adult? But really, this is Kevin pretending to be a child, to get what he wants.
The bandits, rather than scare him, are a kind of last straw, and he channels all his rage into a series of sadistic monkeyshines.
The film's third act, in which the bandits decide to enter the house at all costs, can be seen as a cathartic crescendo of Kevin's simmering rage at those older than him who have attempted to infantilize him. The bandits, rather than scare him, are a kind of last straw, and he channels all his rage into a series of sadistic monkeyshines. To Kevin, Harry and Marv symbolize all the adults who dismiss children, and Kevin can't take this any longer. He needs to shoot them down, and sometimes do this literally-he has a BB gun that he carries around during this sequence. For this attitude, I think that out of all the characters Kevin might resemble, it's not Jigsaw but Holden Caulfield.

A darker Home Alone version might also make Kevin resemble six-year-old Anthony Fremont, the central character in the scariest-ever episode of The Twilight Zone, "It's a Good Life" (based on the short story of the same name by Jerome Bixby). In this episode, little Anthony is revealed to have limitless telekinetic powers, ones that allow him to create whatever he wants with his mind as well as read the minds and motivations of others. Because he has so much power, and conversely, is so emotionally immature (he is six!) he becomes a monstrous tyrant, holding his entire town hostage so they give him whatever he wants. No one can stop him. "It's a Good Life" represents so effectively how scary it is for creatures as emotionally-unintelligent as children to control how the world works.

Home Alone attempts to give Kevin wisdom and empathy enough so that he is not revealed as this same kind of pint-sized, demented, psychopathic puppeteer, and this is where the film relies on both the underlying sinister capabilities of the hitherto-goofy bandits, plus its lenient, even cartoonish-laws of physics, plus Kevin's eventual realization that he doesn't want to actually be in this position at all. Before he defends his home against the bandits, he makes his most childlike gesture so far, visiting a Santa Claus impersonator and asking him to bring his family back. He tells Santa that he is sorry for that he is done to his family to make them go away. He realizes that what he once wanted was really just immature and petty, and this confession marks the first moment in which he acts his age, but also the first moment in which he truly acts maturely.

To eliminate the threat of any real danger (to anyone), this final sequence of Home Alone seems intended to produce a similar kind of catharsis for the audience as it does for Kevin-the physical gags, and the brilliantly funny performances of Stern and Pesci as their characters fall victim to Kevin's pranks, are laugh-out-loud funny. It's a release that, after a feature film full of worrying about a child, we can laugh at exactly how safe he is. We're meant to marvel at the strategy and ingenuity of his booby-traps. They are, granted, incredibly impressive.

But notably, Kevin doesn't also understand the humanistic implication of the way he chooses to handle things. (A good example of this is how the villain of the 2016 Christmastime horror movie Better Watch Out is actually an evil child who has styled himself after Kevin McAllister and who does kill someone with the swinging paint can gag that Kevin famously deploys.) It's only by the miracle of the film's effective-rubberization of its bandits' bodies that Kevin isn't killing these trespassers. Kevin doesn't know that the thieves will be able to fall a thousand times without actually dying.

Essentially, Home Alone 's final sequence is not the first time Kevin has acted on contempt and messed with those who do not belong in his space; he terrifies a cheerful, teenage pizza delivery guy into thinking that he's going to be shot, and tips him a few measly cents for the trouble. Kevin uses the same video trick that he uses on the Wet Bandits on this innocent guy, collapsing a service worker and two thieves in the same manner. "Keep the change, you filthy animal," the mobster in the movie says, and Kevin ventriloquizes along with that as the delivery guy runs away.

These are a few of the ways that Kevin's performance of adulthood traffics along with an insidious ideological position of elitism. That Kevin has filled his house with snares, and marches about them carrying a BB gun on his back, expands on his previous definition of adulthood as acquiring items and performing labor associated with keeping the house. The other part of adulthood that Kevin interprets is not just acquiring and servicing property, but defending it. "This is my house, I have to defend it," he announces when the bandits final arrive on Christmas Eve night. (He even adds, in a way that seems to quell his natural childlike qualities, "don't get scared now." He looks at the camera, and in this moment it's a bit unclear if he's telling himself to grow up, or if he's assuring the audience that he has things under control.)
Kevin's notions of what it means to be a grown up are thoroughly subject to a capitalistic framework, one which defines success through the acquisition and hoarding of resources.
Here, Home Alone represents how the fetishization of property leads to harm, in his participation in the problematic "Stand Your Ground" kind of ideology that those watching the news in 2020 see enacted time and time again, to horrible consequences. Kevin's interpretation of adulthood, which prizes possessions above family, might be the product of the life he's lived, with his wealthy, patronizing family in an enormous brick mansion in the affluent suburb of Winnetka, Illinois.

