If your family leaves you home alone this Christmas and you use “Home Alone” character Kevin McCallister’s adventures as a guide, you’re going to have to at least double your budget.
That’s if you buy all the items on his list from the New Orleans Walmart Supercenter, according to a cart WWL put together Saturday. In the movie, Kevin (Macauley Culkin) makes a trip to the grocery store and spends just under $20, with a dollar off coupon.
Here are the prices we found at the New Orleans Walmart:
· Stouffer’s TV dinner: $3.48
· Tide liquid detergent: $12.97
· Half gallon of milk: $2.17
· Half gallon of orange juice: $3.98
· Wonder bread: $2.92
· Stouffer’s frozen mac n’ cheese: $3.27
· Plastic wrap: $3.32
· Army soldiers: $7.93
· Snuggle dryer sheets: $1.97
· Toilet paper four pack: $4.97
Overall, the trip would cost $46.98 before tax – already more than double Kevin’s original total. Even at that price – which is in line with the $45.99 Bureau of Labor Statistics calculator estimate for the relative buying power of $20 in 1990 – the trip would be a deal.
USA Today also did research about what the “Home Alone” shopping list would cost in today’s dollars, using figures from the Schnucks grocery store, where Kevin went shopping in the movie. Their cart came out to “$54.94 (with Illinois sales tax) in 2023 or $53.94 with his dollar off coupon.”
A TikTok user also did the experiment and estimated that Kevin would spend close to $70 on the same grocery haul, using the Target website. At that price, the order price increased by 250%. Thankfully, the “Home Alone” list hasn’t been impacted by inflation as much as “The 12 Days of Christmas” gifts – those are up to an estimated $46,729.86 this year.
While inflation has been high nationally in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, prices do vary from region to region and store to store. According to the most recent BLS report, inflation was flat in October but it was up 3.2% over the previous 12-month period.