‘Home Alone’ Director Chris Columbus Confirms Kevin’s Father Wasn’t a Criminal

Christmas 2024 may be officially over, but in the words of Phaedra Parks, everybody knows the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is the most unhinged of them all. Many are using the downtime of the slower week to catch up on the classic Christmas movies they’ve put off in the weeks leading up to the holiday.

Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York remain in the rotation of Christmas movie lovers.

The franchise, starring Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McAllister, is known for its classic lines, such as “Merry Christmas, you filthy animal” and Catherine O’Hara’s ear-shattering “KEVIN!!” Additionally, the movie still creates debates among people who have seen it for as long as they can remember.

Many movie fans have inquired about Kevin’s parents, played by Catherine O’Hara and John Heard as Kate and Peter McAllister, respectively, parenting choices and if they were as present as they should’ve been (no judgment but judgment).

Additionally, more moviegoers have wondered how the McAllisters could afford their stunning mansion, a significant character in the first Home Alone movie in 1990. After years of speculation, the movie’s director, Chris Columbus, finally gave some insight into the age-old mystery.

Every year around Christmastime, the question of how the McAllisters afforded the famous Winnetka, Ill., mansion. In 2024, fans received a Christmas miracle when Chris offered his reason behind the family’s expensive digs.

During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter, the Rent director explained that Kevin’s parents were doing well for themselves when they bought the family’s fictional home.

"We thought the mother, at the time — because we used fashion mannequins in the basement, I do remember having a conversation — she was a very successful fashion designer," he recalled on the podcast. "I do remember we thought she was an extremely successful fashion designer, which was probably one of the reasons they ended up in Paris."

Chris also addressed the more pressing question of how Kevin’s father earned his money. One prominent theory is that Peter was somehow involved in organized crime. Chris assured Awards Chatter host Scott Feinberg that the McAllisters weren’t involved in any crimes.

"The father could have — based on [writer] John Hughes' own experience — worked in advertising,” he said, adding, “There's no organized crime, even though there was, at the time, a lot of organized crime in Chicago."

While Chris assured Home Alone fans that the movie’s parental figures made honest livings, it’s unclear if an advertising executive and Chicago-based fashion designer would have the same income to afford their home today.

According to People, the Home Alone house, as fans affectionately call it, the five-bedroom, six-bathroom home hit the market for $5.25 million. Less than a week later, an anonymous buyer offered to purchase the house just in time for Christmas.

Before the house found a buyer, several people, including Macaulay, who had access to its asking price, offered to buy it.

"I had half a mind to buy it — just for giggles," he shared during a Home Alone screening near Chicago in December 2024.

And as iconic as it would’ve been to see Kevin home alone in the McAllisters’ home (not really, his wife, Brenda Song, and their two kids would be along for the ride!) Macaulay said living there wasn’t for him. Instead, he had plans to make the house a “fun house” for Home Alone fans, which, in our opinion, would’ve been equally epic!