Kevin's notions of what it means to be a grown up are thoroughly subject to a capitalistic framework, one which defines success through the acquisition and hoarding of resources. Protecting the house so vehemently against the bandits, not long thereafter, might also be seen as a gesture towards his family-protecting their memory and serving their home by protecting it against robbers. This is a rather materialistic way to interpret love, if it is what's at work, here, and it also contradicts the very holiday that provides its backdrop. If Kevin is learning that the most important thing is actually family, and not presents or the other materialistic trappings of Christmas, his doesn't embody this knowledge fully, yet.

Even aside from his obsession with "protecting property," I really can't help but think that Karl Marx, who theorized that people experience "estrangement" from their own human nature as the result of society's insistence on class-stratification (which values some above others), would have a lot to say about a rich kid torturing two working-class petty criminals in Home Alone, but whatever.

The turning point in the movie is when Kevin actually meets Old Man Morely-in a church, on Christmas Eve, listening to a choir of children sing. The smartest thing about Home Alone is that it is set at Christmas, a holiday predicated on honoring a child, venerating the humility and natural goodness of children. Moreover, here, in this illuminating place, Morely, revealed to be a kindly man who is in church to watch his little granddaughter sing, talks to Kevin honestly, candidly, without talking down to him. Kevin is glad for the opportunity to be listened to, to be taken seriously.

And later, Moreley ends up saving his life. Because the Wet Bandits do actually outsmart Kevin eventually, and they grab him, and they announce that they're going to torture and kill him. Morely, brandishing his snow shovel, sneaks up behind them and knocks them out. He picks Kevin up and carries him over their bodies. "Let's get you home," he tells Kevin gently, as Kevin gapes in awe at what he has just seen. Here, Kevin is treated like a child, and he accepts it. He realizes he's out of his depth, and that his pretending otherwise might have caused his own death (he is so unable to extricate himself on his own terms that he veritably needs a deus ex machina). He stops, finally, attempting to don adulthood. And then, the next morning, on Christmas, his family is returned to him, so he can accept being a child, for real.

All that's left of his rip-roaring Yuletide encounters with the Bandits is Harry's gold tooth, which has gotten knocked out and which Kevin's dad finds on the floor after the McAllister clan returns on Christmas day. It's not going to be worth much to Kevin, but it is a souvenir from his encounter, his night of almost getting killed after trying to, um, kill intruders (?). With his family all around him, marveling at how he managed to go shopping for essentials while living by himself, the story of how Kevin really spent the previous few days seems too far-fetched and possibly even imaginary to even tell. Now that family has been reunited, the triumph of protecting property seems to mean very little. In other words, as Kevin's favorite movie mobster might say, "keep the change, you filthy animal."

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Thirty Years Later, Home Alone Has a Lot to Say About Adulthood

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There is much to say about Home Alone, the 1990 Christmastime comedy written by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus. After getting upset at his family for constantly dismissing him, indignant eight-year-old Kevin McAllister (Macaulay Culkin) goes to bed one December night wishing his family would vanish.

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Home Alone's Secret Meaning: Adulting is Hard | Read | The Take

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Home Alone's Secret Meaning: Adulting is Hard | Read | The Take

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When it comes to my top 10 Christmas movies, it's tough not to include ' Home Alone'. From John William's score to Kevin's elaborate booby-traps, it's no wonder the film has long been heralded a Christmas classic.

Yet, while it's easy to remember Macaulay Culkin's signature scream and home security alarm system ¹, it's also worth noting the movie's moral fiber laced among its memorable moments.

Thus, in the spirit of going behind the scenes ¹, here are three underrated life lessons inspired by 'Home Alone'...
1. Don't believe everything you hear
Imagine being a falsely labeled murderer for over three decades, estranged from family, frozen in accusation. Hard to relate, right? Unfortunately, for ol' man Marley, his reputation had fermented such stains. Once an innocent family man, now a salty, suspicious loner with a checkered past.

Yet, for Kevin, who like any impressionable youngster buys the gossip initially, his fear ultimately fades when confronted by Marley at a local church service.

Posed with tangible truth, Kevin not only accepts his misunderstanding, but 'captains' the conversation into two of the movie's driving themes:

Togetherness is a vital ingredient to family life.

Never judge a book by its cover.

By exchange's end, Kevin reminds us not only to weigh our judging impulses, but how doing so can build unexpected bridges with people we never imagined.
2. Reconcile your differences
As an adult, it's interesting to observe movies you frequented as a kid. For instance, with 'Home Alone', it's appalling how much word cursing and finger pointing occurs within the first five minutes.

