Siblings save ’90s family photo for decades—then decide to recreate it

A family has gone viral for the incredible gift the siblings gave their parents to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.

Tawnya Van Houten, a fashion designer from California, got together with her siblings to recreate an iconic childhood photo shoot from the early ’90s, presenting the snap to her parents, Rick and Debbie, at their anniversary celebrations.

“The original photo was taken 34 years ago, capturing my siblings and me—aged 5, 9, 14, and 16—dressed in full ’80s fashion,” Van Houten told Newsweek.

The siblings: Jason, Joreen, Tawnya and Kimberley, now aged 49, 47, 42 and 37, decided to “recreate the iconic look,” working together to sew their childhood outfits to create adult versions “that we knew would make [my parents] laugh.”

Van Houten captured the moment they presented mom and dad with the gift and their brilliant reactions, sharing the clip to her TikTok account @emmrycloth2 where it has racked up close to 1 million views since being shared on December 31.

In the video, Van Houten’s mother unwraps the paper to show a frame—and instantly bursts into laughter, while Rick watches on as though unsure, at first, what he’s seeing.

“That’s hilarious,” Debbie exclaims—and dad suddenly realizes what he’s looking at, and points at the brilliantly recreated photo.

Van Houten finished the video by showing just how they recreated the ’80s-style JCPenney shoot, with all four grown-up siblings gathering before the camera in their classic clothing and hairstyles.

And as they smile for the camera, the video changes to the original photo, showcasing just how close they got to the original.

“We added clip-on bangs, oversized bows, and even blacked out a tooth to emphasize our youngest sister’s iconic gap,” Van Houten told Newsweek.

“When our mom saw us, she was so surprised that she burst out laughing. Our dad was a little in shock.”

Van Houten grew up in a large family, but the number of children families are having is declining across the United States. On a national level, the average number of people per family in 2023 was 3.15, compared to 3.67 in 1960, according to Statista.

It varies from state to state, however: in Utah, the average size of a family is 3.51, while on the other end of the scale is Maine, with an average family size of 2.79.

TikTok users loved the gift almost as much as Van Houten’s parents did, with hundreds commenting on her clip.

One asked: “how long did it take you to find the clothes?” to which seamstress Van Houten explained she made them herself, but thrifted her brother’s sweater.

“Omg the outfits are iconic,” one user said, as another announced they were “SCREAMING at how well y’all did this.”

“That is such a clever gift idea. Great job guys,” another impressed commenter wrote, as another declared it was “hands down the best recreation of JCPenney photos.”

And another agreed: “Brilliant, best one I’ve seen.”

Many others laughed at one grandchild, heard in the background of the video, repeatedly pleading: “Granny, can I see?” as one wrote: “Granny let the little one see!”

As Van Houten told Newsweek: “The entire moment, filled with laughter and nostalgia, became a gift we’ll cherish forever. We’re a fun family who likes be silly and play games.”

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