This holiday season, families unable to travel excitedly watched their mail, hoping that their long-distance relatives would send packages filled with treats.
But one family living in Alaska was in for a fright when they opened a package from their family in Australia only to find a skull.
Andrea Eastly was excited that her family back home in Australia had sent her and her three children a care package.
The family hoped their grandparents sent Vegemite, Tim Tams, Caramello Koala, and more as the children’s grandmother confirmed she sent biscuits and lollies.
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But upon opening the package, the family found a startling surprise.
Instead, they received the skull of a small animal, a piece of fabric with symbols drawn on it, and fish preserved in a plastic bag and “wrapped up like a mummy.”
The family recieved what appeared to be the skull of a small animalSupplied
It is unclear if the skull was real, but Eastly told SBS News she could not find a trademark stamp on it and there seemed to be dirt on it.
Eastly posted a video to Instagram showing the package.
“Super excited to open the package from Nana that we have been waiting on… only to find,” Eastly wrote in an Instagram video.
Although the family was left confused, and slightly afraid, Eastly does not think her mother sent the strange items as a prank.
Rather, Eastly believes there was a mix-up at customs when inspecting the package.
“We think the package had been opened by customs to inspect, and they have put the wrong stuff back in it,” Eastley told SBS News.
She said she emailed the US Postal Service about the package and plans to take it back to the office once the holiday season busyness subsides.
The Australian Post could not provide details regarding the package according to SBS News but it did confirm the system recorded the package arriving at the start of October - two months before the family received it in Alaska
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