Megan McCallister: Kevin, you're completely helpless!

Linnie McCallister: You know, Kevin, you're what the French call les incompetents.

Jeff McCallister: Kevin, you are *such* a *disease*!

Frank McCallister: Look what you *did*, you little *jerk*.

Buzz McCallister: I wouldn't let you sleep in my room if you were growing on my [butt].

I mean...if I had family like that, I probably would want them to disappear too. No wonder my parents started the movie after these scenes!

Of course, as we eventually find, Kevin, not realizing he'd been inadvertently abandoned, learns to value what his parents provided him while Kevin's parents learn to press through guilt into doing whatever possible to get home.

By the finale, not only do we see Kevin's rejuvenated appreciation of family, but Kevin's family realizing the type of person they'd been abandoning long before leaving for Paris.

Granted, it would have been ideal had humility and forgiveness being more directly exchanged. Yet, in the world of cinema, beggars can't be choosers so we learn to live with backhand affirmation (Buzz: " Hey, Kev. It's pretty cool that you didn't burn the place down."), hugs speaking for themselves, and a mother's 'sorry' covering for the entire family ².
3. Don't just conquer your fear, stay ahead of it
Remember the scene when Kevin goes down to the basement and encounters the furnace (apparently voiced by Sauron)?

Upon further review, Kevin does right in downgrading his foreboding to imagination, but as we later see, once the furnace opens, it's game over.

Fast-forward twenty minutes and we find Kevin, having since conquered a pestering clerk, a stereotypical police officer, and a klutzy pizza delivery man, revisiting the furnace, flexing his new found confidence (see 1:18-1:27 in the clip below).

Yet, while Kevin is able to 'defeat' the furnace, he knows to beat the wet bandits, he must not only brace his fear, but embrace it by tackling each hurdle in stride as evidenced by my favorite scene in the movie...

Thus, as Kevin reminds us, if we want to better confront our challenges, we need to anticipate and see ourselves rising above them. Only then can we stand strong, hold our ground, and defend the faith as we were made to.
Bonus: Be careful what you wish for.
As a kid, this line constantly sailed over my head...

...but now as a married father of two, I get the joke.

Obviously, Kevin is too young to understand the full contrast between independence and relationship, especially in a family where neither is modeled well; however, for older viewers like us, his tantrum ³ can remind us to be careful what we say, what we wish for, and how we interpret hidden cries for help.

In Kevin's case, not only did he feel left out, but ridiculed and scorned when attention was given (hence his level of frustration; see word curses above). Yet, while his comments on the surface seem to indicate a craving for solitude, his ' when I get married ' slip up clearly confirms a much deeper-seeded desire for meaningful/functional connection.

As for us, let's learn from Kevin by making sure we don't defer our hope in the face of disappointment while keeping a steady ear, eye, and hand out for those in similar struggles ⁴.
Footnotes

1. In more ways than one

2. Though quick side note: while Kevin's parents lived their ownership, as we've talked about here on His Girl Fryday, full reconciliation of relational soul/spirit hurts can only occur if repentance is confessed

3. Shout out to Joe Pesci whose reaction makes this scene)

4. Which interestingly Kevin does with old man Marley during the church scene

Bible Verses Photo cover: Film & TV Now

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3 Underrated Life Lessons from 'Home Alone'

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When it comes to my top 10 Christmas movies, it's tough not to include 'Home Alone'. From John William's score to Kevin's elaborate booby-traps, it's no wonder the film has long been heralded a Christmas classic. Yet, while it's easy to remember Macaulay Culkin's signature scream and home security alarm system1, it's also worth noting...

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is one of the most successful Christmas films ever shot, and the main theme of the film is Christmas, preparations for celebrations of this holiday. The entire film is soaked with Christmas spirit, which is all about family, unity, friendship and love. But what is more important is the path to this unity. The characters have to pass through some trials to understand and really value what they have. Kevin wished his family to disappear, and the next morning he woke up and was alone in the house. At first he was happy, but as days passed he wished them all back, and even promised he would never misbehave. So the central theme of the film is what Christmas embodies - family and love.

Christmas is a very busy holiday, everyone is involved in preparations, adults have many things to get arranged, and kids have many dreams of what Santa will bring them. And there are those who try to take advantage of this troubled time - robbers, burglars and other criminals. It is the best time for their bad deeds, as little attention is paid to themselves. And in the film such two burglars - Harry and Marc - have a plan to rob the houses on the street where very rich people live. They find out who leaves the house for holidays and simply get into the house and take away everything they can carry. But their biggest target is the McCallisters' house.

