How much would Kevin’s ‘Home Alone’ grocery haul cost you at a Kentucky store today?
It’s a scene you probably watch every year if you’re into classic Christmas movies.
An 8-year-old Kevin McCallister in “Home Alone” wanders the aisles of a grocery store shopping for essentials after he’s been left behind by his family during the holidays. Kevin loads laundry detergent, microwave dinners and other basics into his shopping cart. As he rolls up to the checkout line, the woman behind the cash register gives him a quizzical look while ringing him up.
Kevin buys 10 items, and with a $1 coupon he fishes out of his pocket, the total comes to $19.83. However, if you made a similar grocery run in 2023, you could pay 3.5 times more.
At least, that’s what one TikTok user determined when they calculated the cost of Kevin’s 1990 grocery haul in today’s dollars. TikToker @sellitlikelyons found a similar grocery trip today would cost almost $70. But is that accurate? Another, more conservative analysis, put the total cost closer to $50 in 2023.
So how much would Kevin pay at a Lexington grocery store? To find out, we visited three Lexington stores to scope out their prices. We weren’t able to find an exact match for every type of product between stores — some carry different products in different quantities, after all — but we did our best to compare like to like.
We also generally stuck to cheaper, store-brand products, though in some cases you’ll see the price for the brand-name product Kevin bought in the movie.
In the 1990 movie, Kevin buys the following kinds of items:
Half gallon of milk
Half gallon of orange juice
Plastic wrap
Stouffer’s frozen turkey dinner
Snuggle dryer sheets
Wonder Bread
Four-pack of toilet paper rolls
Kraft Macaroni and Cheese dinner
Liquid laundry detergent
Plastic Army figures, “For the kids!” as Kevin says
How much would Kevin pay for groceries in 2023?
Here’s a look at what Kevin’s “Home Alone” grocery haul would cost at Lexington stores today, minus the plastic army figures, which we found on Amazon for about $13. These prices are current as of Dec. 17, 2023.
Walmart, 4051 Nicholasville Road:
Half gallon of Great Value brand orange juice: $3.98
Half gallon of Great Value 1% milk: $1.62
Stouffer’s Frozen Mac and Cheese: $3.27
Stouffer’s Frozen Roast Turkey: $3.48
Tide liquid laundry detergent, 92 fluid ounces: $12.97
Loaf of white Bunny Bread: $2.78
Great Value plastic wrap, 200 square feet: $1.97
Snuggle dryer sheets, 200 sheets: $6.97
Scott toilet paper, four-pack: $4.97
Total: $44.53 (price includes 6% sales tax)
Target, 131 West Reynolds Road:
Tide high-efficiency liquid laundry detergent, 92 fluid ounces: $12.99
Snuggle dryer sheets, 230 sheets: $8.79
Half gallon of Prairie Farms 2% milk: $3.99
Half a gallon of Good and Gather orange juice: $3.39
Stouffer’s Mac and Cheese: $3.49
Stouffer’s Frozen Roast Turkey: Not available
Loaf of Market Pantry white sandwich bread: $1.39
Scott toilet paper, four-pack: $5.29
Up and Up plastic wrap, 200 square feet: $1.99
Total: $43.79
Kroger, does not include discounts for Kroger cardholders:
Stouffer’s Frozen Mac and Cheese: $3.59
Stouffer’s Roast Turkey Breast: $5.79
Half gallon of Kroger-brand 2% milk: $1.99
Minute Maid orange juice 59 fluid ounces: $3.49
Tide liquid laundry detergent, 115 fluid ounces: $16.99
Kroger brand dryer sheets, 200 count: $6.49
Scott toilet paper, four-pack: $5.29
Kroger-brand cling wrap, 200 square feet: $2.99
Loaf of Wonder Bread classic white: $3.79
Total: $53.43
Do you have a question about consumer issues in Kentucky for our service journalism team? Let us know via the Know Your Kentucky form below or email us at ask@herald-leader.com.
This story was originally published December 19, 2023 at 11:50 AM.