Home Alone is filled with iconic moments, not least of which is Kevin McCallister’s solo trip to the grocery store, where he grabs 10 items for just under $20.
One curious fan decided to run a little experiment to see how much damage that same (or nearly identical) grocery list would do today… and holy moly.
A content creator known as “Mistress Melt” on YouTube (we’ll call her MM for short) went to her local grocery store and replicated Kevin’s haul, which looked a little something like this:
- Big loaf of Wonder Bread (MM had to get the “butternut” brand): $2.89
- Half gallon of whole milk: $2.99
- Tropicana premium orange juice on sale: $2.50
- Kraft frozen mac and cheese: $3.79
- Stouffer’s TV dinner: $3.99
- Quilted Northern toilet paper (MM called this the “Cadillac of rump wipe”): $7.99
- “Criminal catching” cling wrap: $4.49
- Tide liquid detergent: $15.99
- Snuggle dryer sheets: $4.19
- A bag of toy soldiers (since grocery stores don’t sell many tiny toys these days, MM substituted chocolate penguin “soldiers” found in the holiday aisle): $3.99
The new total for all this? $55.99. Oofta.
– YouTube www.youtube.com
Down in the comments, people couldn’t help but LOL at the price jump of laundry detergent alone.
“The way that Tide was almost the same price as his whole shopping in the 90s.”
“I knew it was over when i saw tide and quilted northern”
“I laughed so hard at the final total. I knew it was coming, I knew it was coming!!!”
Kevin also earned kudos for his wise spending.
“I still love how responsible Kevin was despite literally being home alone with no adults. He restocked on laundry when he totally could’ve just bought more candy.”
MM’s video came out in 2024, and since then, prices have, ahem, risen a bit more. According to GOBankingRates, Kevin’s list would cost nearly $70 today. Those toy soldiers alone have gone from $2.00 to $9.00. Compared with the original total cost of $19.83, that’s nearly a 300% increase.
Kevin would have racked up an even more ginormous bill during his romp through New York City in Home Alone 2, which included a stay in a fancy hotel suite, room service, and a 16-scoop ice cream sundae. In 2025, the total would have come to $8,511, compared with a $2,109 bill back in 1992, the New York Post reported. Wowzers.
– YouTube www.youtube.com
Of course, these days it looks like Kevin isn’t concerning himself so much with grocery prices or hotel bills. In a cute Home Instead ad, Kevin bubble-wraps the McCallister house, worried that his now-older mother might hurt herself. (The house sold for $5.5 million in January, by the way.) Of course, we think Catherine O’Hara is doing just fine, but it’s a clever idea nonetheless.
– YouTube www.youtube.com
I guess we’ll have even more to be nostalgic about as we rewatch these holiday classics.
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