The most interesting and humorous part of the film is when Kevin holds a fight with Harry and Marv. Being a very creative child Kevin puts many traps around the house and outside, and when Harry and Marv come to the house they are constantly hurt. Kevin uses all his imagination to prevent his house from being robbed, and his childish attitude and way of thinking proves to be more effective than the one of the burglars'. Children are much wiser, and can give good advices as well. The line with Marley, the old neighbor, is proof of children's wisdom. For Kevin it is simply to go and make it up, so that it is what he advises old Marley.

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is one of the most successful Christmas films ever shot, and the main theme of the film is Christmas, preparations for celebrations of this holiday. The entire film is soaked with Christmas spirit, which is all about family, unity, friendship and love. But what is more important is the path to this unity.

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1. There's no such thing as too many head counts.

Can you believe that 25 years have passed since Macaulay Culkin stormed into our lives in ? It's been a quarter of a century since we first laughed at little Kevin McCallister's wild antics and shamed his awful parents for (accidentally) leaving him behind when the took off for Paris. Back in 1990, as a young adult, I obviously identified more with Kevin and his excitement over his new-found independence. But watching it now with my kids, I relate more to his parents. It's funny how many lessons you can find in Home Alone. Here are a few:

1. There's no such thing as too many head counts. Obviously.

via Giphy

2. Kids are smarter than we think. It's like an anti-helicopter parenting movie. Kevin proves that, even at the age of eight, he can fend for himself and take care of his home-and he does it all with crazy kid logic. I hardly expect my three kids to create elaborate schemes to ward off a couple of burglars, but they do have many areas of expertise and more wisdom than I give them credit for.

3. It's possible for kids to enjoy old black and white movies. Even though the (admittedly inappropriate) movie Kevin watches endlessly- Angels with Filthy Souls-isn't a real movie, it serves as a good reminder that actual film classics are worth watching as a family. They create straightforward suspense and hilarity without gimmicks, and your kids can learn to pay attention to a movie that isn't all CGI.

4. Have a family escape plan. Do your kids know where to go in case of an emergency? Do they know how to exit your house from the second floor? They should. Do you also have an escape plan for when the kids are driving you crazy with their antics? You should have one for that scenario, too.

5. Sometimes kids like to be alone. It's not just you; even your little ones need a break from the family. Kevin doesn't immediately fall apart when he realizes that he is alone in an empty house-in fact, he thinks it's absolutely magical. I get it, and I bet your kids do, too.

6. Get to know your neighbours. This is important. You don't have to be the best of friends, but neighbours can offer help when you need it. Your family should make an extra effort to get to know them better, even if they're seemingly scary old men who shovel snow late at night-you never know when that shovel could come in handy.

7. Forgiveness is always possible. Kevin forgives his parents for leaving him behind, even though they don't necessarily deserve it. The reunion hug between Kevin and his mom (played by Catherine O'Hara) is a tissue-worthy moment-even more so now that I'm a parent myself. I know I've needed forgiveness from my own kids on occasion.

8. Twenty-five years can pass in the blink of an eye. I first saw this movie with my university friends after a night on the town. Back then, the idea of having our own kids and organizing family dinners still seemed like a lifetime away. Now, as I do head counts at the airport, on the subway and sometimes even as we exit the house, I can't believe that it's been a quarter of a century since Kevin was left home alone. It still feels like yesterday.
Emma Waverman is a writer, blogger and mom to three kids. She has many opinions, some of them fit to print. Read more of her articles and follow her on Twitter @emmawaverman. Read more:
Yes, I leave my nine-year-old home alone sometimes>
10 holiday movies for the family>

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8 parenting lessons from Home Alone - Today's Parent

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1. There's no such thing as too many head counts. Can you believe that 25 years have passed since Macaulay Culkin stormed into our lives in ? It's been a quarter of a century since we first laughed at little Kevin McCallister's wild antics and shamed his awful parents for (accidentally) leaving him behind when the took off for Paris.

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What was filmmaker John Hughes thinking when he made Home Alone?

His previous films were either about awkward teens finding their way in the world ( The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off etc), or awkward adults finding their way in the world ( Uncle Buck, Planes, Trains and Automobiles). Plus a franchise featuring both groups ( National Lampoon's Vacation).

But Home Alone (1990), enjoying a 30th-anniversary re-release in Australian cinemas this week, plays differently. Eight-year-old Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) is punished and forced to sleep in the attic. There, he wishes his family never existed.

The next morning he wakes to find himself the only occupant of his house - forgotten by the rest of his family as they head to Paris for Christmas.

There are no self conscious teens grappling with coming-of-age issues and no irresponsible and naïve adults belatedly learning life lessons in this film. Instead we get super cute Kevin pretending to be the "man of the house".

