As a way of casing houses, Harry Lime is dressed as a concerned policeman, warning homeowners of the likely appearance of crooks in the neighborhood at Christmastime. This is how the crooks learned that the McCallisters were going to Paris.

Tired after dealing with lots of shoppers' children, the Santa impersonator comes out to find he has a parking ticket under the windshield wipers on his car on Christmas Eve. He searches his pocket for anything to gift him with, then gives Kevin some green Tic Tacs and tells him not to spoil his dinner.

The driver from Little Nero's Pizza knocks over the lawn jockey statue and trips over it. Of course, Little Nero's is a play on the real Little Caesar's Pizza chain.

The pizza delivery man brought a stack of pizzas, but when Kevin looks for his cheese pizza, Buzz informs him it is all gone. This results in a fight, with food, drink and boxes being spilled everywhere, as Kevin and Buzz grapple.

Originally the part of Uncle Frank was written with Kelsey Grammer in mind, but Gerry Bamman actually played the part. He was actually from Ohio, just like Uncle Frank, and a graduate of St. Francis de Sales High School in Toledo.

Peter sticks the tickets and passports into the microwave in an attempt to dry them, after Kevin and Buzz got into a fight over cheese pizza. The tickets and passports were soaked in milk and Pepsi, which had spilled on them and the surrounding countertops, table and floors.

Peter's brother had been transferred to Paris for work, but both of his children were still going to school in the U.S., and the brother wanted to reunite the families for Christmas. This is Kate McCallister's explanation, when she is asked why they are leaving for Paris.

A storm with strong winds blew a branch onto the power lines, knocking out the electricity. The McCallisters had wanted to get up and be ready for the airport shuttles at "8 a.m. sharp," but overslept due to the power outage. They had to rush in order to catch their flight to Paris.

The actual tarantula used in the movie is reportedly the Costa Rican Zebra Tarantula (Aphonopelma seemanni), and he is seen many times during the film. Buzz kept him in a covered aquarium, but he escaped when Kevin attempted to get Buzz's life savings by climbing the shelving unit.

Upon observing their neighbor shoveling and salting his driveway, Buzz tells Kevin this tale and claims they didn't have enough evidence to convict him. Kevin later sees his neighbor in church, watching his granddaughter sing. Marley explained to Kevin that he was estranged from his son and his family.

Heather reports 11 kids total in her count. Her full breakdown is 5 boys, 6 girls, 4 parents and 2 drivers. Kevin seemed to be there, as a neighborhood boy wandered over and was checking out the luggage during the head count. He was counted as Kevin due to his size, and similar clothing, even though his hat was a different color.

As the cars were all still there, Kevin thought he had made the family truly disappear by wishing to never see those jerks again. That had been his Christmas Wish when he was angry and talking with his mother the night before.

While Harry and Marv are in the van in front of his house, Kevin comes out and cuts the top off of a tree to make a perfect child-sized Christmas tree. He then drags it back into the house to decorate by the window. The two crooks know the family went abroad, so they realize Kevin is home alone.

At the time this movie takes place, Kevin is 8 years old and one of the youngest kids in the extended family. Macaulay Culkin's real-life brother, Kieran Culkin, actually played the bed-wetting Fuller McCallister in the movie, the kid who was warned not to drink too much Pepsi before bedtime or there could be an accident.

After a BB gun shoots out from the doggie door, Marv sticks his foot in to investigate and his shoe falls off, alerting Kevin that the crooks are not just casing the place and looking in the windows, but actually up close to the house and exploring entry points.

The "Home Alone" movie maintained its number-one spot for a full 12 weeks and went on to be in the "Guinness Book of World Records" as the highest-grossing live-action comedy ever produced domestically. It was the highest-grossing film of 1990.

John Candy plays super lovable Gus Polinski, the polka-playing leader of a music group. He offers to help Kate get back home because all flights are full or canceled. Gus Polinski was inspired by Candy's character in "Planes, Trains & Automobiles."

