What would the holidays be without family-oriented Christmas movies? Back in 1990, a little movie called Home Alone opened in theaters and became as much a part of family traditions as Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Kids and adults both are drawn to the film, but why? What is it about Home Alone that draws audiences even ten years after its initial release?

Written by John Hughes (The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink), whose high school comedies of the eighties successfully combined light-hearted humor and genuine teen angst, the story involves adorable Kevin McCallister being left at home while his parents and extended family head to Paris for Christmas. While his initial reaction to waking up in an empty house is jubilation, he eventually realizes that Christmas is more special when spent with loved ones. Hughes' comedy element comes from Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern) as two robbers who pick the wrong house to burglarize. Kevin foils their every attempt, playing Roadrunner to their Wile E. Coyote.

Thanks to director Chris Columbus' (Mrs. Doubtfire) ability to show scenes of Kevin alone, then his mother trying to get back home, and the rest of the family in Paris, we are able to see that everyone in the family learns that the true meaning of Christmas is being together.

It is not just the uplifting message, however, that makes the film a must-see for holiday viewing. Perhaps not since A Christmas Story have audiences been able to relate to a character the way they do with Kevin played perfectly by Macaulay Culkin (Home Alone 2, My Girl). Anyone with siblings or occasionally annoying family members will sympathize with the opening segments and will share his enthusiasm for waking up at home alone. Not only does he allow each of us to vicariously live out -- although briefly -- our fantasy of being carefree without supervision, without limits, without responsibilities, but he shows us that it is exactly those things we wish not to have that make our lives fulfilling. In the end, it is often the very people who aggravate or annoy us the most that we could not live without.

So you might want to take a break in the next few hectic weeks between stuffing the Turkey and shopping for presents to settle down for two hours with some hot cocoa and watch Home Alone with your loved ones. It is the perfect cure for that pre-holiday stress. You might even feel so good that you will rent the sequels.