The hunt for an anonymous mother and son featured on a VHS still in a VCR purchased at a Goodwill in Arizona is underway.
Destinee Johnson, 25, bought the VCR from a Mesa Goodwill before finding the tape of a little boy named Christopher celebrating his Christmas morning in 1989.
“I decided to take it home and see what was on it, and when I got home and put it all together, I put it in and I thought, ‘Oh my God, what have I found?’ Johnson said. COLD.
Christopher was seen opening presents such as a Ghostbuster proton blaster and toy planes, sharing the excitement of Christmas.
Johnson told DailyMail.com: ‘As a daughter, I would love to see these images of me taken by what seem like truly loving parents.
“I would also like to see images like this of my parents when Christopher has children.”
She shared the video on social media in hopes of catching the internet’s attention and finding the little boy’s family.
The 14-minute tape also captured the wholesome journey in which Christopher first met his newborn brother, Taylor, a few weeks later.
The long-lost tape contained the memory of a little boy named Christopher celebrating Christmas morning in 1989
Destinee Johnson bought the VCR from a Mesa Goodwill before finding a little boy’s tape. “I hope the family sees it, or someone who knows the family sees it. “I’d like to give it back to them if they see it and they want it,” she said
“It starts, they’re playing in the snow … and from there it transitions back to Christmas morning, and he’s opening his presents under the tree,” Johnson said.
“It’s so precious, he comes downstairs with a toy and…” [he’s] about Santa Claus giving him presents,” Johnson said.
The video showed Christopher opening presents with his family.
With a toy airplane in his hand and a yellow toy tricycle behind him, he played with his new presents all day.
“It starts, they’re playing in the snow… and from there it transitions back to Christmas morning, and he’s opening his presents under the tree.”
The tape followed the family throughout Christmas Day as they shared the festive atmosphere and enjoyed visits from other family members, Johnson said.
At the end, Christopher was seen running with a handful of blue and clear balloons, while a small black and gray terrier ran alongside him.
Johnson has since taken to social media to reach out to the family to give back their long-lost memories for Christmas.
“I hope the family sees it, or someone who knows the family sees it. “I’d like to give it back to them if they see it and they want it,” she said.
The 14-minute tape also captured the wholesome journey in which Christopher first met his newborn brother Taylor.
Johnson’s story comes at a time when a new thrift store purchase gave buyers an incredible surprise.
Last year, in a similar moment of happiness, 43-year-old Jessica Vincent in Virginia found a vase at Goodwill selling for $3.99.
She didn’t know that the colorful vase was one of the rarest Italian works of art by architect Carlo Scarpa from the 1940s.
The piece was estimated to fetch between $30,000 and $50,000 when it went to auction, but instead sold for $107,100.
In a similarly happy moment, a New York-based art dealer, Allen Treibitz, attended a barn sale in the Hamptons earlier this year, where a work of art had caught his eye.
Jessica Vincent, 43, was browsing her local Goodwill when she found a 12-inch Murano glass vase wrapped in burgundy and green brushstrokes and bought it for $3.99.
‘It was so unusual. It had such a quality. I knew it was a good piece of glass with the mark on the bottom,” she said. “I knew it would come home with me.”
The particular piece, listed for $50, depicted a carved grizzly bear atop a commemorative totem pole and bore the signature of iconic Canadian painter Emily Carr.
Although the dealer had been a seasoned art expert for forty years, he was unaware of Carr’s legacy. However, he thought the painting was something ‘extraordinary’.
But he realized it could be much more valuable than he initially thought. When he contacted Canada’s Heffel Fine Art Auction House, his suspicions were confirmed.
“We received photos and I had no doubt that this was an exciting discovery of Cinderella,” David Heffel, president of the auction house, said in an interview. The 1912 painting sold at a Canadian auction for $24,350 USD.