Lauren Abendshien, who lived in the iconic Home Alone house during its 1990 filming, has shared what it was like to witness the creation of the beloved holiday classic. Abendshien was just six years old at the time, and her family continued living in the house throughout the months-long production. To avoid appearing on camera, they often had to crawl under windows while filming was underway.
The cast and crew frequently used the house during downtime, with Macaulay Culkin and his brother Kieran spending time inside. Culkin even used Abendshien’s room for tutoring sessions while Kieran, not as involved in filming, hung out there. The family recalled the experience as “something special,” though they couldn’t have anticipated the film’s immense popularity and the stream of visitors it brought to their Chicago-area neighborhood after its release.
Interestingly, while the exterior shots of the house were authentic, most interior scenes were filmed in a makeshift studio at an abandoned high school nearby. Director Chris Columbus chose this setup to accommodate the elaborate stunts and production needs, which weren’t feasible within the house itself.
Today, the Home Alone house is a cherished piece of movie history, attracting fans eager to see the real-life setting of Kevin McCallister’s holiday hijinks. For Abendshien and her family, the experience was a surreal but cherished chapter of their lives, immortalized in one of the most iconic Christmas movies of all time.
