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Home Alone House

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Everything You’ve Ever Wondered About the Home Alone House

By Claudia Williams

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There are two different reasons one watches Home Alone. The first, to get into the Christmas spirit. The second, to ogle over the beauty that is the Home Alone house. The iconic film first hit the big screen in 1990, when navy blues and dusty rose pinks were the popular colors amongst family homes. According to Eve Cauley, the set decorator responsible for the iconic look of the McCallister family home, “There were no saturated green or red upholstered furniture sold in stores. Not one piece.”

That was, until the movie came out. “A red dining room became the in-style trend of the 1990s. My decor and wall-covering choices for Home Alone changed the color palette of the nation for the upcoming decade,” Cauley tells AD. According to an article by House Beautiful , the most popular paint colors ahead of the film were subtle mauve, denim blue, light turquoise, and barely-there pink. And after the film’s release, in 1991, Benjamin Moore’s most popular color was Arroyo Red, a deep reddish-brown color. In 1992, it was Forest Green. It seems as though it wasn’t only the holiday spirit that rubbed off on fans.

And with the revival of ’90s nostalgia and the trends that come with it, there’s no better time to do a deep dive into the Chicago-area home where it all began. Whether you’re looking to plan your visit to the real-life dwelling (the Home Alone house address is 671 Lincoln Ave, Winnetka, IL) or find inspiration for your decor this holiday season, read on.

How the Film Came to Be

This moment from the film became a meme before most people even had access to the internet.

Home Alone was produced and written by the venerable film legend, John Hughes. The movie was inspired by a real trip the director went on with his family.

In an article for Chicago magazine, James Hughes—son of the director—recalls: “On August 8, 1989, my father [John Hughes] jotted down in a notebook a movie idea born of traveler’s anxiety that occurred to him during the bustle of departing for our first family trip to Europe, and set it aside. Two weeks later, after returning home, he revisited the premise: What if one of the kids had been accidentally left behind?”

Hughes continues, “Over the next nine days, he completed the first draft of Home Alone. ” According to that same article, Home Alone went on to defy everyone’s prerelease expectations, and quickly became the highest-grossing live-action comedy ever made. It earned $476.7 million worldwide.

A Bit About the Plot

Daniel Stern as Marv and Joe Pesci as Harry in Home Alone

The original Home Alone follows the McCallisters as they prepare for an extended-family Christmas trip to France. The morning of their connecting flight to New York, their youngest son, Kevin McCallister (played by Macaulay Culkin), oversleeps, misses the family headcount, and gets left behind—just like John Hughes dreamt of. (Kevin’s parents were played by Catherine O’Hara and John Heard.)

The first few days feel like sweet freedom, as Kevin basks in his first real dose of independence by tobogganing down the stairs, indulging in massive ice cream sundaes, and watching R-rated movies that uncle Frank (Gerry Bamman) would never allow.

But the fun and games soon come to an end when Kevin is faced by the wet bandits—two bumbling burglars who have their sights set on robbing the McCallister home. Villains Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern) soon realize the house isn’t vacant like they first thought, and an endless game of cat and mouse ensues, with Kevin setting intricate booby traps to protect himself and his family home. All with a little help from old man Marley and his wicked brother Buzz’s pet tarantula, of course.

Where Was Home Alone Filmed?

The street signs near the Home Alone house

By Michelle Duncan

By Morgan Goldberg

By Michael Gioia

While all indoor scenes were filmed on set in a high school gymnasium (more on that later), a handful of memorable moments took place outside 671 Lincoln Ave, the address of a red-brick home in the affluent, cookie-cutter town of Winnetka, Illinois. Situated on the North Shore of Chicago, the neighborhood boasts suburban charm that practically begs to be made into a Christmas movie. The home itself was built in 1920 in the Georgian colonial style—perfectly symmetrical. According to Zillow , the home now boasts 5,398 square feet, 10 bedrooms, and 5 baths.

It’s Chris Columbus, the director of the film, whom we can hold responsible for finding the iconic Chicago suburb house. “We basically drove around for several weeks until we found the right house,” Columbus said in a 2015 interview . “We needed to cast a house that would work for the stunts and also a house that was visually appealing, and—if this makes sense—warm and menacing at the same time,” Columbus explained.

“It’s the kind of house, if you were a kid, it would be fun to be left home alone.” Columbus then took photos of home’s exterior, sent them to Hughes for approval, and the rest is history.

The House Then and Now

A fan doing Kevin McCallister’s signature facial expression in front of the home in 2021

671 Lincoln Avenue instantly became a destination for fans of the movie, with hoards of tourists flocking to the home hoping for a little taste of movie magic. But it wasn’t the McCallisters that had to put up with the newfound attention—it was the Abendshien family, who owned the home. “We would have not believed back then that there would be sightseers coming to look at that house for years afterward,” John Abendshien said in an interview with Vanity Fair .

According to an article written in 2015 for the Chicago Sun-Times , writer Richard Roeper stopped by the house in the winter of 1991 and reported that 400 vehicles had lined up outside 671 Lincoln Ave on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Some curious tourists went as far as knocking on the front door, or even venturing into the backyard in hopes of catching a glimpse of the tree house. The Abendshiens stayed in the home until 2011. It then sold in 2012 for a reported $1.585 million , closing the chapter on the Abendshiens’ 25-year residency.

Following the release of Home Sweet Home Alone in 2021 (the sixth sequel to the original), Airbnb reopened the doors to the home. This Airbnb stay offered a highly coveted trip down memory lane, and came complete with a candlelit dinner of Kraft macaroni and cheese and Chicago-style pizza, plus a viewing of the film franchise’s newest holiday adventure, Home Sweet Home Alone. While the Airbnb experience is no longer on the table, you can stream the original Home Alone , Home Alone 2, and the rest of the sequels on Disney+.

Can You Visit the House From Home Alone Today?

Fans visiting the Home Alone house in 2021

These days, a quick search in Google Maps will lead you straight to the house, making a trip to 671 Lincoln Ave accessible and easy. Dawn Silvers, an Illinois resident and lover of the movie, visited the Home Alone house this Thanksgiving. Silvers and her youngest child originally made the drive to Chicago for a concert, and then decided to tack on a visit to Winnetka. “ Home Alone is one of our family favorites. We watch it multiple times throughout the holiday season,” Silvers tells AD.

“When we pulled into the neighborhood, we were giddy as schoolgirls. We pulled onto the street and I think I may have squealed with joy,” Silvers explains. “We knew immediately which house it was by the looks and the amount of people standing on both sides of the street and in front of the house.”

Silvers wasn’t the only one who had the smart idea to visit the house ahead of the holiday season. “There were quite a few cars parked on the opposite side of the street so as not to interfere with picture taking. Everyone was smiling ear to ear, taking pictures, pointing to the different windows.” She eavesdropped on fellow fans asking, “Was this the window Marv went through and stepped on the broken ornaments?” and, “That’s the doorknob that burned the M into Harry’s hand, and the front door that Kevin McCallister slid through on his sled.” The movie magic is (and will always be) in the air on Lincoln Avenue.

The home looks a little different than it did in 1990. There is now a wrought iron gated fence enclosing the property, with a sign that states: “Please do not touch the gate. Thank you!” as well as a new driveway and garage. But the holiday spirit remains. “The Home Alone house had wreaths on five of the windows upstairs, as well as the front door. There was also green garland wrapped around the white columns, the edge of the porch roof, and on the handrails of the front steps,” explains Silvers. The McCallisters would approve.

Building the Set From Scratch

Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister and Joe Pesci as Harry, one of the burglars, in Home Alone

The Winnetka house that Chris Columbus hand-selected as the McCallister house was perfect in every sense of the word, except for one small hiccup—the interior wasn’t big enough. “Film sets must be large enough to have room for the camera, as well as the actors, in addition to the furniture,” explains Cauley, the movie’s set decorator.

The set team ultimately decided to build the entire interior of the home in the gymnasium of New Trier High School, also in Winnetka. At that time, there were few film studios in Chicago, and John Hughes lived north of the city. “Filming in an empty high school meant we were in close proximity to his family,” explains Cauley. “He could visit the sets easily or stop in and see filming, and then go home and write.” Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Uncle Buck were also filmed in Chicago.

Curating the Rich, Lived-In Interiors

In the film, Kevin sets elaborate traps in order to catch the burglars attempting to break into his home.

