Girl’s military stepdad had never seen her perform — she didn’t know he was waiting on stage to surprise her

A surprise is one of the most beautiful, memorable, and thoughtful gifts one can give to a loved one. With a feeling of thrill, a fastening heartbeat, and widened eyes, surprises are the best way to let someone know how much you care and how well you know them. Chanhassen Dinner Theatres — which goes by the username @chanhassendt on Instagram — shared a wholesome video of a girl who had the perfect surprise planned for the host, but was floored by an unforgettable return gift.

The video features a little girl, Jenalia Valerio, walking up to the host at the theatre with a bouquet of flowers in her hand. The little girl’s gesture of honor and gratitude makes the host emotional, but except for a thank you, there is something she doesn’t tell her — she has a surprise planned for her too. Jenalia, who is very close to her stepdad, has to stay away from him for months due to his overseas Army duties. At this point in the video, it had been 10 months since she last saw him, which also meant that he had missed her theatre performances.

The host took the opportunity to create the perfect plan to surprise Jenalia — while receiving the flowers, she said that even though she was immensely “thrilled” to have received them, they belonged to her. Immediately, her stepdad entered the stage in his uniform, and a surprised Jenalia ran to him, hugged him tightly, and then stepped back. Her stepdad kneeled to reach her height, and the long embrace was enough to express how much they had missed each other. The host presented the flowers to Sergeant, thanking him for his service, and honored the father-daughter duo — Jenalia was delighted to have her stepdad watch one of her performances for the first time that year.

According to a 2022 study by the University of Denver’s Kimberly Chiew and others, surprises have the ability to play a bigger role than any other emotion — not just relating to the feelings of your “well-being” but also impacting how you reflect on your life later. Out of all the events one has faced in life, one is more likely to remember the completely unexpected ones. Surprises also contribute to who we become and shape “the narrative [we] construct of [our] own life.” Another study by Andrew Barto and others suggests that surprises are a great inspiration to learn and are important when it comes to “cognitive development.”

After watching the wholesome video, many viewers left heartfelt comments. @stevielivedonce expressed, “These videos will never not make me cry. I can remember every time my dad came home from deployment. Military kids don’t get enough props, man, I bet this gave her the fuel to absolutely own the stage.” @chelliebean86 wrote, “I can’t find a stepdad in this video. I only see a father that’s is very loved by his daughter,” and @queen_sandrajean commented, “Oh, I know she just performed her little heart out to impress her daddy.” Finally, @adventureswithjillian exclaimed, “Stop it right now. I didn’t want to cry tonight. This is such a beautiful Christmas moment. How magical!”

You can follow Chanhassen Dinner Theatres (@chanhassendt) on Instagram for more wholesome content.