An owner of a construction company discovered a "Christmas miracle" during a renovation project at his childhood home, and a video of his find went viral.
Tim King is the owner of T.King Construction Services, a home remodeling company specializing in interior finishing in residences throughout DuPage and Kane Counties in Illinois.
With over 20 years of construction experience, nothing could prepare King for what he found hidden within the walls of his parents' house when he went to work on a bathroom remodeling project—a wrapped Christmas present that had never been opened for decades.
The 53-year-old told People magazine:
“We took out a medicine cabinet before we drywalled, and I thought, ‘I’d better just look in there to make sure nothing’s back there."
“And then there it was!”
King posted a video on December 27, 2024 after finding the lost gift.
It was covered in dusty gift wrapping featuring legacy Disney characters such as Pinocchio, Bambi, Dumbo, and Donald Duck dressed as Santa with his bag of gifts. The handwritten inscription on Donald's bag indicated the present was for "Timothy."
The text overlay was the hashtag, #christmasmiracle, followed by six crying-laughing emojis.
You can see the video here.
A follow-up video revealed what was underneath the dusty wrapping paper—a box containing Matchbox Thunder Jet model airplanes.
King said it was from circa 1978 when he would've been six years old.
Instagram users were in awe.
@tking_cs/Instagram
@tking_cs/Instagram
@tking_cs/Instagram
@tking_cs/Instagram
@tking_cs/Instagram
@tking_cs/Instagram
Antique enthusiasts, however, wished he kept the vintage wrapping paper intact.
@tking_cs/Instagram
@tking_cs/Instagram
@tking_cs/Instagram
@tking_cs/Instagram
@tking_cs/Instagram
@tking_cs/Instagram
@tking_cs/Instagram
"My mom wasn’t awake yet, so we waited to open it in front of her," said King, and mentioned that his mother didn't recall buying the toy for him so many years ago.
King noted that his parents used to hide his presents from him and that the vintage treasure he found likely fell through a crawl space where it remained hidden for years.
He continued:
“So I have one sister, and my mom has always been very picky about getting us the exact same amount of gifts."
"So we’ve been joking that I’ve been screwed out of one present for 46 years.”
There's no time like the present to relive some childhood holiday magic.
Merry post-Christmas, Tim!
Barry Manilow/Facebook
Barry Manilow/Facebook
Barry Manilow/Facebook
Barry Manilow/Facebook
Barry Manilow/Facebook
Barry Manilow/Facebook
Barry Manilow/Facebook
Barry Manilow/Facebook
Barry Manilow/Facebook
Barry Manilow/Facebook
Barry Manilow/Facebook
@GavinNewsom/X
@el-asador-aleman/Bluesky
@bluecarcharadon/Bluesky
@brucef0rte/Bluesky
@j-man/Bluesky
@derpyllama/Bluesky
@jemm33/Bluesky
@skipbidder/Bluesky
@humanspareparts/Bluesky
@greendietien/Bluesky