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Movie Drinking Game
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Movie Drinking Game
Home Alone Drinking Game
The **Home Alone Drinking Game** runs on Kevin McCallister's Christmas alone in the house: the aftershave scream,...
You watchHome Alone
You needDrinks + friends
Triggers14 drink rules
Best with2-15 players
The Home Alone Drinking Game runs on Kevin McCallister's Christmas alone in the house: the aftershave scream, 'Keep the change, ya filthy animal', the cheese pizza just for him, and then Harry and Marv walking into a swinging paint can. Agree on your drink-when list before the McCallisters oversleep, then sip together every time one lands. The film has two very different halves - a quiet one where Kevin has the house to himself and a loud one where the Wet Bandits come for it - and the rules are built for both.
It runs an hour and forty minutes, and the shape matters more than the length. The first hour is Kevin, the pizza, the church and Old Man Marley; the last twenty minutes is the trap gauntlet, where a rule fires every few seconds. Many groups pair it with Home Alone 2: Lost in New York for a double bill, which reuses the same movie drinking game rules with the Plaza Hotel and the Pigeon Lady swapped in for the house.
How to set it up
- Decide how the trap rule works during the gauntlet. Each burglar walks into several traps in a row, so sip once per trap or once per burglar per room - the latter gets you to the end.
- Pick who is watching for Old Man Marley. He is on screen only a few times - the salt on the sidewalk, the church, the shovel at the end - so his rule is rare and easy to miss behind the louder ones.
- Agree that the gangster-movie rule fires every time Angels with Filthy Souls is on: Kevin's first viewing with the ice cream, the pizza delivery, and Marv at the back door, plus any time Kevin quotes it himself.
- Line up the aftershave scream first. It lands early, in the bathroom mirror, and it is the loudest cue on the list, so it is the natural first sip of the night.
The rules: drink when…
The heart of the game: 14 triggers. Read them out before you press play, keep the ones your group likes, cut any that would fire every minute, and remember that a "drink" is one sip.
| When this happens… | …you drink |
|---|---|
| A burglar - Harry or Marv - gets hurt by one of Kevin's traps | Sip twice |
| Kevin presses his hands to his cheeks and screams | Sip twice |
| Kevin quotes or watches the old gangster movie ('Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal') | Sip |
| Kevin eats junk food, ice cream, or orders the cheese pizza 'just for me' | Sip |
| Marv slips, falls, or steps on something painful | Sip |
| Harry's head or hand gets burned, hit, or scorched | Sip |
| Old Man Marley, the shovel neighbor, appears | Sip |
| Kevin talks to himself or narrates his plan | Sip |
| A Christmas carol or the film's main theme plays | Sip |
| Kevin's mother says 'Kevin!' or panics about leaving him behind | Sip |
| Kevin sets up or arms a new booby trap | Sip |
| Someone slips on the icy front steps | Sip |
| Kevin runs or slides through the house | Sip |
| Kevin looks lonely or misses his family in the empty house | Drink for 3 seconds |
How to play
Start with the chaos
The opening act - the packed McCallister house, Uncle Frank, the pizza fight, the power cut and the dash to the airport - is mostly the mom-panic and junk-food rules. Kate's first 'Kevin!' on the plane tells you the game has started.
Enjoy the empty house
Kevin's first day alone - jumping on the bed, the aftershave scream, Angels with Filthy Souls with a tub of ice cream, the cheese pizza - is where the Kevin rules fire steadily. Harry and Marv are still casing the street, so the burglar rules stay quiet.
Slow down for Marley and the church
The middle stretch sends Kevin to the store, the church and the basement furnace. This is where the lonely-Kevin three-second drink lives - the church conversation with Marley about family - and where the sips space out enough to pour a fresh drink before the finale.
Hold on for the gauntlet
From Kevin's battle plan onward, the trap, slip, burned-Harry and hurt-Marv rules fire on top of each other for twenty minutes. Play this stretch at once-per-trap, then stop counting when Marley swings the shovel.
Variations & house rules
Double feature
Watching Home Alone and Home Alone 2 back to back? Reuse the same trigger list and add one sequel-only rule (for example, drink whenever the Pigeon Lady appears) so the second film feels fresh. Make every drink a single small sip so you last both movies.
Burglars vs Kevin teams
Split the room in two. One side drinks whenever Kevin outsmarts the Wet Bandits, the other drinks whenever Harry or Marv lands a hit or advances. Whichever side loses the film hands out one last sip.
Bandit's tab
Each player is assigned to root for Harry or Marv. Every time your burglar gets hurt by a trap, you take the sip - so the more painful the traps, the more you drink for your guy.
Pro tips
The gauntlet is the whole reason to keep a small pour: the paint cans and the icy steps hit both burglars, and every hit is a double sip under the trap rule.
Play the original before Home Alone 2 if you are doubling up - the sequel's traps are bigger and more numerous, so the second film is the one to reach with a lighter cup.
The Micro Machines on the floor, the ornaments under the window and the tarantula on Marv's face are the traps groups most often miss - one person calling them keeps the count honest.
Drink responsibly: The trap gauntlet fires the double-sip burglar rule a dozen times in twenty minutes, so a Home Alone night is back-loaded in a way most Christmas films are not. A movie-length game adds up fast, so keep the pours small, water between drinks, and swap any trigger for a sip of water whenever you like. See our safety guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is Home Alone or Home Alone 2 better for a drinking game?
The original. Its first hour is Kevin alone with the aftershave, the gangster movie and the pizza, which lets the rules fire at a fair pace before the traps hit. Home Alone 2 spends longer in the Plaza Hotel and Duncan's Toy Chest, then throws more traps at Harry and Marv, so it is a heavier second film rather than an easier first one.
How long does the Home Alone drinking game take?
About an hour and forty minutes for the original, or a little under four hours for the double bill with Home Alone 2. The sips are back-loaded: the empty-house hour is steady, the church stretch is nearly dry, and the final twenty-minute trap gauntlet is the heaviest stretch of any Christmas film.
How do you handle the booby-trap finale?
Count once per trap, not once per burglar reaction. Harry gets the blowtorch and the red-hot doorknob; Marv gets the iron, the nail, the ornaments and the tarantula; the paint cans get both - and each trap is the double sip, not every yelp and repeat hit. Agree that before Kevin says the line about having to defend his house.
Can you play Home Alone on Christmas Eve with the family?
Yes, and it is the film most people want on that night. The first hour of Kevin rules is an easy pace for a room that is half watching, and the trap gauntlet at the end pulls everyone back to the screen. Kate walking through the door on Christmas morning is the natural moment to stop counting and finish your drink.
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