The only way to describe the interior of the Home Alone house is to compare it to a Norman Rockwell painting, which is precisely the aesthetic Cauley was going for. “I thought about what look would best represent Americana, and of course, Norman Rockwell came to mind,” Cauley says.

Like Rockwell, Cauley used saturated greens, reds, and golds to stand out against the white fluffy snow. “I thought of it like a flip-book, where use of color orchestrated throughout would give the film a warm feeling,” says Cauley. She also found inspiration from historic Christmas cards.

Cauley had about six weeks to bring the McCallister family home to life. “I love selecting and finding decor that builds a character, or when collaged together, supports a story visually,” she says.

When asked how she sourced such rich fabrics, wallpapers, and carpets, Cauley shared her best-kept secret. “I also do some residential interior design, so I have trade accounts at some stores,” she says. “John Hughes wanted a timeless traditional look, so I went to brands with that look, within my color palette.”

The Finishing Touches

Catherine O’Hara as Kate McCallister in Home Alone

With every rewatch of Home Alone, you may start to pick up on little details you never noticed before, and that was Cauley’s intention. “I put personal character details about the house as clutter that might not ever be noticed but felt right to me,” she says. “I had a little book about the care and feeding of spiders on the kitchen counter, as if perhaps Buzz was reading it, put it down when he went to the kitchen to get a snack, got distracted and ran off, leaving the book there.”

She also laid out holiday wrapping paper in the primary bedroom, as if Kevin’s parents, Kate and Peter McCallister, were wrapping Christmas gifts but didn’t have time to clean it up. It’s these little details that all come together to create the thoughtful, curated set fit for this celebrated holiday movie.

The admiration for Home Alone is still going strong decades later, and it was on full display recently when Macaulay Culkin received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . Catherine O’Hara, who played the role of Kevin’s mom, gave an emotional speech at the celebration and concluded with an iconic line from the film: “I just wanna say, merry Christmas, ya filthy animals.”

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By Annabelle Dufraigne

By Rachel Davies

clock This article was published more than  2 years ago

Decades later, ‘Home Alone’ fans are still casing the iconic house

The home where kevin mccallister made his family disappear remains a tourist attraction in the chicago suburbs.

On a chilly Saturday afternoon in the affluent, tree-lined Chicago suburb of Winnetka, two men stand and stare at the red-brick Georgian at 671 Lincoln Avenue. The house appears welcoming to families — and maybe fictional burglars. However, the men aren’t casing the joint to rob, and they aren’t alone. They will be joined by dozens of visitors throughout the day to gaze at the house that hosted a holiday classic: “Home Alone.”

“It’s part of iconic Chicago, it’s part of the history,” said one of the men, Louis Prettitore, who was visiting from New York City with his husband, Connor Heaney.

“We’re hiding from family for the holidays,” Heaney said. “We ran away for Thanksgiving.”

In the 1990 film, Macaulay Culkin’s Kevin McCallister defended his house from two robbers (the Wet Bandits) with elaborate traps, dancing mannequins and a clever use of the VCR, yet the setting for his Christmas high jinks continues to draw fans from around the world. 2021 also marked a reboot for the film, though the new version, “Home Sweet Home Alone,” was filmed in Montreal.

The Chicago-area home located about 30 minutes north of the city has become a staple for tourists, especially around the holidays.

“It’s very great, it was like a child[hood] dream,” said Yurii Tkachuk, who grew up watching the movie in Ukraine and now lives in New York. Tkachuk obsessed over the sequel’s locations, too, and visited the Plaza Hotel and Central Park upon his first visit to New York. “Every year before Christmas we see this film, and it was like a dream to see this house.”

The stately, symmetrical house is one of the most iconic movie residences in American pop culture. Despite its fictional provenance, many of the tourists who peer over the short, wrought-iron gate earnestly gush about the house’s historical significance.

“It’s like Wrigley Field, because it’s so historic,” said Reyes Santos, who was visiting his son in Chicago from Cidra, Puerto Rico.

A real family lives there today, and there’s a small fence that keeps out brazen fans. The circular driveway is gone now — a landscaping detail nearly every visitor is quick to point out — depriving fans a look at the place where Kevin was left out of a family head count before the airport. The treehouse, a prop , was taken down after the movie. While the home was used for outside shots, the interior scenes were filmed on a set in a gym at an abandoned high school.

A couple named John and Cynthia Abendshien owned the home when filming began in 1990, but they sold in 2011 for a reported $1.585 million.

Late filmmaker John Hughes wrote “Home Alone.” Like much of his work, the movie explores the chaos and dysfunction of an American family that hides under a Rockwellian veil, in this case a suburban estate. The McCallister home, like the bubble gum pink dresses of “Sixteen Candles” and the Griswold family station wagon that drives the “Vacation” series, echoed the tidy ideals of the 1950s while its inhabitants were bursting with late-20th-century anxiety.

“When we were little we all dreamed of these really pretty suburban American houses, and I think a lot of that came from films like this one,” said visitor Marie Schulte-Bockum, who grew up in Europe.

As a regional attraction, the McCallister house is a unique treasure that stirs regional pride for Chicagoans. Like “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” which spotlighted Chicago’s Wrigley Field, Lake Shore Drive and the Mercantile Exchange trading pits, “Home Alone” is deeply rooted in its sense of place. The film’s cops, cashiers and Santas deliver their dialogue with Midwestern accents. The McCallisters race through O’Hare’s vaulted terminals. A cardboard cutout of Michael Jordan totters on a train set through the living room.

That’s why for visitors like Palos Heights, Ill., resident Jackie Andersen, seeing the famous house feels like reliving the movie.

“It just became alive and it brings people into the movie,” she said. “It just makes you feel part of it even though it’s a private residence.”

Andersen has relived the movie in more ways than one. She bought Kevin’s hat for her son and had him push a grocery cart at the Grand Food Center in Winnetka where Kevin buys the milk, eggs and fabric softener (a list she rattles off by heart). She has watched the film more times than she can count.

“It’s my lifelong dream if I ever win the lottery,” she said, trailing off while admiring the building. “The house became a character in the movie.”

Andersen could realize her dream for one night; in one of its regular stunts, Airbnb has listed the “Home Alone” house for a brief rental. Living next door may also be a fan’s dream. But for 11-year-old Noah Irizarry, who lives in Old Man Marley’s house , it’s more than that.

“It’s good business,” he said while perched behind the hot cocoa stand he and his friend, 11-year-old Emmett Hourihane, manned on his front lawn. Irizarry has seen the movie at least three times. Like many children who visit the house, his favorite scenes involve Kevin torturing hapless criminals Harry and Marv.

“I like the part where … this might not be appropriate,” Noah said, pausing before glancing at his mother. “But when Kevin gets his BB gun and shoots one of the robbers in the [groin].”

Noah’s father built the white lemonade stand with a small metal awning. His mother, Cassandra Bayna, said Noah thought of the business himself, including the idea to perch signs for “Kevin’s Hot Cocoa” on the sidewalk. Around 40 to 50 customers will come by on a typical Saturday or Sunday. Bayna said last year 1,000 to 1,500 people came to see the house on the weekends.

“It can be frustrating sometimes because of the parking,” she said. “People live here. I think that’s something people forget.” Last year was “the worst,” Bayna said. “Because of the pandemic, people couldn’t go anywhere, so they said, ‘Let’s drive up to the Home Alone house!‘ The police had to come and make this a one-way, and they barricaded part of the entrance, which I’m willing to bet they’re going to do again.”

Her neighbors inside the famous house didn’t like people peering into their windows, she said, which is why they built a fence.

According to Bayna, most visitors start streaming in by late morning or early afternoon, though several will come late at night and yell “Kevin!” She has watched hundreds of people slap their cheeks in a mock scream to mimic Culkin’s famous pose in the movie poster. Others do dance routines, and there’s been at least one saxophone player.

“Nothing is a shocker so we’d be hard-pressed to find original ideas because we’ve seen everything,” she said. “It’s a charming aspect of the neighborhood.”

For the tourists who come from all over the world to see the house, the visit is a chance to reenact the movie and make memories of their own. Aline Tomaz, 10, came with her family from Minneapolis after her father, Alexandre Tomaz, showed them the movie. Her mother, Andressa Tomaz, herded them in front of the fence for a family Christmas card photo as if the house was Macy’s Santaland.

