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Home Alone Trips are Pricey

The Finances of the McCallister Family

By SkylerPublished 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago 4 min read
Top Story - December 2021
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You know you are getting old when you question the costs in the film - Home Alone. No, I am not alluding to the production costs of this holiday classic. Instead, how does one survive the financial costs of the McCallister clan when you look at it?

Let's start at the beginning of the movie. We get ten pizzas for the price of $122.50. Notice Uncle Frank dodges the expenses to his brother, Peter McCallister. Note that Peter explains the costs to his wife, who questions the bill - ten pizzas, that's twelve bucks per pizza. Hence, tax and delivery only add $2.50! Damn, economically speaking, 1990 sounds amazing! Let's not forget the tip, which can be anywhere from $13 to $25 extra. Add this, and the bill is about $135.50 - $147.50. Go with the more expensive tip, when you adjust this bill from 1990 for inflation, the family just paid over $300 for ten pizzas!

Again, we did not think much of their trip as kids save for 'Going to Paris, neat!' All grown up now, we cannot help but wonder about getting fifteen people from Chicago to Paris. We have fifteen passengers, four parents, and eleven kids. Unlike the pizza order earlier, we never hear a price for this trip. In addition, Peter McCallister did not pay for this trip. His brother, Rob, does. Hence, how much does a trip like this cost if made today? First, you have the four adults in first-class, which can run you anywhere from $5,000-$13,000 per person. The pricing for everyone else in coach can run you anywhere from $700-$3,000 per person. In the end, this trip can cost Rob McCallister $27,700-$85,000! Who knows if he bought his family a round trip or not. These costs are only for the trip to Paris, not back.

Let us assume Peter McCallister is the one who pays for the trip back to Chicago on Christmas Day and foregoes first-class tickets. Prices usually go down on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, for who wants to travel on those days? Peter drops $6,000-$48,000 to get back to his son on Christmas morning. These costs do include his cheapskate brother's family.

It is worth noting that Heather is Rob's daughter. Therefore, she got a trip to Chicago and back to Paris. No doubt, this will tally up a few thousand more. Also, Kate McCallister, in trying to get back to Chicago, gets a plane from Paris to Dallas, then to Scranton. No doubt, a hefty bill for her husband.

Let us jump ahead to Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Here, Peter McCallister is paying for everything, as his cheap stake brother, Frank, implies. We are down Heather, Rob's daughter in this film, for a total of 14 people. In addition, a trip from Chicago to Miami rather than Paris will be cheaper. Finally, everyone is flying coach. Maybe that is to be expected when you are handling the bill. How much "good money" is Kevin's dad paying for this trip? You can expect his bank summary for this vacation to be anywhere from $4,200-$15,400. Not Paris, but still, yikes! Do not forget the family takes a last-minute plane from Miami to New York City. Luckily, the flight will be on Christmas Eve and will be setting Mr. McCallister back $520 - $9,100.

Finally, do not forget Kevin's bill for room service - a whopping $967.43! If you adjust this bill for inflation, the cost is more like $1,907.20. Kevin's room rate is also $355 per day, which is about $700 in today's dollars. Luckily, he only stayed for one night since Tim Curry scared him off. No doubt, Kevin's father has already spent so much money. Yet, this amount is a drop in the bucket compared to the trip to and from Miami. In the end, Mr. McCallister paid anywhere from $7,327 - $27,107 in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.

One cannot help but wonder what the hell the McCallisters do for a living! Maybe were they born into wealth? The costs of living are not cheap in Paris or Chicago! Consider Peter McCallister's family home at 671 Lincoln Avenue in Winnetka, Illinois. The house first sold in January 1989 for $875,000 or close to $2 billion today! Years later, and the home sold for much more, no doubt, the film probably played a role in this. You have Peter's brother Rob, who lives in Paris and has a home in New York City. Similar to Paris and Chicago, living expenses in New York City are far from cheap. Oddly enough, Rob's New York home of 51 W 95th Street in New York City, New York sold in 1993 for $230,000 in 1993 or half a billion in today's dollars. No doubt, cheaper than the McCallister home in Chicago, but don't forget Rob has a home in Paris still.

Who knows what they do - drug trafficking, corporate CEOs, military contractors, whatever! We can all agree that Uncle Frank is one cheap son of a bitch.

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About the Creator

Skyler

Full-time worker, history student and an avid comic book nerd.

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