This summer, while heading home after a wonderful visit to Shipshewana, Indiana with my family, we drove through the Chicago area and decided to make a little detour to see the “Home Alone” house in Winnetka, Illinois. You know the one—Kevin McCallister’s iconic brick Colonial from the classic 1990 movie.
Now, I’ll be honest. My husband and teens weren’t exactly buzzing with excitement about stopping to look at the front of a house, but I thought it would be fun. As someone who saw Home Alone in the theatre when it first came out, and then again and again each December, this house has always felt a little special. Seeing it in person? Definitely worth the stop for me.
Plus, I’m the blogger mom who takes pictures everywhere, so I couldn’t miss an Instagram photo opportunity!
When we got to the house, there were about a dozen people around taking pictures. I am guessing this is the constant state of the house – onlookers and tourists stopping by all day, every day of the year. The neighbors must be both tired of it and used to it.
But it seemed worth it. The house itself is just as picture-perfect as it looks in the movie. It’s tucked away on a quiet street in a beautiful neighborhood, with its signature red brick and black shutters looking exactly the same as I remembered. As a musician, I could easily hear the movie’s soundtrack in my head as I stood there. It was like stepping right into a scene from the movie, minus the snow (and thankfully, no Wet Bandits lurking around). I half-expected to see Harry and Marv running through the neighborhood, or Kevin to pop out of the front door with a toothbrush from the local pharmacy, lol.
What surprised me, though, was how normal it felt. Yes, it’s a movie-famous house, but it’s also just a lovely, well-kept family home. Standing outside, I couldn’t help but think about how much work must have gone into keeping it so recognizable while still making it a private, livable space.
It also seemed smaller than I pictured. I expected it to feel giant to us, but it was just an ordinary house in so many ways.
And it had huge TREES in front of it. I thought – how did I not notice that in the movie? Clever camera angles, I guess.
At one point, someone drove out of the gated driveway. I know the house was for sale so I thought maybe a realtor or caretaker. I worried for a moment that all of us taking pictures would be scolded but the person just silently drove away.
We didn’t linger long—just enough to snap a few pictures and admire it from the street. My family was bored quickly, but I was fascinated – wondering how much the movie involved the neighbors.
For anyone considering visiting, it’s definitely an easy and quick stop if you’re in the area. The neighborhood is charming, and it’s fun to see a little piece of movie history in person. Even if my family didn’t fully appreciate it, I enjoyed getting to see it for myself and reliving a bit of childhood nostalgia.
After taking pictures, we stopped at a nearby McDonald’s. I mention this here because it was the nicest, fanciest, most upscale McDonald’s I had ever seen. I didn’t know McDonald’s did upscale but I guess for families who take trips to Paris for Christmas like the McCallisters, they wouldn’t expect anything less.
At this lovely McDonald’s, there were couches, fake flower bouquets on the tables, and TV screens with relaxing nature scenes showing.
The wallpaper made it look like the walls were made of stone.
Other businesses around were similarly impressive, and it felt like a very welcoming community here.
After this we headed home.
Our trip was made that much better with this stop. Sometimes, it’s the simple stops like this that stick with you the most!
By the way, the house is located at 671 Lincoln Ave, Winnetka, IL 60093. Kevin actually says the address in the movie – though he changes “Avenue” to “Boulevard.” It’s free to visit as it’s just a house in an ordinary-made-extraordinary neighborhood.
Get the Home Alone movie collection!
Read about our trip to Shipshewana, Indiana and make your own stop to the Home Alone house on the way!
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