“My favorite part is when he said ‘I made my family disappear,’ ” Aline said. When asked whether that was something she thought about sometimes, she gave her parents a mischievous smile.

“Please don’t say that!” her father said with a laugh. “Home Alone 3!”

Here's Where You Can Visit The House From Home Alone

For all of the "Home Alone" fans who want to personally visit the house connected with the 1990 classic film, the time may be now. And as  House Beautiful  reports, this Winnetka, Illinois property is widely considered to be an art and real estate attraction for film fans. As IMBd notes, Chris Columbus directed the film, and John Hughes wrote the film. Stars include Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, and Daniel Stern. Given the film's 1990 release, cinematic spin-offs, and ubiquity during the 1990s, it stands to reason that many visitors and fans are members of the Millennial generation. The Pew Research Center defines Millennials as people who were born between 1981 to 1996. But, while scores of fans whose childhoods reflected the 1990s imagined themselves as protagonist Kevin McAllister, played by actor Macaulay Culkin, these contemporary adults can physically visit the brick and shuttered two-story home made famous by this film provided that they are willing to travel to the Midwest.

According to Trip Advisor , many people do visit the home. In fact, visiting the "Home Alone" house currently holds the top spot on a list of 12 noteworthy things to do in the general Winnetka, Illinois area. Additional preferred activities include visits to lagoons, woods, parks, a natural trail, and boating. In the Winnetka community, the "Home Alone" house is considered both a point of interest and a landmark, as Trip Advisor reports. 

About the home and area

With respect to the "Home Alone" house, the structure is indeed an architectural beauty. This two-story house boasts different lovely elements, including a striped, red brick exterior with complementary deep-toned shutters and crisp, white trim details. In front of the house, lush landscaping includes trees, shrubs, and flowers. This landscaping leads up to a multi-step entryway linking the pavement to space before the detailed home door. The property is also enclosed by a gate and physically located at 671 Lincoln Avenue in Winnetka, IL 60093, per Trip Advisor .

For many locals, the village of Winnetka holds reverence for a variety of reasons. In particular, Winnetka is appreciated because the village hugs Lake Michigan's North Shore, enabling waterfront access, as the Village of Winnetka explained. Additionally, the village includes tree-dotted streets, sandy beaches, well-regarded schools, and parks and recreational facilities. With an 1869 founding date, the town also holds a name derived from a Native American word that reportedly translates to beautiful land.

Everything You Need to Know About the Home Alone House

Including where it was actually filmed.

Every item on this page was hand-picked by a House Beautiful editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.

In 2019, Netflix came out with a series called The Movies That Made Us that takes a deep dive into the behind-the-scenes action from famous films, including Home Alone . In that episode, some of the film's production crew share interesting details about filming, but they didn't share everything we wanted to know. How much is the house worth? Can you visit the Home Alone house? Well, we did some research and found all the answers to your burning questions. Keep reading to find out some fun facts about the John Hughes movie, and impress your guests with this trivia the next time you sit down to watch it together.

Where Is the Home Alone House Located?

The property you see in the exterior shots is located at 671 Lincoln Ave, Winnetka, Illinois. The town is a northern suburb of Chicago, and according to Zillow , the Colonial was built in 1920.

Where Were the Indoor Scenes Filmed?

The gorgeous, warm interiors of the Home Alone house look authentic, but they're not from that Winnetka mansion. Instead, according to the Netflix special, the film's indoor scenes were shot at New Trier Township High School, an abandoned school building with enough space for an entire makeshift sound stage. The mansion was too small for all the crew to fit inside, explained director Chris Columbus, so they built an entire two-story set in the high school gym. In fact, the scene near the end of the film when Kevin goes into his neighbor's house was filmed in the old school pool, which made flooding its "basement" much easier.

How Much Is the House Worth?

Though the home is off the market, Zillow estimates that the 10-bedroom, six-bath property is currently worth $2,317,200. Hey, when there are five kids, six cousins, and multiple adults all staying in one place, you need a lot of room!

Can You Visit the House?

A few years ago in 2021, AirBnB opened the mansion doors for a one-night-only stay hosted by none other than Kevin's older brother, Buzz. Other than that, there's no way to get inside unless you know the current owners. However, many fans still walk or drive by the house each year and take pictures of the exterior. If you really want to spend a night living out your own Kevin McCallister adventures, you can rent out a Home Alone– themed AirBnB in Dallas, Texas, for $247 a night .

Who Lived in the Home Alone House in 1990?

At the time of filming, John and Cynthia Abendshien lived in the inviting home. They had reportedly been living in the house for only two years before the movie aired in 1990. John Abendshien said of writer Hughes, "John Hughes had a real interest in filming in community settings. He, I understand, grew up in the North Shore, and really wanted his sets and backgrounds to have a real world, a true neighborhood and a true-home-type ambience."

Who Lives in the Home Alone House Now?

In May 2011, the Abendshiens put the home up for sale for $2.4 million before lowering the price in September to $1.995 million. The Colonial didn't sell until 2012 for $1,585,000 , and the current owners have stayed out of the public eye.

What Is the Square Footage of the House?

As empty nesters , it makes sense that the Abendshiens didn't want or need a home as large as the one on Lincoln Avenue. The Home Alone house, according to Zillow , is 5,398 square feet and sits on just over half an acre of land.

Were Any Other Movies or TV Shows Filmed at the Home Alone House?

John Hughes loved Chicago, and according to the same Netflix special, he also filmed Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Uncle Buck at the abandoned high school. When it comes to the Colonial mansion, there actually may be a connection to the beloved '90s sitcom Friends . Apparently, the series used stock footage from Home Alone to represent the house Monica and Chandler (played by the late Matthew Perry ) move into at the end of the series. If you look carefully, you can see the same neighbor's blue home with a wreath on the door from the inside windows. So, in a sense, you could say that the Bings bought the McCallisters' place! Of course, Chandler and Monica moved to a New York City suburb, not a Chicago one, but it's a fun connection nonetheless.

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NEWS... BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT

Home Alone: Where is the house from the film and can you stay there?

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Christmas just wouldn’t be complete with at least one viewing of Home Alone – the classic 90s film in which a young Macaulay Culkin defends his family’s abode from burglars.

While we all remember the movie’s hilarious set-pieces and stunts – not to mention Culkin’s starmaking turn as eight-year-old Kevin – the actual house itself remains one of the film’s star attractions even to this day.

The house has nabbed its fair share of headlines over the intervening years – including eagle-eyed fans noticing Monica and Chandler from Friends moving in there – and it returned to the spotlight again on the film’s 30th anniversary in 2020.

But just where is the house from the film – and can you actually stay there?

Where is the house from Home Alone?

Home Alone is set in Chicago – andthe famous house which provides the backdrop from the action is also located nearby – in the suburb of Winnetka, Illlinois, around 16 miles from the city.

Director Chris Columbus said of the dwelling: ‘We needed to cast a house that would work for the stunts and also a house that was visually appealing and, if this makes sense, warm and menacing at the same time.

‘It’s the kind of house if you were a kid it would be fun to be left home alone. I wanted it to feel timeless.’

The house, which is located at 671 Lincoln Avenue, close to Lake Michigan, was owned by John and Cynthia Abendshien at the time of filming – and their daughter Lauren, who was six when the movie was made , revealed in 2020 just how they coped with living there while scenes were being shot.

‘We stayed in the house pretty much the entire period they were filming, between four and five months they were there,’ she told This Morning.

‘In order to avoid appearing on screen, we would have to crawl around under the window line from room to room.

‘Especially in the evening when it would be much easier for that to show up on camera. You had to do an army crawl from spot to spot in the house.’

The three-storey, five bedroom house went up for sale in 2011, eventually selling for around £1,300,000.

Can you visit the Home Alone house?

The house is of course a private residence and not usually open to visitors.

However, fans of the film now have the chance to stay there for one night on December 12, for just $25 – courtesy of Airbnb.

The listing, posted by ‘Buzz McAllister’ (played in the film by Devin Rattray) promises a full-on Home Alone experience, inviting visitors to ‘eat junk food, watch rubbish on TV, borrow my dad’s aftershave and choose your own adventure with a legendary battle plan as a guide’.

He adds: ‘Just stay out of my room, okay?’

