When a vintage Christmas ornament accidentally shattered, it revealed something far more meaningful than broken glass.
Reddit user Ashley Gutierrez Siler (u/ashleygee) shared photos of a thrifted Christmas bauble that smashed to reveal a time capsule containing heartfelt notes from the 1960s on an r/FoundPaper thread from Dec. 10, 2025.
She wrote the surprise time capsule contained, “a collection of jokes, predictions, and notes from a kid named BJ, all dated from the 60s-70s.”
One of the rolled up pieces of paper dated 1971 read, “Merry Christmas to the future!”
Reddit users replying on the thread echoed Gutierrez Siler’s excitement in response to the heartfelt find. Although it was a shame the ornament broke, it was lucky she and her mother found the carefully made, nostalgic handwritten notes.
“I just love 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!” wrote Gutierrez Siler.
“Merry Christmas, BJ. I hope you are still making them laugh at the senior center,” commented u/LeakingMoonlight.
A time capsule in a Christmas ornament
The Christmas bauble surprise received 3,500 upvotes on Reddit. The tiny pieces of paper rolled to fit inside the ornament included jokes and predictions like, “If you are over 40 you will become happy soon. If you are under 40 you will become sad soon.”
Other notes dated 1962, joked about who “keeps putting these notes in Christmas balls.”
BJ’s bauble inspired social media users to start their own Christmas time capsules.
“I’m going to do this with my kids.”
“Wow, this is one of the best things Ive seen on this sub!”
“This is everything this sub is about. Chef’s kiss, BJ. You the man.”
Gutierrez Siler also shared the story on r/interesting where she replied to a commenter who said they planned to adopt the holiday tradition and create their own time capsule ornaments.
She wrote, “That’s the best part of finding and sharing this, hearing that others (including my family!) are starting this tradition now.”
Ashley Gutierrez Siler, @bigworld_books, did not immediately reply to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via Instagram.
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