A false sense of cuteness

Hughes obviously knew he had lightning in a bottle with Culkin, who had co-starred in Uncle Buck the year before.

Although only nine at the time of filming, Culkin is a strong, extroverted actor with great comic timing and a lively, energetic performance. He delivers his lines thoughtfully and can turn on the emotion when he needs to. He carries the film single-handedly. All other characters are really just plot devices for Kevin's mischievousness - or his introspection.

But if Kevin is "home alone", where is the drama? Hughes introduces a secondary plot of two burglars trying to break into the house. This is where the film takes an uncharacteristic turn for the macabre.

Read more: Home alone feeling scrooged? These Christmas movies deserve some love, actually

What has been one of Hughes' usual saccharine romps involving dysfunctional people learning to deal with family life becomes a sadistic and bruising experience akin to a PG-rated Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

The film lures you into its cutesy first two acts - Kevin walking around in his dad's shoes; shopping at the supermarket; the famous aftershave scene where he evokes Edvard Munch's The Scream - before Kevin unleashes a bloody onslaught of booby traps and tortures expected of an Arnold Schwarzenegger action movie.

A dark psychology

Hughes knows his cinema history. You can see the influence of Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin in Home Alone, setting up one sight gag after another. But here, each gets increasingly violent.

Hughes demonstrated fine comic writing skills with John Candy and Steve Martin in Planes, Trains and Automobiles and with Candy again in Uncle Buck. Both films are laden with slapstick. But their jokes are the result of stupidity on behalf of the adult characters. The hurt is to themselves, and mostly superficial.

Kevin's tricks, however, involve BB gun shots to the face and genitals, scorching metal searing flesh, nails inserted into feet and the use of flame throwers.

Read more: How far can you go to lawfully protect yourself in a home invasion?

At the end of the film Kevin doesn't need the pandering of his mother - he needs a serious psychological assessment.

It is almost like watching a short film within a much larger one. It seems Hughes started out writing a script with the same central idea of most of his films: that even though families bicker and often harass each other, familial love is the unbreakable core of life.

But then he went dark. Really dark.

Home Alone feels like it was written by Hughes for the first hour - then Quentin Tarantino, with its ultra violence. It then lapses back into Hughes-with-extra-schmaltz for the last 20 minutes.

We need to talk

How one uber-violent kid's movie is frequently ranked among the best Christmas movies of all time defies description. It was by far Hughes' greatest commercial success.

I'm not sure exactly what messages child audiences are picking up through all of this. I doubt they would be healthy, but that is probably better left to a psychologist to parse. Still, this screen duality of cutesiness/darkness appears to have been experienced by Culkin himself in real life.

Culkin's parents carefully fostered the "America's darling" persona throughout his young career. In his teens, Culkin became emancipated from them, taking control of his finances. (He later claimed his father had been psychologically and physically abusive). Career-wise, Culkin basically disappeared after 1994's Richie Rich. The typical descent into drugs and alcohol followed. Now 40, he says he is substance free and has described himself as essentially "retired" from acting.

Home Alone spurred four sequels, but only Home Alone 2 (1992) features Culkin again. It's basically the same movie as the original, set in a different place, complete with torture scenes on the same burglar characters.

Disney has announced plans to reboot the Home Alone series. It may not be a bad move on their part. But could they ever find another child actor who epitomised "cute" as much as Culkin did?
Home Alone is in cinemas from December 3.

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Home Alone at 30: how one case of parental neglect led to (hilariously) painful outcomes

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What was filmmaker John Hughes thinking when he made Home Alone? His previous films were either about awkward teens finding their way in the world ( The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off etc), or awkward adults finding their way in the world ( Uncle Buck, Planes, Trains and Automobiles).

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The Christmas season is upon us, and for many who celebrate the holiday, December 25 involves opening presents, enjoying a big meal with family, and possibly recovering from a food coma with a viewing of a classic holiday movie. And for my money, nothing fits that bill than 1990's Home Alone, a heartwarming tale of neglectful parenting, budding sadism, and the true meaning of Christmas.

But just how has this particular film - which was produced on a relatively modest budget and garnered decidedly mixed reviews when it was released - remained a Christmas movie staple more than 25 years later?

Is it thanks to star Macaulay Culkin's impish charm? The eminently quotable lines ("Buzz, your girlfriend - woof!")? The blatant Pepsi product placement?

Here are four (mostly nonscientific) theories that explain Home Alone's enduring popularity*.

