People are only just realising how old Kevin's mum was in Home Alone

As the festive season approaches, no doubt households will be rewatching the Christmas movie classic Home Alone.

It's been 30 years since the family comedy was released in 1990 and remains beloved by many who watched it every year growing up.

But as we settle down to watch eight-year-old Kevin McCallister's (Macaulay Culkin) antics after being left behind by his parents, which includes defending his home against a pair of burglars on Christmas Eve, there is one fact that people are only just discovering.

Kevin's mum, Kate McCallister played by Catherine O'Hara, wasn't exactly the best at keeping track of all of her kids Megan, Linnie, and Jeff Buzz (and leaving little Kevin behind of course).

(Left) Catherine O'Hara as Kate McCallister and (right) Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister20th Century Studios

She is also known for her famed scream of "KEVIN!" - who could forget?

With five kids, the two oldest of which look to be approaching their teens, along with the family's massive Chicago house (there's a theory on how the family were able to afford such a property), viewers would easily assume Kate is middle-aged if they were to guess.

While Kate's age in the film isn't revealed, we do know O'Hara's age in real life and it's surprised fans of the film.

Back in 1990 when she starred in Home Alone, O'Hara was only 36 years old - that's the same age as celebrities such as Zac Efron, Blake Lively and Hilary Duff.

It just goes to show how the perception of age has changed over the years - for example, the Golden Girls cast are supposed to be in their 50s when the series aired in the 1980s.

While nowadays, 50-year-olds are depicted very differently with a recent example being the Sex and the Cityspinoff series, And Just Like That...

Elsewhere, O'Hara had an emotional reunion with Culkin when his new star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was unveiled on December 1.

Amy Sussman/Getty Images

“This beautiful 10-year-old little boy was called a superstar, a moneymaker, one of the hottest leading young men in Hollywood by the world over. How does anyone survive that?" she said in a speech about Culkin at the event.

“I believe you’d have to possess a certain quality, a gift, that dear John Hughes obviously recognized in you Macaulay, your sense of humour."

She added: "It’s a sign of intelligence in a child and a key to surviving life at any age, From what I see, you have brought that sense of sweet yet twisted, yet totally relatable, sense of humor to everything you have chosen to do since Home Alone.”

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