Mom Surprises Daughter with Beloved Childhood Dollhouse 30 Years Later — But There's a Twist (Exclusive)

• Ciara Hunter was gifted a Loving Family Dream Folding Dollhouse as a toddler in the early 1990s

• Thirty years later, Hunter, now a mom, thought to restore the beloved toy for her own toddler daughter

• Hunter tells PEOPLE how the special project beautifully brought her past and present together
  

A mom saving a special toy for the perfect time has gotten to experience the joy of sharing it with her daughter.

Ciara Hunter went viral for documenting the process of taking her Fisher Price 1993 Loving Family Dream Folding Dollhouse and restoring it for her daughter as she entered her toddler years.

"My parents gifted me the dollhouse for Christmas when I was around 2 years old," Hunter tells PEOPLE. "It was my favorite childhood toy. I spent hours playing with it and have nothing but fond memories tied to it."

Hunter was so enamored with the dollhouse that as she got older, she made sure it was always stored in a safe place. She knew from a young age she wanted to share it with her own child one day.

"While I held onto a handful of toys from my childhood, this dollhouse was always the one that meant the most to me," she says.

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Related: Boy Was Frustrated Playing with His Sister's Dollhouse. Then His Mom Did Something Magical (Exclusive)

"I knew it was in storage. The dollhouse moved with me throughout my childhood, through every house and every change. I’m so thankful my mom let me keep it during each move. Eventually, it ended up stored in an outdoor shed, which took a toll on it over the years," she adds.

Hunter became a mom in 2021, welcoming daughter Aubrie. It was then that she started really thinking about her dollhouse.

"When I saw it in the corner of the shed, I noticed it was in pretty bad shape. At first, I gave up on the idea of restoring it," she shares. "But two years later, when my daughter was at the perfect age to enjoy it, I decided to give it another shot. So I went back for it."

Hunter decided to take on the project of restoring the dollhouse for toddler Aubrie, 30 years after she received it as a gift herself. Though she felt unsure of what it would take at first, she found it was "much easier than I expected."

"I started the process right after Thanksgiving, and it’s cold here in the Midwest during November. I had to bring it inside, shower it down in a tub, and scrub every inch with a toothbrush," the dedicated mom shares.

The scrub-down took all the stickers off the dollhouse, but Hunter found a seller on eBay who made replacement stickers. eBay and Facebook Marketplace were helpful in finding replacements for the various people and furniture pieces that her original set was missing, too.

"My favorite part was looking online for the replacement pieces. I was able to connect with people who were selling certain items, and I got a handwritten card from a grandmother in one of them," she shares. "It was really sweet. It was evident those pieces meant a lot to her."

The next step in the house's transformation was touching up the paint.

"I gave it a fresh coat of white paint and hand-painted the pink by mixing two different colors of craft paint to match the original color," Hunter says. "The blue color stayed in pretty good condition. I enjoyed the process so much! It took me a couple of weeks during my daughter’s naptimes to complete."

On Christmas morning, Hunter was excited to bring her daughter into her bedroom to find the dollhouse, carefully set up by Mom.

"My daughter’s reaction was priceless! One I will always remember. I told her, 'This was Mommy’s when she was little,' and she thought that was the coolest thing," Hunter says.

"She was so excited when she saw it for the first time. She started jumping up and down and playing with it immediately."

For the gratified mom, it was "such a full-circle moment."

"I remember playing with the dollhouse with my mom, and now I get to watch my daughter experience the same joy," she says. "Holding onto it for all those years, hoping it could bring her the same happiness it brought me, was so special. When I think about how close I came to giving up on it, it makes me emotional."

Hunter documented the process for her blog, Home on Hazel Ridge, where she shares glimpses of her life through DIY projects, family travel and creating magic out of everyday moments. She decided to post it on the blog and across social media, where it quickly went viral.

"I was blown away by the response to the video! It went viral, with over 2 million views on Instagram, and I couldn’t keep up with the comments. So many people remembered this dollhouse from their childhood, and their emotional reactions were heartwarming," she says.

"The phrase 'childhood memory unlocked' was commented repeatedly, which was such a cool connection to share with others," she continues. "I’m glad I was able to bring back those memories for so many people. If something sparks an emotion in you, it’s always worth sharing. It can inspire others in ways you don’t expect."

Hunter is hopeful that her project will inspire other parents to breathe life into something they once loved and share it with their kids.

"This particular project perfectly captures the message I’m always trying to share: it’s never too late to turn something ordinary into something beautiful. With a clear vision and a little hard work, you can create something magical. I think that lesson applies to all areas of life, not just restoration," she says. "I’ve seen it happen in my own life, and I want others to feel hopeful and believe in what’s possible. We are all capable of creating magic in the everyday mundane." 

Read the original article on People