The movie was a huge commercial success with some big names behind it

Thanks to Home Alone's modern ubiquity, it's easy to forget that when it was originally released it was a massive, unequivocal hit. Produced on a budget of $15 million and released on Thanksgiving Day 1990, the movie spent 12 weeks in the No. 1 box office spot and grossed more than $470 million worldwide. Despite being released in November, it was the highest grossing film - by a nearly $70 million margin - in a year that also saw the releases of Ghost and Dances With Wolves (second and third place, respectively), as well as Pretty Woman, Total Recall, and Edward Scissorhands.

Home Alone's success speaks to the tremendous behind-the-camera talent that elevated the film beyond "just a kids' movie" (to say nothing of its impressive cast). The script was by John Hughes, the grand poobah of iconic '80s movies, and though director Chris Columbus had helmed just two films prior to Home Alone - Adventures in Babysitting, and the flop Heartbreak Hotel - Hughes was a fan of his work. Hughes first sent Columbus his script for National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, but Columbus found its star Chevy Chase so disagreeable he had to turn down the project. As he told Chicago Magazine in its fantastic oral history of Home Alone:

I went out to dinner with Chevy Chase [the movie's star]. To be completely honest, Chevy treated me like dirt. But I stuck it out and even went as far as to shoot second unit [collecting establishing shots and special sequences, usually without principal actors]. Some of my shots of downtown Chicago are still in the movie. Then I had another meeting with Chevy, and it was worse. I called John [who was producing the film] and said, "There's no way I can do this movie. I know I need to work, but I can't do it with this guy."

Two weeks later, Hughes sent him the script for Home Alone.

The score for the film was equally serendipitous: Columbus had originally hired Bruce Broughton, but Broughton was too busy finishing his work on Rescuers Down Under to do Home Alone. So, as Columbus recounted to Entertainment Weekly, he asked Steven Spielberg, whom he'd known "for years," to put him in touch with legendary composer John Williams. Williams agreed to screen the film - and loved it. His score netted Home Alone two Oscar nominations, for Best Original Score and Best Original Song.

Perhaps it's the cabal of very American heavyweights behind the film that makes Home Alone such an enduring hit in Poland, as well. According to the Polish website Culture.pl, Home Alone captured the imaginations of Polish viewers at a time when "all things American were on object [sic] of worship," and the movie has since become a winter staple, with one in three Poles between 16 and 49 watching it around Christmastime.

It's a wish fulfillment fantasy for kids (and their grown-up counterparts)

Kevin's gleeful statement, "I made my family disappear!" is just the one of the kiddie fantasies Home Alone fulfills. Sledding in the house, eating epically constructed ice cream sundaes for dinner, trespassing in your jerk older brother's room - our pint-size stand-in all of a sudden gets to do whatever he wants with seemingly zero repercussions. "Kevin's antics will touch the budding subversive in every kid," as the Washington Post promised in its official review.

The movie falters a bit when it chooses to squeeze in some moralizing, having Kevin's adventure culminate in him learning to do laundry and shop for a sensible list of groceries. Still, there's something so elementally satisfying about this story: Kevin is picked on, ridiculed, shunted to the side, and, finally, forgotten. He gets to prove not just that he can survive without his family, but that he can do extraordinary things when there's no one around to tell him he can't.

Thus, Home Alone is basically It's A Wonderful Life in reverse, with everyone in Kevin's life realizing Kevin's worth even though he's known it all along. It's a message that resonates with anyone of any age who's ever felt overlooked, ignored, or taken for granted - which is to say, everyone.

It tempers its feel-good message with a dark edge

Holiday-themed movies always face the risk of veering too far into saccharine sentimentality, but Home Alone cuts the sugar with a truly dark, disturbing undercurrent that becomes more apparent as the viewer leaves childhood further and further behind. The hurt Kevin doles out to Harry and Marv, which seems to young viewers like fitting punishment for bad guys, begin to feels needlessly cruel through the lens of adulthood.

Chicago native Rich Cohen put this well, explaining in Chicago Mag how his sympathies shifted as he aged, from heroic little Kevin to the hapless and mortally endangered Marv and Harry. "I've become sympathetic to the plight of the frail human body," he writes. "During some scenes, I think only of slow recovery, of the years spent in prison rehab, trying to get that knee to work again."

The Wet Bandits would have been lucky to end up in rehab - a great 2012 article from the Week consulted Dr. Ryan St. Clair of Weill Cornell Medical College on the extent of their many injuries and found Marv and Harry would probably not have been left alive, let alone standing, at the end of the film. Kevin unleashes the full force of his fury on the burglars, who, while not exactly upstanding citizens, are subjected to a battery of torture perhaps best reserved for a medieval dungeon. Of the scene where Marv gets hit in the face with a hot iron, St. Clair said:

Let's estimate the distance from the first floor to the basement at 15 feet, and assume the steam iron weighs 4 pounds. And note that the iron strikes Marv squarely in the mid-face. This is a serious impact, with enough force to fracture the bones surrounding the eyes. This is also known as a "blowout fracture," and can lead to serious disfigurement and debilitating double vision if not repaired properly.