Booking opens on December 7 and can be seen at Airbnb’s website – and as it’s the season of giving, Airbnb will make a donation to Chicago’s La Rabida Children’s Hospital, which is helps improve the quality of life for each of its patients.

MORE : Saturday Night Live shares the most adorable throwback sketch of brothers Macaulay and Kieran Culkin

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The 'Home Alone' house could be yours for a night

Rachel Treisman

The 'Home Alone' house in Winnetka, Ill. will be available to rent through Airbnb for one night later this month. The $25 stay will also include junk food, booby traps, a film screening and other holiday hijinks. Sarah Crowley/Airbnb hide caption

The 'Home Alone' house in Winnetka, Ill. will be available to rent through Airbnb for one night later this month. The $25 stay will also include junk food, booby traps, a film screening and other holiday hijinks.

Calling all fans of Christmas movie classics: The iconic house from the 1990 film Home Alone will be available to rent on Airbnb for one night only this holiday season.

Up to four lucky mischief makers will be able to stay in the McCallister family's house on the night of Dec. 12 for just $25, the rental company announced on Wednesday. Renters can request to book the suburban Chicago property beginning Dec. 7 at 1 p.m. CT.

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That's thanks to elder brother Buzz, aka actor Devin Ratray, who is hosting the stay — even though he and his family (everyone except the pet tarantula, this time) will be out of town on their annual holiday trip.

"You may not remember me as particularly accommodating," 'Buzz' said in a statement. "But I've grown up, and I'd be happy to share my family home — my pizza, even — with you this holiday season. Just try not to let my tarantula, Axl, loose this time."

It is not clear who owns the house, or how exactly it made its way to Airbnb. The family who owned the property at the time of filming sold it to the current owners in 2012 for $1.5 million, according to the Chicago Tribune .

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Airbnb (@airbnb)

While the house is certainly the main attraction, it's not the only advertised perk of the overnight stay (no Kevin included though, sorry).

Ratray told People that anything fans could possibly remember from the first movie will be available — short of paint cans in the face. He said he hopes it will be snowing like it was in the film, and is excited about giving fans the opportunity to experience the house for themselves.

"You've seen the movie so many times, you've seen the Christmas tree in the front room, you've seen the staircase, people running up and down, you've seen the kitchen where Buzz lovingly barfed up all the cheese pizza. Now you get to walk through that," he said, adding that the mess has long since been cleaned up.

Actor Macaulay Culkin

Airbnb says it will welcome its guests with a "cozy holiday scene" including twinkling lights and a Christmas tree, as well as a meet-and-greet with a real tarantula, a LEGO set to take home and "all of the '90s favorites their hearts desire," from Chicago pizza to a candlelit dinner of microwavable mac and cheese.

It also promises booby traps ("but don't worry — you'll be setting them, not sidestepping them!") and "surprisingly searing splashes of aftershave and ample opportunity to scream into the mirror."

"This holiday season, we're playing by my little bro's rules, so feel free to eat junk food, watch rubbish on TV, borrow my dad's aftershave and choose your own adventure with a legendary battle plan as a guide," Buzz writes in the property listing. "Just stay out of my room, okay?"

Guests will wrap up their night of hijinks with a screening of the franchise's latest installment, Home Sweet Home Alone . The new film , out now on Disney+, follows a married couple trying to steal an heirloom from a resourceful kiddo whose family left him behind on a holiday trip to Japan.

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And, like the best presents, this gift also gives: Airbnb says it will make a one-time donation to Chicago's La Rabida Children's Hospital , though does not specify the dollar amount.

The listing describes the 2 bedroom, 1.5 bathroom house as being tucked away on a picturesque street in the Chicago suburb of Winnetka, and calls the neighborhood a friendly one "despite past encounters with crooks and folklore about Old Man Marley."

Airbnb adds that guests are responsible for their own travel to and from Chicago, and those hoping to reserve the home must adhere to local COVID-19 guidelines and company safety practices.

It's also monitoring local infection rates and mandates as the omicron variant spreads, and says it will offer guests a $1,000 travel credit if the stay ultimately has to be cancelled.

Here's hoping these lucky renters will be able to safely get — and stay — home alone after all.

This story originally appeared on the Morning Edition live blog .

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Fake Treehouse, Real Memories: Life Inside the Home Alone House

By Amy Wilkinson

“This is my house. I have to defend it.”

With those nine words—plus a dozen or so booby traps fashioned out of paint cans, pillow feathers, and Micro Machines—eight-year-old Kevin McCallister would thwart a pair of bumbling burglars, and make box office history along the way. Written by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus, Home Alone opened on November 16, 1990, and went on to earn $476.7 million worldwide. And while the movie catapulted actor Macaulay Culkin to child-star status, it also made an instant icon out of his stately costar: a redbrick Georgian nestled in a tony Chicago suburb.

Almost immediately, tourists began flocking to 671 Lincoln Avenue, hoping to capture a little movie magic of their own—and giving little thought to the Abendshien family, who actually lived there. “We would have not believed back then that there would be sightseers coming to look at that house for years afterward,” John Abendshien told me in an interview.

But such is the price of Hollywood stardom. From visits by a Japanese ambassador to toilet paper pranks, here’s what it was really like to live in one of the most famous movie homes of all time.

The Home Alone house’s saga began on an autumn day in November 1920, when—according to building permits supplied by the Winnetka Historical Society—construction was approved for a three-story home in the Village of Winnetka, about 20 miles north of Chicago. Its first brush with fame came in 1974, when the house’s newly renovated kitchen (think: rust-colored mosaic floor tiling, track lighting, and kelly green director chair seating) was featured in the September issue of Better Homes & Gardens. Then owners Carolyn and Kully Rohlen explained how they reconfigured their kitchen to accommodate frequent soup parties, and added a center island to ensure plenty of counter space for canning. “Like many homemakers these days,” the magazine noted, “Carolyn finds canning homegrown tomatoes a joy.”

In the late 1980s, the house was purchased by John and Cynthia Abendshien, transplants from another Chicago suburb: Evanston, where John Hughes had filmed his 1984 movie Sixteen Candles. There, the couple had met location manager Jacolyn Bucksbaum, who was interested in using the Abendshiens’ Evanston home for Hughes’s upcoming film Uncle Buck.

That didn’t happen. But a year and a half later, they encountered Bucksbaum again—this time, scouting in Winnetka for a Christmas comedy called Home Alone. “I couldn't imagine it being a big hit,” John said. “But my wife thought it was very clever and would be a really good movie. She was right, of course.”

The couple agreed to let the production film at their home for about six weeks. The crew wound up working at the house for roughly four months.

Though much of the film was shot on a soundstage, the house itself was featured in exterior shots, as well as interior shots centered around the living room and the foyer’s grand staircase. The team got to work, hanging festive new wallpaper and building an exterior stairway to the basement that burglar Marv would eventually slip down. “They brought in a backhoe and dug up the property and put in fake steps and a fake door,” said John. “And then after the shoot, they filled all that back in and resodded. You could never tell that that had happened.”

The crew also erected a rather ramshackle-looking treehouse and rigged it to a zip line, which Culkin’s Kevin would use to escape the Wet Bandits. After the shoot, it wound up on the Abendshiens’ cutting-room floor. “People have asked why we didn’t keep the treehouse,” said John. “Well, number one, it was a little bit of an eyesore. Number two, I thought it could be a public nuisance, that it might not be safe.”

When filming officially began in February 1990, production rented an apartment for the family to stay in. They spent just a few nights there before transforming their second-floor primary bedroom suite into a makeshift apartment instead. “We brought some cooking hardware up there and a hot plate and fridge,” John explained. The littlest Abendshien found nourishment elsewhere: “I was in kindergarten when they were filming, so I would go to school for the morning and then come home and go straight for the craft food services cart,” John’s daughter Lauren remembered with a laugh. “I would take coffee cups and just fill them with candy.”

At craft services, the family would rub elbows with the stars of the film, including Catherine O’Hara (who played mom Kate), John Heard (who played dad Peter), and Daniel Stern (who played burglar Marv). Lauren also spent time with the film’s child stars, Macaulay and his younger brother Kieran Culkin —who played Pepsi-swigging cousin Fuller in the film, and now stars on the HBO series Succession.

