Christmas ornaments this mom thrifted for 40 years shattered — but a surprise gift from a ’60s kid inside made up for the loss
For one vintage ornament collector, her Christmas surprise wasn't planned but preserved for decades. A woman shared the story of her mother on a Reddit post, u/ashleygee, and explained, "My mom has thrifted a collection of Shiny-Brite ornaments." Her mother had been collecting these ornaments for nearly four decades, as reported by the New York Post on December 25, 2025. But this holiday, she accidentally dropped one of them, and it got shattered. However, she wasn't sad but rather amused by what she found inside—there was a small stack of folded papers that contained jokes, messages, and predictions written by a child. The post received around four thousand upvotes.
"She found a collection of jokes, predictions, and notes from a kid named BJ, all dated from the 60s-70s," shared her daughter on December 10, 2025. She added, "I just loved the idea of a kid coming back to this ornament periodically to add another note to the collection for some random stranger to find nearly 60 years later." The user also shared pictures of these notes and greetings discovered inside the ornament. Among these notes, one was a simple greeting clearly meant for someone in the future. It read, "Merry Christmas to the future. 71." Another was marked with a date: "December 9, 1962."
It didn't just have messages and notes but also a pinch of humor. The joke read: "Fred: Hey Joe, who’s the nut that keeps putting these notes in Christmas balls? Joe: I don’t know Fred, but it takes a nut to read what a nut wrote." There was another message, written for one's future self: "...you will become happy soon..."
Shiny-Brite ornaments were colorful glass Christmas decorations, which were very popular between the 1940s and 1960s. The post struck a chord with people on Reddit, with one of them wanting to do the same with their kids. "I'm going to do this with my kids," wrote @TurboKid513. @LeakingMoonlight remarked, "Merry Christmas, BJ. I hope you are still making them laugh at the senior center." "Imagine if BJ is now on Reddit and sees this. That would be cosmic," commented @Ruby-Shark.
In another heartwarming story, a woman was flooded with memories after opening a long-forgotten box sealed for almost 25 years. Her experience reminded viewers how the past finds a way to reach you, even when you forget. Carrianne Manning, in a video posted on TikTok, is seen opening a box marked with a handwritten note that reads: "Do not open until July 29, 2025." Inside was a time capsule, gifted by her maid of honor on her wedding day. It had voices from the year 2000.
Manning shared that she had moved eight times since receiving the gift and is now a mother. "My kids are so excited about what’s in the box," she shared. The moment she opened the box, a stack of handwritten notes spilled out. It had cards from 2000 with one note, saying, "Hi Carrie, I am Emily, and I am 8," which was written by her sister. She also had one message, written by her mother, which said," Who wants to be a millionaire? Are you one yet? I hope so.’”
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