You can be too old for a lot of things, but, according to Brits, you can never be too old to watch Home Alone at Christmas.
It has been 33 years since Home Alone graced our screens for the first time, but it is still the most popular Christmas film in the UK, a survey showed.
A majority of Britons, 21 per cent, said the 1990 film starring Macaulay Culkin was their festive favourite.
Culkin, 43, was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles last week.
Home Alone shared the podium with Elf, with 19.3 per cent of supporters, and The Grinch, with 15.4 per cent.
The survey, carried out by the retail company Currys, also showed the popularity of several adaptations of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, including The Muppets Christmas Carol.
In general, the classics still come first — the newest film of the top ten is The Polar Express from 2004, or the newest Walt Disney version of A Christmas Carol from 2009.
The Prince Charles Cinema, an independent movie theatre in central London, puts on a variety of Christmas films every December.
Alex Humphrey, the assistant general manager of the cinema, said: “Elf, Home Alone, Die Hard, Love Actually, The Muppet Christmas Carol and It’s a Wonderful Life are the most popular.
“From my experience, The Muppet Christmas Carol is probably the most popular.”
The public cannot seem to decide on a definitive favourite, with The Polar Express, Miracle on 34th Street and The Snowman all ranking between 13.2 and 13.4 per cent, closely followed by Love Actually, with 12.2 per cent.
Elena, a 24-year-old student from Ipswich, said: “Love Actually is my comfort movie and Home Alone is just my childhood.”
Beth, 44, from Washington, Tyne and Wear, said her all-time favourite was The Grinch. She said: “It’s just a lovely film about acceptance. It highlights that nobody is born mean or horrible, and the importance of being courageous and kind to others.”
Others were less keen on traditional Christmas films. Jack, 26, from Wapping, east London, said he felt too old for Christmas films – a sentiment that was not echoed by many others.
He added: “It’s not something we still do, but Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was always there.”
Maria, 24, from Islington, north London, also said her December favourites were not necessarily Christmas classics – The Life of Brian and In Bruges.
The Currys survey also showed that wine is by far the most popular Christmas drink – 22 per cent said it was their drink of choice.
It was followed by Baileys, with 15.5 per cent, and Prosecco, with 12.5 per cent.
Ben, 31, from Croydon, south London, said his drink of choice was hot chocolate with Baileys, ticking off two top ten festive drinks. His favourite Christmas dinner is a traditional turkey – in line with a majority of 54 per cent of Britons.
Vegetarian mains are the second most popular Christmas dinners with 25 per cent. They are followed closely by roast beef and roast chicken, both at approximately 22 per cent.
Anni, 26, from Wandsworth, south London, said she preferred a veggie main, like mushrooms with a garlic sauce, although she is not vegetarian the rest of the year.
The big retailers are acknowledging the growing popularity of vegetarian Christmas dinners. Some, like Sainsbury’s, even offer a vegan Christmas range this year, including a nut roast made with mushroom, spinach and butternut squash, and a “no turkey crown”.
Photo by Rumman Amin on Unsplash
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