“I remember Daniel Stern going out of his way to spend time with the kids in the neighborhood—to clue them into the movie magic,” Lauren said. “He would tell all these crazy stories about how they had filmed certain scenes, [like] the scene where his character goes through the back window of the house and steps on all of these Christmas tree ornaments. In order to film that scene, they put Daniel Stern in a pair of rubber feet that would go over his bare feet to protect him from getting cut from the glass. And he would show us his rubber feet.”

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When the family would venture out of their ersatz apartment, they watched a number of scenes being shot, including when Kevin toboggans down the stairs and out the front door—a carefully orchestrated stunt in which a cantilevered ramp was constructed over the bannister, allowing the stunt double to slide down and land on a crash pad outside.

If you’re wondering whether any residents of the home took their own sled ride down the stairs, the answer is a definitive no.

“I knew that if I tried to go down the actual stairs on a sled, I’d end up in the wall,” said Lauren. “I did, however, send my Cabbage Patch [doll] down the ramp in between takes.”

For the Abendshiens, it could be difficult to stay out of frame. Lauren had to army crawl from her parents’ room (where the TV was) to her own bedroom in order to avoid casting any shadows in the window. John unwittingly wrecked a snowy tableau the filmmakers needed for the big moment when Kevin finally reunites with his family.

“I was coming back that evening,” John recalled. “I pulled into the driveway and got stuck. I thought, Well, no worry, I’m home. I got out of the car and traipsed across the lawn to the front door and walked in. And the whole crew was there. Columbus looks at me and says, ‘I can’t believe this is happening. We’ve been waiting for this snow.’…They took great pains to angle the camera around my car and around the tracks I had made.”

In May, more than four months after arriving at the doorstep of 671 Lincoln Avenue, the crew finally packed up their festive wallpaper and klieg lights. Home Alone opened six months later—modestly, in just 1,202 theaters nationwide—but word of mouth quickly spread…and as it did, the Abendshiens began to notice an influx of cars parking outside their home and strangers lingering on their sidewalk, all angling for a glimpse of their newly famous house.

Even in those pre–Google Maps days, it wasn’t hard to figure out the home’s location, thanks in part to a throwaway line from the film. Just before the movie’s stunt-filled climax, Kevin pays a visit to Santa’s workshop, telling a chain-smoking Kris Kringle stand-in that he lives at 671 Lincoln Boulevard. His dialogue intentionally misstated the home’s actual address—but this wasn’t enough to fool eager fans.

When Chicago Sun-Times writer Richard Roeper stopped by the house in the winter of 1991 , he reported that some 400 vehicles had lined up outside on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and that about 35 cars an hour were still making their way down the quiet Winnetka street.

Unfortunately for the Abendshiens, not all the lookie-loos were content to keep a polite distance. Some would knock on the door. The more brazen would actually wander into the backyard, ostensibly in search of the treehouse.

Others went further—particularly on Halloween. The house has been pelted with toilet paper, eggs, even baked goods. One year, Lauren said, “they went to the grocery store and bought a premade birthday cake, and [smashed] the cake on our door. It was a pain to clean up—there was icing in the screen door.”

Mostly, though, the Abendshiens took the home’s popularity in stride, politely asking backyard trespassers to leave and, on many occasions, introducing themselves to the more respectful visitors— a foreign ambassador , a Japanese bank chairman, numerous Make-a-Wish recipients.

“We had the privilege of meeting so many wonderful people along the way,” said John.

In 1991, Home Alone ’s filmmakers returned with another offer: They wanted to come back to Lincoln Avenue to shoot a few scenes for Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. The Abendshiens were game, for the right price. Though, according to John, the studio initially turned down their request for a higher rate, it eventually relented. The family donated their fee to a Chicago homeless shelter; true to their word, the filmmakers kept to a much tighter production timeline this time around.

The Abendshiens stayed on Lincoln Avenue until 2011, when, as empty nesters, they decided to put the property up for sale. This was no average home, of course, so realtor Marissa Hopkins devised a splashy marketing strategy that included faux movie posters, a national media rollout, and restrictive open house policies.

“Everybody who toured the house was represented by a broker, who had to demonstrate that they had the ability to purchase this home,” said Hopkins. “That weeds out a lot of people.”

The house sold in 2012 for a reported $1.585 million , ending the Abendshiens’ nearly 25-year residency.

“I really miss it,” said Lauren, who is now an attorney in Chicago. “The house was special not because it held almost all of my childhood memories, but because it held the Home Alone memories as well.”

The home’s current owners, who declined an interview request for this piece, have made a few exterior alterations—most notably, the addition of a fence around the property. Thirty years on, it would seem privacy is still a concern as the home continues to draw fans. (Full disclosure: This writer made her own pilgrimage while studying at nearby Northwestern University.)

“There were plenty of people who did—and still do—contact me to try and go in the house,” said Hopkins.

But as much trouble as it invited, John’s never regretted the decision to hand over the keys to John Hughes and Chris Columbus for four months in 1990.

“It was just one of those once-in-a-lifetime things that you would never dream would happen to you,” he said. “If faced with that decision back then, knowing what I know now, I would certainly do it, absolutely.”

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The Famous House From ‘Home Alone’ Is Absolutely Charming! See Inside [Pictures]

The house that served as the setting for the classic Christmas movie Home Alone is real, and it's even more impressive in real life.

The 4-bedroom, 4-bathroom, 4,243-square-foot house in Winnetka, Ill., was an integral part of Home Alone , which followed the misadventures of young Kevin McAllister (Macaulay Culkin).

He winds up alone in his family's home over the holidays after they mistakenly leave him behind when they fly to Paris for Christmas, and he undergoes a string of comical mishaps as he tries to outwit two men who are planning to rob the house while he's the only one home. The stellar cast for the 1990 smash hit film included Joe Pesci, John Heard, Daniel Stern, Catherine O'Hara and John Candy, and its success turned Culkin into a major child star.

The real-life house features the same exterior color scheme that it did during filming, according to pictures online, and the Georgian-style home has a somewhat formal feel to it, with high ceilings, generously sized rooms and an open flow between the various living spaces.

The home's current estimated value of $2,407,953 breaks down to $568 per square foot and a monthly payment of $14,892, according to online property sites. The luxury property last sold in 2012 for $1,585,000.

Scroll through the photos below to see inside the house from Home Alone , and keep scrolling to see inside famous TV houses from Dallas and Yellowstone .

PICTURES: See Inside the Luxurious $2.4 Million House From 'Home Alone'

Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker

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Visit the Home Alone House in Winnetka

It’s hard to believe that the Home Alone movie opened in theaters over 30 years ago. The 1990s hit is still a beloved movie that plays in homes every year during Christmas. With so much success, the Home Alone house in Winnetka still gets sightseers today. While you can’t tour the home, as it’s a personal residence, the home conjures up warm memories for everyone that sees it. Many who visit recreate the Kevin McAllister scream (the 8-year-old’s famous scene when he puts aftershave on his face).

The film was written and produced by John Hughes (who grew up in Chicago’s North Shore), and directed by Chris Columbus who later said that finding a house to fit his vision was not an easy task:

“We needed to cast a house that would work for the stunts and also a house that was visually appealing and, if this makes sense, warm and menacing at the same time. It’s the kind of house if you were a kid it would be fun to be left home alone… I wanted it to feel timeless.”

View this post on Instagram Home Alone 🏠 📍Winnetka, Illinois A post shared by Travel Insider Magazine (@travelinsider) on Apr 17, 2020 at 1:56pm PDT

The sprawling Georgian 1920s home features beautiful red brick and is mostly unchanged from the movie on the exterior, except for an iron fence that surrounds the property. However, the interior has made several upgrades since the movie.

Here’s a look at then and now.

The 4,242 square-foot home features 5 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms and sold in 2012 for $1.585 million, a drop from the original asking price of $2.4 million. Old man Marley’s house from across the street also fared well after the success of the movie. It sold for $3 million in 2003.

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You Can Drive By The Actual House From The Classic Christmas Movie "Home Alone" In Illinois

Elizabeth Crozier

An Illinois transplant who grew up and went to school in Indiana for 22 years, Elizabeth holds a BFA in creative writing and has enjoyed traveling across the country and parts of Europe. She has visited half of the states, as well as parts of Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean, and regularly travels home to the Hoosier State to see friends and family. With more than five years of writing experience, Elizabeth’s articles have been featured on several websites, and her poetry and short stories have been published in multiple literary journals.

