Well, winter is coming, and you know what that means: time to snuggle up underneath a pile of blankets and watch Home Alone on repeat. That's everyone's winter routine, right? OK, there may be a Elf or a Love Actually thrown in the mix, but Kevin McCallister is definitely the star of this show. In order to bring this great plan into fruition, you need to either dig up your old VHS copy in your parents' basement or find the movie online. Here's your guide on how to watch Home Alone this holiday season — because missing it just isn't an option.
A preliminary scan of all the online streaming sites will quickly reveal neither Home Alone nor Home Alone 2: Lost In New York is on Netflix, HBO Go, Amazon Prime, or Hulu. You might be feeling like Kevin did the first time he realized that being home alone might actually require him to defend his family's property and fight hand-to-hand against a pair of spiteful robbers, but don't worry, there's hope yet. Even though Home Alone isn't on any of the major streaming services which you might have a subscription to, the movie can be purchased easily and inexpensively.
Your first option would be to rent Home Alone or Home Alone 2 for $3.99 each from Amazon. If you would rather just buy the movie because you know you'll want to watch it more than once (and renting the movie will only let you keep the movie for 48 hours after starting it), you could also buy the movies from Amazon for $13.99 each. Just make sure to pay $14 flat and tell Amazon to "Keep the change, ya filthy animal."
Another option is to use iTunes to satisfy your Home Alone cravings. To rent the movies, you can pay $3.99 for each of them individually again, or you could buy them at $14.99 each. If you wanted to buy both movies, though, iTunes has a sweet package deal which allows you to pay only $20 for Home Alone and Home Alone 2. That seems like a pretty good deal, and you know that Kevin would approve as an ardent coupon user. Yes, that's right, an eight year old has better money-saving skills than you.
If, for whatever reason, you'd rather not use Amazon or iTunes, you can always use Netflix's DVD delivery service. If you're already watching a movie from 1990, why not watch it in an early-2000s style? Isn't that kind of the whole point of watching retro holiday movies, anyway? There's definitely something comforting about returning to the same movies year after year, and Home Alone is one of the most classic Christmas movies you can find, so it's worth the effort.
Speaking of effort, you can also find a cheap way to satiate your Home Alone appetite by stalking it on the TV guide channel. Yep, the movie will be playing for the next month or so on various channels, and with a little bit of foresight, you can make sure not to miss any airings. For example, at 12 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 22, Home Alone will air on Freeform as part of its "25 Days Of Christmas" lineup. If you refuse to rent the movie because you're already paying for cable — totally fair, by the way — then you'll want to mark your calendar and set a few alarms now. Can you imagine a Christmas without at least one viewing of such a festive film?
Regardless of the method by which you choose to watch Home Alone this year, make sure to plan ahead so you can squeeze out your money's worth for your viewing. For instance, if you have 48 hours to watch the movie after renting it from Amazon, you might want to set aside a weekend for a movie marathon. It might take some extra effort and preparation, but it's so worth it.
