Photo: Getty Images
Kinnie Carpenter just celebrated her 30th birthday — and her friend Lauren Thrasher made it truly unforgettable.
To honor the occasion, Thrasher planned a countdown of 30 meaningful presents in the days before Carpenter’s birthday. Some gifts were fun and whimsical — including the time she used a spare key to secretly enter Carpenter’s home and deck the living room with balloons, streamers, and a birthday banner while she was at dinner.
One of the last surprises turned out to be the most touching: a gift bag packed with Carpenter’s favorite items — among them, a bag of chips.
At first glance, the chips looked normal — until Carpenter realized the bag had been opened and resealed with a clip.
"I'm like, why is there a clip? Did you get hungry before you put it in the — I don't understand," Carpenter tells PEOPLE exclusively. “Then I opened it, and I was still a little confused — and that’s when they said, ‘They’re all the folded ones.’ ”
"I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ And then I kind of teared up a little bit," she adds. "I never thought I’d be crying over a bag of potato chips, but here I am.”
Folded chips have always been a quirky favorite of Carpenter’s — a little delight she never imagined anyone would pick up on. But Thrasher had noticed months before, during a laid-back dinner at a Mexican restaurant, quietly observing as Carpenter carefully sifted through the bowl in search of the perfectly curled ones.
“It wasn’t something I ever said out loud, she just noticed,” Carpenter says.
That simple gesture of noticing held powerful emotional meaning. Since relocating to Norfolk, Va., last year, Carpenter admits she’s had a hard time finding a sense of belonging and genuine connection.
Things began to change, though, after she met Thrasher through a local church group later that year.
"I was going through a really hard season of my life at the time that I met her," Carpenter explains. "There was a point where she even opened up her home to me. I actually lived with her, her husband, and their four kids for three months while I was trying to figure life out. During that time, we got really close."
"For a long time, I felt like I was fighting to be seen, fighting to be loved," she adds. "What I’ve learned is that there really are people out there who will notice the little things — your preferences, your distastes, your hopes, your quirks — without you having to beg them to.”
Thrasher shared that the chip surprise only cost around $15 and took roughly 15 minutes to put together. She carefully washed her hands, opened several mini chip bags, and thoughtfully selected each folded chip before sealing them all into one special bag.
For Carpenter — whose primary love language is giving and receiving gifts — the gesture meant more than words could express.
“It’s not about how much money you spend or jumping through hoops — it’s the intentionality behind it,” Carpenter says
The moment was so meaningful that the actor and content creator felt compelled to share it on TikTok and Instagram. The video quickly struck a chord, amassing over 3 million views on TikTok and more than 167,000 on Instagram, with countless people resonating with the deep impact of being noticed and appreciated through simple, thoughtful gestures.
"Went from 🤨 to 🥹 real fast," one person commented.
"I started off 🤨🤨🤨 then ended up 😍😍😍 THATS A GOOD WOMAN, SAVANNAH!!!," someone else wrote.
Another reply said, "she put in work! sometimes there are only 2 or 3 of those in a bag."
Carpenter hopes others will be inspired by Thrasher’s subtle yet powerful act of kindness.
“Pay attention to the people in your community,” Carpenter says. “A really good way to love someone well is to notice the small things that make them who they are.”
And the chips? Carpenter says she’ll savor them — one at a time.
“I think I’ll have a girl dinner soon with some wine, the bag of chips, maybe a little dark chocolate,” she says with a laugh. “But I don’t want to eat them all at once, they’re the perfect bite, and I have a whole bag of them. I want to savor them for as long as I can.”
SOURCE: People