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The holidays are always a time of fantasy, whimsy, and magic. And what better time than this to step out of your usual routine to experience something exciting and new? If you are a movie fan, you can check out the “Home Alone” house in the flesh (or brick) right here in Winnetka, Illinois! It is the actual home used in part of the filming of this classic Christmas movie. Scroll on for more details.

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Have you ever been to the Home Alone house? If so, we’d love to hear from you. Please share your experiences and photos with us below in the comments.

For more like this, check out 11 historic houses in Illinois you can tour .

OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

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There are many winter festivals in Illinois, despite the often-frigid weather. One of the most popular is the annual Groundhog Days Celebration . Held in Woodstock, IL the festival encompasses a wide array of activities that tie into the famous movie starring comic Bill Murray and the talented Andie MacDowell.

Other winter events in Illinois include:

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Are there any Christmas towns in Illinois?

Yes! Christmas is a big deal in Illinois (well, really almost everywhere in the U.S., for that matter) so you’ll find a wealth of beautiful Christmas towns where you can celebrate the season. Some Christmas towns in Illinois include:

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Inside the real 'Home Alone' house – and its jaw-dropping value

The 1990 hit movie saw macaulay culkin play kevin mccallister.

The hit 1990 movie  'Home Alone' has become part of many families' Christmas traditions, and not only did it make a star of Macaulay Culkin , but also the iconic red-brick Georgian-Colonial house that was home to the fictional McCallister family. 

The stunning residence is a real home located in Winnetka, Illinois, about 20 miles from Chicago, and at the time, it was owned by the Abendshien family, who relocated to a makeshift apartment on the second floor of their house during filming. 

While the exterior of the property was used in the movie, many of the interior shots were filmed on a purpose-built, two-story set inside the gym of an abandoned school, New Trier Township High School, located in the town. 

However, the famous, red-carpeted staircase that young Kevin McCallister sledded down before shooting out of the front door, and the living room, were shot inside the real home. 

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"We needed to cast a house that would work for the stunts and also a house that was visually appealing and, if this makes sense, warm and menacing at the same time," director Chris Columbus said in 2015. 

"It's the kind of house if you were a kid, it would be fun to be left home alone," he added. 

Inside the real 'Home Alone' house

Located at 671 Lincoln Avenue in Winnetka, Illinois, the 'Home Alone' house boasts 10 bedrooms and six bathrooms across 5,398 square feet of space and just over half an acre of land, according to Zillow . 

In May 2011, fans got a proper look inside when the Abendshien family put the house on the market for $2.4 million, a huge increase from the $800,000 Cynthia and John Abendshien paid for the property back in 1998. 

At the time, real-estate agent Marissa Hopkins – who worked with the Abendshiens on the sale – posted a YouTube video showing off the interiors in all their glory. Check out the video below...

"It looks different than the fans might expect (i.e. no plaid wallpaper)… but that's Hollywood! " Hopkins told Insider . "The images depicted at the time I sold the house, were how the house looked when it was filmed," she added. 

One noticeable difference between the interior of the real house and the ' Home Alone'  one is the lack of red and green painted walls and furniture, a design choice that gained popularity following the film's release. 

"There were no saturated green or red upholstered furniture sold in stores. Not one piece," ' Home Alone ' set decorator, Eve Cauley told AD . 

"A red dining room became the in-style trend of the 1990s. My decor and wall-covering choices for Home Alone changed the color palette of the nation for the upcoming decade," she added. 

How much is the house worth? 

The $2.4 million asking price proved to be too hefty a price tag for the famous home as four months after it went on the market, the Abendshiens lowered the asking price to $1.995 million. 

Again, there were no takers, but the house eventually sold in 2012 for $1.585 million although the current owners are not known. According to Zillow , the luxury mansion is today worth over a whopping $2.3 million! 

Visiting the 'Home Alone' house 

For decades fans of the movie have traveled to Winnetka to see the 'Home Alone' house in person and snap pictures of the exterior, and it is a particularly popular destination around Christmas. 

"We would have not believed back then that there would be sightseers coming to look at that house for years afterward,"  John Abendshien previously told Vanity Fair.  

As the home is currently occupied and not available for sale or rent, the only way to get inside is if you know the owners. However, back in 2021, Airbnb  offered fans a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to stay at the real-life McCallister home. 

The lucky guests were treated to Chicago's finest pizza, a candlelit dinner of microwavable Kraft Mac & Cheese, and set up booby traps for potential intruders.

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You Can Request to Book the ‘Home Alone' House on Airbnb Today. Here's How

Requests to book the one-night-only stay open dec. 7 at 1 p.m., published december 7, 2021 • updated on december 7, 2021 at 8:11 pm.

As of Tuesday afternoon, all Airbnb reservation requests for the "Home Alone" house have been entirely booked.

Nearly as exciting as a whole cheese pizza all to yourself, requests to book on Airbnb the real-life "Home Alone" house open Tuesday, Dec. 7 at 1 p.m. CT.

Watch NBC Chicago local news and weather for free 24/7

The one-night-only stay at the iconic McCallister movie house in the Chicago suburb of Winnetka takes place Dec. 12 and can host up to four guests.

The price for the entire stay is $25 (plus tax), so you can keep the change, ya filthy animal.

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How to book the Home Alone house on Airbnb

Beginning at 1 p.m. CT, Home Alone fanatics can request on Airbnb's website to book the one-night-only stay.

According to the listing, this is not a contest, and guests are responsible for their own travel to Chicago, and to the house (just make sure you don't accidentally count Mitch Murphy in the airport shuttle).

How much does the stay cost?

According to the Airbnb listing , the overnight stay is $25 plus tax.

What does the overnight stay at the Home Alone house include?

According to Airbnb, renters will enjoy an evening inside the McCallister house just as you remember it -- filled with Christmas decorations, booby traps, a candlelit dinner of highly nutritious microwavable macaroni and cheese, Kevin's dad's after shave, 90s junk food, "Chicago's finest pizza" and more.

See Inside the ‘Home Alone' House You Can Soon Book on Airbnb

You Can Soon Book the ‘Home Alone' House on Airbnb

Here's When You Can Book the ‘Home Alone' House on Airbnb

Kevin's older brother, Buzz will be your host for the evening. He won't be accompanied by his girlfriend, but he will have his pet tarantula with him.

Head's up on the house rules: No pets, no smoking, no infants allowed.

The stay can accommodate up to four guests with two bedrooms and 1.5 baths. While some bathroom essentials will be provided, just make sure the toothbrush you bring is approved by the American Dental Association.

Local COVID-19 guidelines will apply ( Illinois is currently under an indoor mask mandate ), and guests are responsible for their own travel to and from Chicago.

Airbnb says its closely monitoring Chicago infection rates and government policies, and will offer booking guests a $1,000 USD Airbnb travel credit if it becomes necessary to cancel the stay.

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20th Century Fox

Home Alone House: Inside The Iconic Kevin McCallister House 30 Years Later!

If you’re a Home Alone fan, you likely dreamed of spending a Christmas in the Kevin McCallister house at some point. Built in 1920, this gorgeous 4,200 square foot red brick Georgian played an important role in the Christmas classic film Home Alone. Boasting 6 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, it made the perfect scene for the McCallister’s massive family and Kevin’s mischievous traps for Marv and Harry. With Home Alone just celebrating its 30 year anniversary as of 2020, Velvet Ropes is giving you the inside scoop on this iconic house! From the Home Alone house address to the movie magic that transformed it into the McCallister home – keep reading for all the deets!

Where Is the Home Alone House?

For those looking for the real-life Home Alone house location, look no further than Chicago, Illinois. The sprawling residence is located only 16 miles north of downtown Chicago in a north shore neighborhood called Winnetka Illinois. The Home Alone house address is below!

McCallister House Home Alone

In 2011, Coldwell Banker real estate agent Marissa Hopkins was granted access to film a video tour by owners John & Cynthia Abendshien. At the time, the house from Home Alone was just placed on the market by the couple for $2.4 million. The Abendshien family purchased the red brick Georgian in the late 80s after relocating from Evanston. Fun fact: Evanston is where the popular John Hughes film Sixteen Candles (1984) was shot!

