In the Christmas classic Home Alone, Macaulay Culkin defends his home from burglars after being accidentally left behind by his Paris-bound family.

Kevin’s mum Kate also plays a significant role in the story, as we see her trying to get back home to the US state of Illinois and her son as quickly as possible. But with the film taking place over just three days, we’ve always wondered just how many miles she racks up in that time.

(use the interactive map to see her route as we've plotted in the table below)

While the rest of the McCallister clan is taking the next direct flight back home to Illinois, we share Kate’s frustration as she struggles against hazardous weather, flight cancellations and unhelpful airline staff before accepting a lift from a kind stranger…and his polka band.

From the family home in Winnetka, Illinois, the McCallister family travels by road to O’Hare Airport outside Chicago. From there they (barely) catch a flight to Paris, and it’s on the flight there that they realise Kevin has been left behind.

Once they’ve landed at Paris-Orly Airport we find out that Kate can’t wait three days for a direct flight back to Chicago so she boards a much earlier flight back to Dallas, then another to Scranton, Pennsylvania – before accepting a lift home from Gus Polinski, played by John Candy, in his rented van.

How many miles does Kate McCallister travel in total throughout the film? We’ve got the answer.

Kate’s journey across the Atlantic and back again, then home via two US airports and finally halfway across the country in a hired van to Winnetka, Illinois means she’s travelled over 11,000 miles in the short space of three days. 

But for that tearful reunion with her son, who’s been busy throwing paint cans at two of the state’s most notorious criminals, her journey was well worth it – a heart-warming end to a huge family favourite.