It's the most wonderful time of year! And people are once again talking about the minimal details of a Christmas movie that was released more than 30 years ago.
Yes, it's December, and that means we're all wearing our ugliest Christmas jumpers, preparing to argue with family over the dinner table, and - of course - rewatching the Home Alone movies for the 26th time. (Well, the first two, at least.)
And despite the fact we've all seen Macaulay Culkin's lovable Kevin McCallister foil the plans of Harry and Marv countless times, some viewers are only just realizing the truth about how Kevin came to be left home alone in the first place.
You see, although Kevin's family quickly establish themselves as the absolute worst relatives in the world, even flying to Paris without one of their kids seems too much - even for them. But it turns out there is a perfectly good reason why Kevin was missed...
On the morning of their flight, the family accidentally sleeps in, and in the chaotic rush to get to the airport, Kevin is left behind in the attic. Kevin's mom doesn't realize he's missing until the family is on the flight, and his parents struggle to fly straight home due to the busy time of the year. Additionally, a storm on their street results in the phone lines being down - meaning they can't call Kevin and he can't call the cops.
However, why didn't the family clock that Kevin wasn't with them when they got to the airport? Surely they had a ticket ready and waiting for him? Well, no, actually.
You see, at the start of the movie, Kevin gets into a fight with his big brother, Buzz, and during their scuffle, a load of drinks are spilled, soaking the family's passports and tickets.
Check out the scene unfold below:As Kevin's father hurries to clean the spillage with red napkins, he accidentally throws a plane ticket in the trash - and that plane ticket has 'Kevin' written on it.
However, it appears as if the crucial detail has been missed by some viewers over the years, and some people are only just realizing that this is the true reason why Kevin was left 'home alone' in the first place. Here are just some of the people who have taken to social media this month to voice their amazement over this important detail:
One Twitter user writes: "I'm 35 and JUST NOW caught that Kevin's ticket in Home Alone gets thrown away in the fight with Buzz in the kitchen... I never caught that before."
A second added: "Watching this movie as an adult hits differently for sure….lots of things I missed the first 1500 times I watched it I have now realized….kinda like them throwing Kevin’s plane ticket away during dinner
"I’ve seen Home Alone a thousand times and just now realized that Kevin’s ticket got thrown away in the trash," wrote a third.
Another Twitter user posted: "How long did it take others to notice Kevin’s plane ticket in #HomeAlone got thrown out? I’ve been watching this since I was like 5 & it took me until 34 (Im 36) to notice. Until then, I always wondered why they never had an extra ticket after the miscount when the neighbor kid left [sic]."
And finally, this social media user wrote: "I just found out that Kevin's plane ticket was thrown in the trash at the beginning of #HomeAlone thanks to my 10 year old. I've only seen the damn thing 125 times."
This is becoming somewhat of a Christmas tradition...