While a large portion of the movie was filmed on a soundstage, shots of the home’s interior can still be found in the film. The scenes of the foyer’s grand staircase and the living room were the real-life Home Alone house. There were, however, some tiny changes made to facilitate some scenes in the film. For example, new wallpaper was added to make the house more festive. Oh, and the back door down the set of stairs outside – that actually wasn’t real. A backhoe was brought in to dig up that part of the property so that a fake door and steps could be added in. Kevin’s treehouse was also specifically built for the film and ended up being taken down after filming wrapped.

Home Alone House Now

Today, the McCallister house would be hard to recognize inside. Gone are the days of green and red wallpaper and red carpeting on the stairs in the foyer – now replaced with modern grey paint and blue & white carpeting. The kitchen has also undergone some extensive work, now featuring elegant white shaker cabinets, green tile backsplash, and a small breakfast bar. The tacky wallpaper in the master suite has been replaced with a chic grey & white striped print. Additionally, the once hardwood floors are now decked out in white carpeting. The dining room, which featured red walls in the film, is now adorned in a warm cream color painted with vines and pear trees. Quite the improvement overall…unless you’re a diehard lover of 90s interior design.

If you’ve ever revisited the Home Alone films for a dose of nostalgia, you probably asked yourself at some point “how much is the Home Alone house worth?” Well, after an extensive redecoration, the original owners of the property put up the Mcalister house for sale in May 2011. In March of 2012, it sold for $1.585 million.

Whatever Peter McCallister was doing to afford the Home Alone home and their extravagant family vacations, we need to know! Seriously – a vacation to Paris for 13 people?!

Home Alone House Address

Wanna see the McCallister house for yourself? It’s located at 671 Lincoln Avenue, Winnetka Illinois 60093. If you plan to visit the location, however, keep in mind it’s not an attraction open to the public. So, while you can stop by and grab some selfies with the house from Home Alone, you won’t be able to go inside.

Who’s the Home Alone Kid ?

The center of the Home Alone films, Kevin McCallister, was played by actor Macaulay Culkin. And yes, there are 2 Cs in McCallister – it’s not Kevin Mcallister. 😉 In addition to starring in Home Alone and Home Alone 2 Lost in New York , Culkin also appeared in the films My Girl (1991), The Nutcracker (1993), and Richie Rich (1994).

“How old is Kevin from Home Alone?” you may be asking yourself – prepare to feel old! Macaulay Culkin, aka little Kevin McCallister, is now 40 as of 2021!  

Home Alone Robbers

Marv and Harry, the greedy antagonists in Home Alone, were played by actors Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci. Stern, who was also the narrator for The Wonder Years (1988-1993), has spent the majority of his career in television. While Pesci is most often recognized for his roles in Lethal Weapon 4 (1989), Goodfellas (1990), and My Cousin Vinny (1992).

Where Was Home Alone Filmed?

The entire production of Home Alone was shot in the Chicago area! Even the parts that were supposed to be set in the Paris Orly Airport were actually filmed at O’Hare International Airport. The interior of the plane was a set built on a basketball court at the local high school. In fact, the scene where Kevin McCallister is trekking through the flooded basement is actually the school’s swimming pool.

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/60262/25-things-you-might-not-know-about-home-alone

https://www.romper.com/entertainment/home-alone-house-video-tour

https://www.movie-locations.com/movies/h/Home-Alone.php

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/11/home-alone-house-winnetka-illinois

.css-16urd06{margin:0;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;font-weight:400;font-size:1rem;line-height:1.5;} .css-1eo6nkc{color:rgb(0, 0, 238);font-size:24px;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;cursor:pointer;} Sarah Paschall

Sarah has written and edited for numerous media outlets in a variety of different niches – though entertainment is her all-time favorite topic to cover. When she is not hard at work researching and writing about Hollywood’s top talents for Velvet Ropes, Sarah enjoys working on her fiction novels, developing her blog, and gaming. You can follow Sarah on Twitter at: Twitter.com/tuspock91

Local News | Almost 30 years later, Winnetka residents say…

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Local News | Almost 30 years later, Winnetka residents say ‘Home Alone’ changed the neighborhood — but they’re OK with it

Karie Angell Luc / Pioneer Press

Trinity United Methodist Church, 1024 Lake Ave., Wilmette, was used as a location in "Home Alone."

The house featured in "Home Alone," seen here in 2019, is located on Lincoln Avenue in Winnetka.

Never mind that the irrepressible Kevin McCallister, aka Macaulay Culkin of “Home Alone” fame, is now nearing 40, and those bungling bandits Harry and Marv would be bona fide senior citizens.

For Winnetka residents living near the “Home Alone” house on Lincoln Avenue, the holiday classic remains timeless, with a steady stream of sightseers still stopping by their North Shore neighborhood nearly three decades after the release of the 1990 John Hughes holiday classic.

“That house brings us a lot of joy, and some inconveniences, but we all survive it,” said Linda Martin, a longtime Lincoln Avenue resident who lives near the stately red brick Colonial selected by the late Hughes and director Chris Columbus as the fictional McAllister family home.

Martin recalls a handful of hitches that accompanied the arrival of the “Home Alone” cast and crew in her neighborhood during early 1990 .

Her children’s school bus was sidelined by blocked streets, the movie crew’s high-voltage equipment and props prompted power outages, and the Martin family’s black Labrador developed an allergic reaction to the fake snow blowing around the neighborhood.

But for Martin and many of her neighbors, witnessing the joy the “Home Alone” house and other filming locations in the village have brought to countless visitors during the past three decades has outweighed the occasional inconvenience of having their suburban street transformed into an iconic Hollywood landmark.

Martin holds fond memories of the time Macaulay Culkin visited with her children’s pet rabbits, Frosty and Moose, and recalls Daniel Stern, the actor who played the bandit Marv, as “genial, kind and considerate,” who despite a fully-stocked canteen, bought hot cocoa from the neighborhood kids.

Nonetheless, Martin said she never imagined that nearly three decades after the film’s debut that her neighborhood would still be a popular attraction for visitors from across the world.

“When the marketing people from the studio visited our neighborhood before they started filming, they said it would take them about eight days, but it ended up taking them about 30 days,” Martin said.

“The ‘Home Alone’ experience in our neighborhood really never ended, and it continues to this day,” she added.

Longtime resident Terry Dason, executive director of the Winnetka-Northfield Chamber of Commerce, remembers stepping onto the fake snow outside the Community House with her 2-year-old and 8-month-old in tow.

“At first, I thought, ‘what are they doing?’ and then I realized, ‘oh, my! They are filming a movie here in Winnetka!'” said Dason, who still enjoys watching “Home Alone” every holiday season with her family, which now includes grandchildren.

“My kids still watch ‘Home Alone’ with awe and wonder, and they’re 32 and 30 now,” Dason said. “Anytime we have visitors, they want to go over to see the ‘Home Alone’ house. It’s probably difficult for the family who lives there, but since they put a fence up a few years ago, at least people aren’t walking up to their windows anymore and looking in.”

Dason said the Lincoln Avenue property, which has had several different owners in the three decades following the release of the film, was recently renovated and remains “beautiful, well-maintained, and still has the same feel.”

Longtime resident Ann Smith said despite the occasional over-eager sightseers who park illegally before snapping selfies and group photos, most folks in the neighborhood are proud to live on the so-called “Home Alone” block.

“Most people who live on the street love it, and think it’s a lot of fun,” Smith said. “It was a big deal having the movie filmed here, and it’s still a big deal. Any time I’m walking by that house, I see someone out in front, taking pictures.”

Actor Kate Johnson appeared in the film as the police dispatcher Rose, who takes a call from frantic matriarch Kate McCallister, played by Catherine O’Hara. She said the scene — which features the line, “Hyper on two” — was filmed in a classroom at New Trier’s west campus.

“Larry (Hankin), the actor who played police officer Larry Balzak, was eating a doughnut, and a piece got stuck on the phone, and that is the take that Chris (Columbus) kept,” said Johnson, an Evanston resident.

“We had a script, and we did the script, but then we kept going, because Chris allowed us to,” Johnson said. “You can’t recreate that kind of take … you just can’t make that stuff up.”

Unbeknownst to the casting director, Johnson said she was more than four months pregnant with her son, Zeke Spector, who is now 29, when she shot the police station scene.

“I had on a polyester skirt, and it fit just like a pair of Spanx,” she said.

She and her family attended the recent performance of “Home Alone in Concert,” featuring the movie on the big screen, as accompanied by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performing composer John Williams’ score.

