Did Kevin Really Protect the House in Home Alone?

Home Alone has definitely become one of the most beloved Christmas movies out there. As 2020 celebrates the movie’s 30th anniversary, you might want to go back to it and watch it once again. The main plot revolves around a young boy, Kevin, protecting his home from robbers Harry and Marv. To do this, he creates all sorts of ridiculous booby traps, causing these robbers to be unable to rob the house effectively. Did Kevin actually protect the home? Here’s some insight into what might have happened to the McCallister household without his antics.

The Items in the Home

Obviously, these burglars were looking to steal items from their home. The real question, however, is how much they would have been able to get away with. Kevin’s antics definitely avoided these burglars’ endeavors, but did he really protect very much?

Because this was the reason that the burglars were looking to rob the house in the first place, it’s likely that they have some experience. Plus, the fact that they rob a neighbor’s house first indicates that they do know what they’re doing to some extent. That means they could probably find any places where Kevin’s parents were likely to keep valuables.

Just looking at Kevin’s house indicates that the family is well-off; if the Christmas trip to Paris wasn’t indicative enough, maybe the 4,200 square foot house could be. It’s a gorgeous two-story home with a treehouse right nearby and an incredibly spacious basement and attic. More than likely, the home has a lot of valuables for Harry and Marv to make off with.

Even if the McCallisters have insurance to cover their most important items, it’s likely that they would have to have spent a lot of time and energy to get insurance to replace even most of the items. That means Kevin definitely saved them time, energy, and money by distracting the burglars.

The “Wet Bandits” Calling Card

Stealing might have been these bandits’ main intention, but it’s certainly not their only intention. It also seems like they wanted to cause some sort of mischief. After they rob Kevin’s neighbor’s house, they deploy their signature calling card: they left the faucet running, causing the home’s first floor and basement to flood.

Even though you might assume that stealing would be the most damaging thing that these burglars could do, this actually might do more monetary damage. Flooding can destroy first-story flooring, drywall throughout the home, furnaces, hot water heaters, and all sorts of other problems in the home.

FEMA estimates that for every foot of water, the homeowners will probably need to pay upwards of $70,000 in repairs. Because the home is just over 4,243 square feet and the family left for Paris for a week, the water would probably rise to about three feet. This would be a whopping $185,704 in damages overall.

The Scattered Property Damage From the Booby Traps

Of course, one thing that you’d have to take in mind is the fact that there was a small amount of property damage from the booby traps that Kevin set around the home. For example, the family would have to clean tar off the basement steps and handle potential fire damages from the blowtorch that Kevin rigged to set fire to Harry’s head.

However, it’s clear that this wouldn’t even come close to the property damage that the bandits would do with their signature “calling card.” The McCallister family would almost certainly rather Kevin do this small amount of property damage.

Conclusion

With all the numbers added up, it’s pretty clear that Kevin did a great job protecting the home from the burglars. Sure, he might have done some small amounts of property damage, but by preventing the “Wet Bandits” from running the faucets in his parents’ home, he prevented nearly $200,000 worth of damage to the home.