The injuries would be severe enough, he said, that they indicate Kevin's booby traps crossed the line from self-defense into "sheer malice."

Making the film was almost as hazardous; according to Columbus, none of the stunts used CGI, and he and the crew were often nervous for the stunt performers. As he described to EW:

Even what seems simple, [like] the Joe Pesci character walking up the stairs of the front of the house and doing a back flip. I really thought Troy, our stunt man, had broken his back on that first take. As I said, until we knew those guys were alive and okay, none of that stuff was funny, so I was surprised once we put the film together how well it actually worked for an audience. The last 20 minutes of that movie, seeing it in a theater was unlike anything I had experienced as a filmmaker because people were just screaming with laughter.

The New York Times dubbed Home Alone "the first Christmas black comedy for children," and its slightly sadistic edge fits into a long tradition of Christmas horror/thrillers such as Krampus, Gremlins, Black Christmas, and more. Holiday stress can cause even the saintliest among us to consider parricide, and on a level, watching fictional characters get the everloving crap beaten out of them relieves tension and allows us to indulge our darkest thoughts with no consequences.

It was shot for maximum nostalgic impact

In his 1990 review of Home Alone, Roger Ebert wrote that the movie's scribe, John Hughes, "sometimes shows a genius for remembering what it was like to be young." The resulting feeling, perhaps more than anything else, is likely what accounts for the movie's staying power: From the set dressing to the lighting, Home Alone was literally made to inspire nostalgia.

As Clay Routledge, an associate professor of psychology at North Dakota State University, explained to me via email, holidays share "a common theme of nostalgia," and Home Alone's "emotional complexity" echoes the bittersweet feelings nostalgia invokes. Further, he says, "the protagonist of the film is a child and the movie is thus about his journey which may lead viewers to feel nostalgic for their own childhood experiences."

The filmmakers leaned into that possibility, deliberately composing shots to amplify the sensations of being a kid. Cinematographer Julio Macat told Chicago Mag:

We thought about every shot in terms of the point of view of the kid. Because of that, we used wider angles. The height of the camera was lower than you would normally have. Our ceilings were important, because we were looking up a lot. Because we thought that kids see everything in an amplified way, we made the lights in the house feel a little bit brighter. Everything was goosed up a notch. It's kind of the reverse of when you go back to the house where you were raised and everything seems so small.

Columbus said his aim was to make the McCallister house (now a Chicago-area tourist attraction) feel as natural and lived-in as possible:

I wanted it to feel timeless. I remember saying to my crew, "When this movie is on TV 20 years from now - now it's been 25 years - I want it to feel fresh. I want it to feel like it was just made yesterday."

While "just made yesterday" is a stretch, it's fair to say that more than a quarter of a century later, Home Alone still does feel fresh. Its combination of slightly cruel humor and affectionate sweetness feels a little like hanging out with a prickly but loving relative - making it destined for many more decades of Christmas viewing.

*We only looked at the original Home Alone, because, well, it's the only one that really matters. Keep the change, ya filthy animal.

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Home Alone's enduring popularity, explained

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The Christmas season is upon us, and for many who celebrate the holiday, December 25 involves opening presents, enjoying a big meal with family, and possibly recovering from a food coma with a viewing of a classic holiday movie.

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Moral lesson 1: The true meaning of Christmas is being able to be with the ones you love.

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Cop uniform makes Harry an automatic trustworthy person

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There are many great characters who famously embarked on Joseph Campbell's hero's journey: Luke Skywalker, Neo, and Simba to name a few.

Since we're approaching the holidays, I figure let's break down the Christmas classic Home Alone (written by John Hughes) and Kevin McCallister's journey to becoming the hero of this beloved 1990 film.

Without further ado, let's jump right in and go along on the 12 steps the hero must take along their journey.

1. The ordinary world
Let's face it: Kevin's ordinary world wasn't looking too good. When his family isn't treating him like garbage, he's acting like a brat and reinforcing their actions. It's no wonder that he thinks everyone in his family hates him and why he proclaims, "I don't want a new family. I don't want any family. Families suck."

Whether it's Buzz eating his pizza, his sister saying he's helpless or his mom banishing him to the attic, we see Kevin's world, how he treats others and how he sees others treating him.

