Woman surprises parents with renovated home for Christmas

SELMA, Ala. — A New Orleans woman realized a lifelong dream, giving her parents a memorable Christmas gift.

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Krystal Hardy-Allen gave her parents the keys to a home in Selma, Alabama, that she had been renovating since November 2022, WSFA-TV reported.

Hardy-Allen made the surprise doubly satisfying by putting her father in charge as the lead contactor to oversee the renovations of the two-story, four-bedroom, four-bathroom home. Her father had no idea that he was making sure everything was perfect for him and his wife, according to the television station.

“For years, I have wanted to bring that to fruition for my parents,” Hardy-Allen told WSFA.

Hardy-Allen bought a historic property in downtown Selma in November 2022, and renovations were on track to be completed two months later.

However, a tornado demolished part of the home on Jan. 12, 2023, forcing the construction back to square one, according to the television station.

“My father and my younger brother worked this entire year ... to bring the property to life,” Hardy-Allen told WSFA.

It was difficult to keep her intentions a secret all year -- she did not tell her siblings or grandmother -- but Hardy-Allen sprung the surprise on her parents with a bogus open house viewing on Christmas Eve.

“My parents thought they were helping me ‘put it on the market’ for sale today via hosting an open house from 9-11 a.m.,” Hardy-Allen wrote in a Facebook post on Dec. 24. “But lo and behold, my amazing realtor Jasmine and husband KJ Allen helped big time in playing along with it and together, we tricked them really good with a surprise reveal out on the balcony instead!”

It will be the first home that Hardy-Allen’s parents have owned, and it is paid in full, WSFA reported.

“They’ve worked so hard all their lives, been through so much, and deserve this blessing,” Hardy-Allen wrote on Facebook. “They had no idea it was coming.”