Man Finds Forgotten Christmas Gift in Parents’ Wall After 46 Years: ‘It Had My Name on It’

It was a Christmas surprise, four decades in the making!

Tim King, a 53-year-old from Lombard, Illinois, recently stumbled upon a decades-old Christmas present while renovating his childhood home. What made this discovery truly special? The gift, wrapped in faded Disney-themed paper, had his name on it and had been hidden behind a bathroom wall for nearly 46 years.

Tim, the owner of T.King Construction Services, was helping his parents with a home renovation just a few days after Christmas when he unearthed the vintage treasure. “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,’” he explained. That’s when he spotted the dusty, wrapped gift.

In a video shared to Instagram, which has now amassed tens of thousands of likes, Tim revealed the festive package to his followers. A second clip shows him unwrapping the present in front of his mother, revealing a box of Matchbox Thunder Jet model airplanes, a beloved toy from the 1970s.

“My mom has no memory of buying the gift,” Tim said, laughing about how it must have been purchased back in 1978, when he was six years old. He suspects the toy was hidden in the attic, only to accidentally fall into a crawl space or behind a wall, where it remained forgotten for decades.

Tim joked about the find, saying, “My mom has always been very particular about making sure my sister and I got the exact same amount of gifts. So, we’ve been joking that I’ve been shorted one present for 46 years!”

Despite the delay, Tim’s mother was delighted by the discovery, and it has added a charming, unexpected twist to their family holiday story.

The forgotten present isn’t just a vintage toy—it’s a reminder of the timeless joy and nostalgia of Christmas, proving that sometimes, the magic of the holidays can wait a lifetime to be found.