2. Call to adventure
It's time for the hero to get kicked out of their comfort zone and this happens when Kevin comes down from the attic early one morning to find that his family has disappeared. We know they flew off to Paris without him due to a counting mishap but to Kevin, his wish came true.

This alters his ordinary world and the adventure begins.

3. Refusal of the call
Idiot burglars Harry and Marv have been working the neighborhood. Now they're ready to hit the McCallister home. Only when they get there and start breaking in, all the lights turn on, scaring them off. Our not-quite-hero refuses his call to fight for his home and quickly races to hide under his parent's bed.

After quiet reflection, he realizes this was the wrong reaction. So, he steps out chanting, "I'm not afraid anymore!" and heads out to meet the would-be thieves. Only now he runs into Old Man Marley, the friendly neighborhood serial killer, and runs back into the house fearing for his life.

Bravery is not in the cards, at least not yet.

4. The mentor
Who is the one to help Kevin become the hero of this story? Well, mentors are a funny thing because they don't necessarily have to be people. In the case of Home Alone, I believe the mentor is Buzz's room - that forbidden destination filled with some spending cash, firecrackers and even the spider - almost all the tools he ultimately needs on his quest comes from this room.

5. Crossing the first threshold
It's time for Kevin to show us some skills. Crossing the first threshold is the point where the hero can show us what they're made of. For this point, I pick the late Christmas party. But why? Kevin is showing his ability to outsmart the burglars, at least temporarily. He knows they're coming and he'll be waiting. A Michael Jordan standee on a train set, a couple mannequins enjoying some drinks and cards, loud Christmas music - Kevin has successfully staved off the Wet Bandits.

6. Test, allies and enemies
Who are his friends? His enemies? And what tests can he go through? Remember, he doesn't believe his family is coming back, ever. Now is the time for him to start taking care of himself. He shops, he does his laundry, orders some pizza and stiffs the delivery guy on the tip. And that scary furnace that seems poised to eat him; he tells it to shut up, taking away its frightening facade.

And yes, the thieves are still about; but Kevin has to deal with snarky cashiers, accusations of shoplifting, a chase with a police officer, more encounters with notorious serial killer Marley and more. He passes these tests and remains on the trajectory of the hero's journey.

7. Inmost cave
This is where we see the evil tidings that await our hero. In a neighborhood house, Harry and Marv are in the midst of their burglary when the phone rings and the answering machine picks up. Kevin's dad is hoping someone will get this message and check on their abandoned boy.

Unfortunately, it's the Wet Bandits who hear it and are assured Kevin is home alone. Luckily, Kevin overhears their simple plan of returning that night to rob the joint.

8. Ordeal
Now the hero must hit rock bottom. It's hard to find what would be rock bottom in a movie like Home Alone, but it sneaks in with a conversation with a Santa Claus. It's here that Kevin wholeheartedly believes his family is gone for good and yet throughout all the trouble they gave him, his one wish for Christmas is for them to come home.

9. Reward
He conquered his fear of the furnace, he's talked to Santa, but there is one more thing that scares him: psychotic neighborhood murderer Marley! He happens upon him at church and they have a heart-to-heart. Kevin is no longer afraid of this misunderstood old man and encourages him to make up with his son. Kevin has found his own courage too and, as the sole inhabitant of the massive suburban home, he must protect it.

10. The road back
It's time for Kevin to return to the ordinary world, but he's not returning as some eight-year-old whiny kid. Cue the music, edit the montage, and throw in Kevin's heroic cry: "This is my house, I have to defend it."

11. Resurrection
Here is Kevin's true test. Can he hold back the burglars? Will his plan work? Or is the McCallister home destined to be burgled?

From the first BB gunshot to the groin to a tarantula on the face to Old Man Marley coming to the rescue, Kevin has faced all his foes and with a little help from new friends, has earned his hero status.

12. Return with elixir
Now we are back to Kevin's ordinary world. He's a changed kid though and his only wish to see his family (which no longer sucks) on Christmas morning comes true.

*********

There are plenty of resources and examples around the hero's journey. Are there other Christmas classics that show the adventures of an individual rising to the level of hero?

Written by: Steven Hartman

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The 12 Steps of Kevin's Hero's Journey in 'Home Alone'

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There are many great characters who famously embarked on Joseph Campbell's hero's journey: Luke Skywalker, Neo, and Simba to name a few. Since we're approaching the holidays, I figure let's break down the Christmas classic Home Alone (written by John Hughes) and Kevin McCallister's journey to becoming the hero of this beloved 1990 film.

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Home Alone Characters: Naughty to Nice 🎅

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Pictorial symbols make the two thieves non-threatening 

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Pictorial symbols make the two thieves non-threatening 