Ohio grandparents Karen and Wayne Gamble welcomed unexpected visitors into their home for an unforgettable night of family bonding.
To surprise their grandparents this holiday season, Tori Hahlen, 24, and her six grown-up cousins knocked on their grandparents’ door with overnight bags, pillows, snacks and games — everything they needed for a nostalgic slumber party .
In a now-viral TikTok video, Hahlen captured the Gambles’ reactions to seeing all seven of their grandchildren enter their home ready for a spontaneous night.
“This is your cue to surprise your grandparents by having a sleepover with all your grown relatives,” Hahlen wrote above the clip, which now has nearly 35 million views.
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“Are you serious?” Hahlen’s shocked grandmother said in the video, adding: “That’s the best Christmas present ever!”
While their grandparents didn’t suspect anything, Hahlen tells PEOPLE that she and her cousins — Luke, 18, Nevin, 19, Brooke, 20, Brant, 22, Matthew, 23, and Taylor, 28 — first came up with the idea around Thanksgiving. . The relatives have been looking for a chance to spend time together while they are all at home in Ohio since several of them live out of town and out of state.
When Brooke brought up the idea in their group chat, Hahlen recalls, “Everyone was immediately on board and started sending ideas about games and snacks and how we were going to do a big surprise.”
Surprise TikTok Sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa’s.
Tori Hahlen
“We have so many childhood memories of sleepovers at our grandparents’ that we wanted to relive,” says Hahlen.
To make sure their grandparents didn’t make other plans for the evening, Hahlen’s mom invited Karen and Wayne over for dinner. When the kids showed up with plenty of pizza and buffalo chicken dip — “Our favorites!” says Hahlen—Karen wondered about their original plans for dinner.
“We’re eating pizza here,” one of the grandchildren can be heard saying on TikTok, while a piano plays softly in the background of the clip. Another relative reassures: “It’s just us tonight.”
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Surprise TikTok Sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa’s.
Tori Hahlen
“We all had our predictions of how each would react,” Hahlen says. “Nana would cry tears of joy, and grandfather would laugh and tease us for making Nana cry. And that’s exactly what happened!”
The family filled their night with quality time and some of their favorite activities. Games were played, hot chocolate was drunk, and the girls brought Grandma a set of matching Christmas pajamas. After watching Wayne’s favorite movie, Home alonetheir perfect night was complete.
Karen’s heart is still warmed by that gesture. “I’ve never had a nicer surprise in my entire life. I never wanted it to end,” she says. “They took into account every little detail and didn’t miss a single moment…Every moment was perfect.”
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Surprise TikTok Sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa’s.
Tori Hahlen
While their video quickly circulated on social media, the family fun continued well into the morning after bed. Hahlen tells PEOPLE that her grandparents are thrilled with their viral fame and excited to now be the “grandparents of the Internet.”
“My Nana said she immediately called her cousin, who is her best friend,” Hahlen says. “And my grandfather said he thought when we went to breakfast at Bob Evans’s people would be asking for his autograph.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education