Stay in a ‘home alone’ home this season thanks to Airbnb and encounter traps, mac and cheese and a tarantula

Darcel Rockett/Chicago Tribune (TNS)

CHICAGO — First it was the Pie House in Deerfield, then it was Scottie Pippen’s Highland Park home for the Summer Olympics.

Now it’s at the McCallisters.

A night’s stay at Winnketka’s “Home Alone” house will give up to four guests the chance to relive their favorite scenes from the 1990 holiday classic on Dec. 12 for $25, plus fees and taxes, via Airbnb.

The one-night-only stay will be available for booking at 1 p.m. Tuesday, so it will be up to a quick-fingered family or group to snag the visit. The house was designed to look like the movie that made Macaulay Culkin’s character Kevin McCallister a household name.

Devin Ratray, the actor who played Kevin’s older brother Buzz, will welcome guests to the McCallister Residence via Zoom.

“We may all be older and wiser now, but we’re never too old for the holidays,” “Buzz” said in a statement. “So this year, spend the holidays not so alone at home with my parents.”

When guests walk through the door, they admire the bold wallpaper, red carpet, and photos of Buzz hanging on the wall. Soak up the holiday vibe of the living room with a Christmas tree, stockings hanging over the fireplace – the whole thing. Visitors will sleep in Kevin’s parents’ bedroom, complete with a four-poster bed, dad’s aftershave, vintage clock radio and old-fashioned full-size TV. (If there are children, a second guest bedroom is also available.)

But the experience will mirror the film in more ways than one. Empty paint cans are ready for the trap, 90s junk food, including the best pizza in Chicago and a candlelight dinner of highly nutritious Kraft macaroni and cheese, and an encounter with Buzz’s tarantula, Axl.

Visitors will also be able to see “Home Sweet Home Alone,” in which Ratray reprises his role, and take home a Lego Ideas “Home Alone” kit as a souvenir.

Airbnb representatives said they had tried to figure out the physics of how the sled scene works in the steps, but opted for a possible planned sled excursion instead, a safer option. A member of Buzz’s “Mccallister Security” team will be arranging the meals.

The suburban house remains an attraction to this day. It’s enough to sit on Winnetka Street for a brief moment before people whip out their cameras to take pictures of the ‘Home Alone’ house, making it ideal for a nostalgic vacation getaway.

Airbnb has completed a number of pop culture residencies, including Carrie Bradshaw’s New York apartment in “Sex and the City,” as well as Barbie’s Dreamhouse in Malibu, California, and “The Fresh Prince of Bel- Air” in Los Angeles.

In honor of the first-ever stay at the McCallister House, Airbnb will make a one-time donation to La Rabida Children’s Hospital in Chicago, which is dedicated to maintaining and improving the quality of life for patients with complex illnesses. , disabilities and chronic illnesses.

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Book a stay with the McCallisters starting at 1 p.m. on Tuesdays at airbnb.com/homealone. Those wishing to book should note that the rules for this stay require strict adherence to local COVID-19 guidelines, and guests are responsible for their own travel.