If you came of age in the ’90s, at some point in your childhood you slapped both hands to either side of your face in mock horror. 

Sorry, those are just facts. 

So popular was Macaulay Culkin‘s portrayal of intrepid—and perhaps a touch psychotic—Kevin McCallister, an 8-year-old from the Chicago suburbs whose parents weren’t the best at keeping track of their outsized brood, that 30-plus years after Home Alone‘s Nov. 16, 1990 release, his signature move is still instantly recognizable. (And reason enough to avoid aftershave at all costs.)

And that’s not the only thing that keeps John Hughes‘ instant classic, about an elementary school kid teaching two, largely incompetent, career criminals what happens when they don’t get their ugly, yella, no-good keisters off his property, firmly at the top of holiday movie watcher’s wish lists. 

The box office sensation (it held the No. 1 spot for 12 weeks and grossed more than $476 million worldwide) may be short on realism (yes, Kevin’s antics would have killed Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern‘s burglars many times over) and relevance in today’s uber-connected times.