Key Takeaways

• Ariana Grande hosted a memorable episode of Saturday Night Live featuring a parody of Home Alone.
• The sketch humorously reimagines the chaos of the original film with a dark twist.
• Cher performed songs from her latest holiday album during the episode.
• SNL will return on January 17, 2026, with new hosts and musical guests.

Ariana Grande took on the role of Kevin McCallister in a darkly hilarious Home Alone recreation on Saturday Night Live.

While hosting the final episode of 2025 on Dec. 20, the Wicked star channeled Macaulay Culkin’s mischievous 8-year-old character from the iconic 1990 holiday film.

The pre-recorded sketch, titled “Home Alone,” opens with Grande’s Kevin waking up in his parents’ bed after being accidentally left behind when his family goes on vacation for Christmas. In a reimagining of the movie’s emotional ending, Kevin’s mom (played by SNL‘s Ashley Padilla) rushes through the front door of their home to reunite with her son before the rest of the family arrives.

In the original Home Alone, Kevin is forced to defend his home from two bumbling burglars by setting various booby traps around the house. SNL‘s recreation finds those traps still active, as Kevin’s dad (portrayed by Mikey Day) opens the coat closet only to find his head set on fire by a rigged blowtorch.

The gruesome mayhem continues as another family member slips on some small toy cars left on the floor and cracks his head open on the corner of a piano. The chaos persists as yet another family member steps into string that activates a nail gun that shoots several nails into his face, before Kevin’s sister (Sarah Sherman) slips on marbles that send her down a laundry chute and into a blazing fire. If that weren’t enough, Kevin’s bully older brother Buzz goes to call 911 and sets off yet another trap that lets loose an active chainsaw that cuts off the arms of his younger brother (played by Bowen Yang) and splatters blood on everyone’s faces.

The gory skit ends with the gruff older man rushing through the door to announce he’s made amends with his son, only to have his head sliced off by the flying chainsaw. The sketch concludes with Grande’s Kevin, hands pressed to his bloodied cheeks, delivering the iconic close-up scream from the holiday classic.

Saturday’s episode also featured musical guest Cher, who performed two songs — “DJ Play a Christmas Song” and “Run Rudolph Run” — from her 2023 holiday album, Christmas.

After the holiday break, SNL will return on Jan. 17, 2026, with an episode hosted by Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard and musical guest A$AP Rocky.

Watch the “Home Alone” sketch from SNL below, and find all the ways to stream the full episode here.