Although many booby traps were set off by Marv, it was Harry who grabbed the fire-hot doorknob, which branded an "M" into his palm. The brand makes an appearance in the sequel too. In this first movie, Marv is shot in the head with Buzz's air rifle, plus he slips on ice and falls down some stairs, landing on his back.

After the tensions of the previous night, he is overjoyed at first and celebrates by running through the house, doing all the things he isn't usually allowed to do, like jumping on the beds, cranking up the music and eating ice cream, before raiding Buzz's room.

Harry and Marv knock on the door and try to get Kevin to let them in by telling him to "be a good little fella now, and open the door." Kevin sticks the air rifle through the doggie door and lets Harry have it in the family jewels.

Marv got a tarantula to the face! It had escaped from Buzz's room when Kevin was raiding his treasures. The actor, Daniel Stern, just did one scene with the spider, as the handlers didn't want to stress it out on set. Luckily, a tarantula can't hear human screams.

Poland has all the feels for "Home Alone." It is considered a staple of Christmas traditions and a yearly part of the holiday festivities. The title in Polish is "Kevin Sam w Domu," which means "Kevin Alone in the House."

Kevin's famous pose is based on the Edvard Munch painting, “The Scream." The painting displays angst, for sure, but without the comedic undertone of Kevin's version.

Although the film involves the McCallister family being in Paris on a vacation, all of the movie was shot in the Chicago area. The scenes set at Paris-Orly Airport were actually shot at the O’Hare International Airport.

The pair also endured being cut from a zipline to Kevin's treehouse outdoors and falling quite a distance, as well as slipping on the iced stairs. The crooks also suffered many individual booby traps. Professionals have determined that, in real life, the bad guys probably wouldn't have survived their many injuries.

Kevin sets a trap of glass ornaments and Marv steps on them as he comes through the window. The actor that played Marv wore rubber feet to avoid injury, although the ornaments were made of sugar and candy.

When Kevin thought he made his family disappear, then raided Buzz's stuff, he found fireworks, an air rifle, and a "Playboy." The "Playboy" centerfold that month was Erika Eleniak from "Charles in Charge," who went on to star in "Baywatch."

After discovering he is alone, Kevin orders pizza from Little Nero's that totals $11.80. He pays $12.00 through the door and he plays, “Keep the change, ya filthy animal.” When the pizza guy mouths "cheapskate," recorded gunfire scares the pizza driver away.

Kevin had placed a heat gun on the doorknob, so when Harry grasps it, it brands him with the McCallister initial of "M." He jumps into the snowy yard and drives his hand in the snow to cool it down.

Many a sorry customer inquired about the made-up gangster movie, "Angels with Filthy Souls," at video stores, only to learn they couldn't rent it. It wasn't a real movie that was ever made. Those filthy animals were inspired by the James Cagney movie, "Angels with Dirty Faces."

Many conspiracy theories have popped up since the release of "Home Alone," the oddest and most popular being that a bearded Elvis "The King" Presley is standing in line at the hotel desk. This has not been confirmed.

Already in first class and the kids in coach, Kevin's mom and dad go over a mental checklist together when she feels she is forgetting something. After considering the coffeemaker, the front door and the garage, she thinks of Kevin.

After Kevin climbs the shelves and everything crashes down, letting the tarantula loose in the process, Kevin takes buzz's air rifle from its spot and proceeds to have target practice with a line of army men. The real spider was safe the whole time, as the actors wanted it to be protected and not stressed.

To be on the safe side during his barefoot scenes, Daniel Stern donned a pair of rubber feet to endure traps, including candy ornaments, a nail the foot, walking up steps coated in tar and crossing the debris scattered in the house once traps started being set off.

The sequel is "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York." The Wet Bandits are now the Sticky Bandits, and this time Kevin gets on the wrong plane but makes use of his time in a posh hotel with characters played by Tim Curry and Rob Schneider.