What seemed like just another thrift-store find turned into a remarkable holiday discovery for one lucky family. Inside a shattered vintage ornament, they uncovered handwritten notes from the 1960s, inspiring nostalgia and a new Christmas tradition.
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“Going to do this with my kids”: Grandma breaks a vintage Christmas ornament. Then a bunch of notes spill out
Photo by The Daily Dot
Key Takeaways:
- A thrifted Christmas ornament contained hidden notes from the 1960s-70s.
- The notes were written by a child named BJ, featuring jokes and festive wishes.
- One message read, “Merry Christmas to the future!”
- The discovery gained 3,500 upvotes on Reddit, capturing worldwide interest.
- Families are now inspired to create their own time-capsule ornaments.
An Unexpected Holiday Surprise
When a grandmother and her daughter picked up a vintage Christmas ornament from a thrift store, they had no idea it held something far more valuable than holiday décor. During a minor mishap, the ornament accidentally shattered, spilling out a tightly rolled cluster of notes from decades past. Reddit user Ashley Gutierrez Siler (u/ashleygee) shared the heartwarming find on December 10, 2025, showcasing a relic from another era hidden inside the holiday bauble.
Notes from Decades Past
As the fragments of glass were swept aside, handwritten slips of paper came into view. “It was a collection of jokes, predictions, and notes from a kid named BJ, all dated from the 60s-70s,” wrote Gutierrez Siler. One of the oldest notes was dated 1962, while a slip from 1971 read, “Merry Christmas to the future!” Another fragment teased, “If you are over 40 you will become happy soon. If you are under 40 you will become sad soon,” hinting at a playful spirit lurking inside these whimsical predictions.
Online Enthusiasm and Reactions
After posting the discovery on Reddit’s r/FoundPaper forum, the thread quickly gathered 3,500 upvotes. “I just love the idea of a kid coming back to this ornament periodically to add another note,” wrote Gutierrez Siler. Others chimed in with excitement and praise for BJ, saying they hoped he continued to spark laughter wherever he might be now. One commenter summed it up by calling the find “one of the best things” they had ever seen on the subreddit.
Inspiring a New Tradition
The heartwarming twist to this story is the inspiration it has offered to families around the world. Social media users vowed to start making their own “time capsule ornaments,” filling them with messages to be discovered in years—or even decades—to come. As Gutierrez Siler noted, the best part of finding and sharing this story is hearing how others plan to adopt the tradition, creating future memories for unsuspecting holiday revelers.
