The One Thing We All Missed In 'Home Alone'

Everyone has one Christmas movie that they watch at least once a year during the holiday season. For me, that movie is Home Alone. Watching Kevin McCallister deal with two obnoxious burglars while drinking eggnog is an absolute treat. But regardless of how many times I've seen the film, I never noticed one thing in particular. 

By now the plot of the movie should pretty much be known by everyone, but just in case you forget, here's a quick rundown.

Kevin McCallister is forgotten by his family as they leave for the Christmas vacation, and he is left home alone. 

Things get worse when two holiday burglars decide to take advantage of what they assume is an empty house.

But little do they know, young Kevin has rigged the house with booby traps.

It's been 26 years since the film came out, but recently one fan noticed something that will definitely change the way you see the movie. 

While watching the movie, this reddit user noticed something in one of the earlier scenes. 

Remember the scene where the entire family is packing for their trip?

A pizza delivery boy brings the McCallister's several pies and Joe Pesci's character shows up dressed like a cop in order to get a good look at the house he later hopes to rob. 

The entire scene is quite hectic as most of the family members are running around packing and also trying to clean up the house while eating.

Well in all of the excitement, we happened to miss something pretty important. 

Notice something odd about this paused scene?

Yep that's right – Kevin's dad actually threw out Kevin's ticket by accident!

That's why they never noticed Kevin’s absence at the boarding gate.

An FAQ on IMDb explains the scene in further detail:

"Kevin’s ticket was tossed in the trash when his father wiped up after Kevin spilled milk all over the passports and tickets."

"While getting into the car to go to the airport, Heather miscounted because the neighbor kid was in line with the rest of the family."

"Finally, the gate agent appears to be simply counting the McCallisters’ tickets instead of matching names with people. Without a ticket for Kevin, no one apparently noticed that he was not in the group."

Poor Kevin – he never had a chance.