Somewhere in my memory: Why Home Alone still holds a special place in families’ hearts

The time of year is nigh when we snuggle into the sofa, hot chocolate or mulled wine in hand, the Christmas tree lights twinkling nearby. The only thing missing from that cosy equation is, of course, a festive film. We all have our unique Yuletide staples, but one particular series has had families’ hearts for several decades, with an effortlessly charming protagonist and a quotable screenplay for the ages. There is a reason why Home Alone (at least before the diminishing return of the latter sequels) remains the pinnacle of Christmas cinema. Granted, the enduring power of It’s a Wonderful Life cannot be overstated, but Macaulay Culkin’s Home Alone films have a joyous, nostalgic sentiment that may never be replicated.  

Home Alone’s magic can defrost the most ‘humbug’ of hearts, faster than Mariah Carey could defrost.

Hearing the first notes of John Williams’ ‘Somewhere in My Memory’ always makes me well up. There was a time, as kids, when we too would be restless on Christmas Eve, waiting for the stockings to fill up, for the mince pie and brandy by the fireplace to vanish, for the off-chance that a blanket of snow would be waiting outside. And then we grew up. With the slipping-away of innocence, that true holiday magic seems to reside “somewhere in [our] memory” now, forgotten with youth. This is why revisiting the memories made watching films like Home Alone has become an annual yearning for many. Unlike ourselves, the escapades of Kevin McAllister will never change, and the warmth of those adventures will never be too far away. In short, Home Alone’s magic can defrost the most ‘humbug’ of hearts, faster than Mariah Carey could defrost.  

Directed by Chris Columbus, who would later helm the first two Harry Potter films, 1990’s Home Alone and its 1992 sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, encapsulate two different visions of Christmas. There is the glitzy, consumerist ideal of the season (a cameo from young real estate mogul Donald Trump exemplifies this) but also the loving family-oriented Christmas, which matters more.  

Kevin’s character arc from frustration with his clan (“I made my family disappear!”, he is thrilled to learn) to wishing for their return is a beautiful one, which reveals the true meaning of Christmas; Andy Williams was right when he sang, “hearts will be glowing when loved ones are near”. Kevin asks an impatient Santa impersonator to relay his message to the real deal, saying that “instead of presents this year, I just want my family back.” This simple desire tugs at the heartstrings so much that rehashing it for a Manhattan-set sequel, with an almost-identical story, works wonders yet again. As much as Kevin’s older siblings seem to resent his mere presence (his brother Jeff charmingly says, “Kevin, you’re such a disease”), having a full house is all Kev wants for Christmas.  

As our university term nears its end, many of us will return to such home comforts for the festive period (unless, to reference a 2023 film title, you’ll be a ‘holdover’ here at Warwick this year). Home Alone’s subtler effect, consequently, is to make us dwell on those without company at this special time of year, especially the elderly and the homeless, and the little ways we can help make them smile during a period marketed as “the most wonderful time of the year”. 

Kevin McAllister is an apt case study for this type of holiday goodwill.

Kevin McAllister is an apt case study for this type of holiday goodwill. Living alone at home and in ‘the Big Apple’, makes him more world-weary of the less fortunate. Whilst Lost in New York, he befriends the lonely vagabond, the Pigeon Lady (who looks scarily similar to Piers Morgan) and gives her a turtle dove to remember their friendship. Similarly, Old Man Marley, in the 1990 original, is estranged from his adult son and is the subject of false scare-stories in the neighbourhood. The beautiful church scene set to ‘O Holy Night’ is the series’ most powerful moment, as young and old share their regrets, resolving to reconnect with family. 

Home Alone is clearly a comedy. Seeing the bumbling fools Harry and Marv, alias ‘the wet bandits’, succumb to a child’s inventively torturous traps is always delightful. As Kevin says, “you can mess with a lot of things, but you can’t mess with kids on Christmas”. ‘Gangster Johnny’ from the fake noir film ‘Angels with Filthy Souls’ is also brilliant; his excessive tommy gun usage and satisfied delivery of “keep the change, ya filthy animal” is iconic. 

Home Alone will forever be Yuletide nostalgia at its best.

Even so, there remains a quietly moving core to these films. When Kevin reunites with his mother beneath the Rockefeller Centre Christmas tree, a ‘fairytale of New York’ truly is fulfilled. Home Alone will forever be Yuletide nostalgia at its best. It may be true that the real joy of Christmas now lives ‘somewhere in [our] memory’ – but, watching these films, we feel submerged in childlike joy again.