“The scene that always gets to me is when Catherine O’Hara finally arrives back home, and says, ‘Oh, Kevin, I’m so sorry,’ which still makes me cry,” Johnson added.

Back on Lincoln Avenue, Martin, a local real estate agent, said while very few scenes were actually filmed in the interior of her neighborhood’s most famous house, the village of Winnetka was the backdrop for several other scenes in the film.

Kevin’s visit to Santa’s workshop was filmed at Chestnut Court, adjacent to the Winnetka Village Hall.

The Grand Food Center, 606 Green Bay Road, is where Kevin shops for groceries, and gets the third degree from a suspicious cashier.

Hubbard Woods Park, and the pharmacy, is where Kevin buys a toothbrush at 940 Green Bay Road, which is now a Graeter’s Ice Cream.

In nearby Wilmette, officials at Trinity United Methodist Church even give a nod to the film on their website, stating: “To some, we are the ‘Home Alone’ church from the 1990 movie ; to others, we are the imposing Gothic Revival on the corner of Lake and Wilmette. But we are more than movies or architecture, more than stone or mortar. We are your neighbors, even your friends.”

Martin said she while was well aware that for legions of fans in the U.S., watching “Home Alone” each holiday season is a beloved family tradition, during a recent trip abroad she discovered the film’s global appeal.

“We were hiking in Kenya, and when a man who was taking our photo asked where we were from, I made the movie sign with my hand, and said, ‘Home Alone,’ and he was so excited, he wanted to take a picture of me,” Martin said. “People all over the world love ‘Home Alone.’ After they made the movie in our neighborhood, the crowds came, and they’ve never really left.”

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Can You Visit the Home Alone House This Winter?

By: Author The Drivin' & Vibin' Team

Posted on November 12, 2021

What do you know about the Home Alone house? Have you ever thought about visiting it? 

Maybe this winter is the perfect time for a road trip to explore Home Alone filming locations. 

Read on to find out more about the Home Alone franchise and where the house is located.

Let’s go!

About the Home Alone Movies

Home Alone is a 1990 Christmas movie about an eight-year-old boy accidentally left at home as his family travels for the Holidays. While he’s home alone, he ends up protecting his home from burglars. 

The comedy was a hit. Due to this, a sequel was filmed in 1992, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. The sequel starred the original cast and received mixed reviews. 

Over time, three more sequels have been released: Home Alone 3 in 1997, Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House in 2002, and Home Alone: The Holiday Heist in 2012. Subsequently, Home Alone four and five were made-for-television. 

And, in fact, there’s a sixth one, Home Sweet Home Alone, coming out today! 

Where Is the Home Alone House?

In the first Home Alone movie, the house is the main set. It’s the place where Kevin uses aftershave for the first time, sleds down the stairs, and fights off burglars. Therefore, it is a central figure of the film.

The Home Alone house is an actual three-story single-family home built in the 1920s. It’s about 20 minutes outside of Chicago, Illinois, in a lovely residential neighborhood called the North Shore Village.

Location: 672 Lincoln Ave, Winnetka, Illinois 

Pro Tip: After exploring the Home Alone House in Chicago, cruise down Route 66! Make sure to stop and do these 9 Best Things To Do on Route 66 in Illinois.

Can You Visit the Home Alone House?

Although you can drive to the house, it’s privately owned and closed to the public. However, you can take a selfie right outside. It looks the same as it did in the movie, except for an iron fence. 

In the movie, you get to go inside nearly all the rooms in the house, but in reality, only a few things were filmed on location. Scenes such as the exterior, central staircase, basement, attic, and 1st-floor landing are all from the house.

Everything else was filmed on a soundstage on the west campus of New Trier High School in Northfield. 

So how do you get to experience the Home Alone House? Keep reading to find out. 

Can You Stay the Night at the Home Alone House?

Although you can’t stay in the actual Home Alone House, you can stay in a Home Alone-themed Airbnb ! Yep! It’s a private duplex for Home Alone fans in Dallas, Texas.

First, you can watch classic VHS movies on an old-school TV and play ping pong. Likewise, if you’re feeling hungry have a cheese pizza delivered to your door (courtesy of the hosts.)

And that’s not all! Finally, the rental is set up just like Kevin had it with hanging paint cans, toy cars on the floor, and the Michael Jordan cardboard cutout. In fact, the toiletries are vintage packaging from the 90s.

How fun is that?

Best Hikes Near the Home Alone House

Once you’ve experienced all things related to the Home Alone house, it might be time to hit the trails! There are two fantastic hiking opportunities located 15 minutes away: Skokie Lagoons Inner Trail and Chicago Botanical Gardens Trail.

Let’s check them out. 

Skokie Lagoons Inner Trail

Skokie Lagoons is a nature preserve with seven interconnected lagoons and plenty of trails. The area is referred to as Nike Island and Skokie Lagoon Islands. 

You’ll want to take the Inner Trail for an authentic hiking experience. It’s a 4.1-mile loop of unpaved walking trails meandering through shady woods. here’s no actual signage, so stay vigilant and use a hiking app, so you don’t get lost.

The trailhead is located on Forestway Drive near the Forest Grove Picnic Grove #1. There’s roadside parking right there and the N Branch Trail. The Inner Trail is a 450-foot walk north from the picnic grove. There’s no mistaking the N Branch Trail and the Inner Trail.

The N Branch Trail is a paved biking trail, and the Inner Trail is a narrow path that veers west and follows the lagoon.

Chicago Botanical Gardens Trail

If you’re looking for an easy, manicured hike, you’ll certainly want to walk the Chicago Botanical Gardens Trail . This is a 2.2-mile loop on paved cement, brick, or packed gravel paths. The walking paths wind through various gardens, the bonsai courtyard, and a waterfall, to name a few. 

Entering the Chicago Botanical Gardens via the N Branch Trail is free. If you drive to the gardens and park in their parking lot, you must pay to park. 

Please note that dogs are not allowed on the Chicago Botanical Gardens Trail. Also, visit the botanical garden website for specific hours and trail access.

Pro Tip: If you don’t want to be home alone over the holidays, stay at one of these 10 Best RV Parks for Christmas .

Best Camping Near the Home Alone House

The Home Alone house is located near Chicago, and finding camping in urban areas is always a challenge. However, we found two good campgrounds that are 60 minutes or less away. Let’s talk about them. 

Blackwell Family Campground

Located 60 minutes from the Home Alone House, Blackwell Family Campground is inside the 366-acre Blackwell Forest Preserve. The campground is on Silver Lake and has 60 gravel campsites for tents and RVs. All sites have electricity, fire rings, and picnic tables. There are no sewer or water hookups at any of the sites.

All campers have access to running water and a shower house with flush toilets. You can dump your tanks at the onsite dump station. 

The campground is seasonal from May 7th to September 25th and only open on weekends. You’ll also need a permit to camp. 

GPS Coordinates: 41.83805966, -88.17475155 

Illinois Beach State Park

If you need more flexible camping, Illinois Beach State Park might be a better option for you. It has a seasonal campground that’s open between April 1st and December 30th. You need a permit to camp there as well.

Illinois Beach campground has 241 grassy and gravel campsites with electricity. There are no water or sewer connections, but all campers have access to showers and sanitary facilities. 

The campground is 45 minutes from the Home Alone house. Additionally, it is on the shores of Lake Michigan. You can spend your days swimming, biking, walking, or hiking the trails. 

Location: 39150 Illinois Beach State Park Rd, Zion, IL 60099

Is a Road Trip to the Home Alone House Worth It? 

If you’re a fan of Home Alone, a road trip to the Home Alone house is totally worth it. It’ll be fun to get a selfie in front of the home, and there’s still plenty to explore in the area.

Hiking around the Skokie Lagoons and the botanical gardens is an added bonus.

Discover the Best Free Camping Across the USA

To be honest with you,  we hate paying for camping . There are so many free campsites in America (with complete privacy).

You should give it a try!

As a matter of fact, these free campsites are yours.  Every time you pay federal taxes, you’re contributing to these lands.

Become a FREE CAMPING INSIDER and join the 100,000 campers who love to score the best site! 

We’ll send you the 50 Best Free Campsites in the USA (one per state).  Access the list by submitting your email below:

I live near the home alone house. There’s no neighborhood called the North Shore village. It’s in Winnetka. Also, there are a lot of better places to camp much closer than 60 minutes to here 🙂 check ioverlander or similar ❤️