Ottawa man surprised with 40th birthday party at Value Village

Although Tyler Garvey loves hunting for vintage bargains, he never imagined he would be celebrating his 40th birthday at a Value Village store.

“I feel like I’m in an episode of the Twilight Zone. I’m confused, I’m excited, I’m having a great time. This is just hilarious and entertaining,” Tyler said, surrounded by about two dozen friends and family members at Value Village on Merivale Road.

“Only my mother could do something like this. She’s incredibly funny. She’s the best and this is one of my favorite places. I’m a nostalgic person and this is just great.”

His mother Joan organized the surprise party and invited several people to the thrift store on Tuesday afternoon.

“He and his friends are all turning 40 this year and a lot of them have done big fishing trips and all that great stuff, but this is one of his favorite things to do,” Joan Garvey said.

“So I said I’ll call the manager and ask if we could do something here, and he was such a cool guy. He said, ‘Yeah! We’ll set up a table for you with housewares.'”

About two dozen people stopped by and celebrated in the middle of the store while others continued shopping and helped create a birthday for the books, proving that it takes a village to organize a surprise party at a thrift store.

“He’s just always there, always with a smile on his face and just always incredibly helpful and a lot of fun,” said Sean Everett, who helped organize the party.

“He has a huge circle of friends and many people who love him.”

A crowd gathered at Value Village on Merivale Road in Ottawa on Tuesday to celebrate Tyler Garvey’s 40th birthday. (Austin Lee/CTV News Ottawa)

The mother-son duo say browsing the many shelves of the city’s thrift stores has become a weekly tradition.

“It’s kind of a love story, so now we do it together and go there every senior day. That’s our bonding experience,” Tyler said.

“It’s become a full-blown obsession and I love everything vintage. I’m a nostalgic person. I love old toys, video games, records, clothes and so it’s become a passion of mine.”

It is a passion he inherited from his mother.

During the party in the home goods department of the store, Tyler wore a 39-year-old pin from his very first birthday party in 1985.

“It’s very cool. I didn’t even know she kept it, so I think that’s where my hoarding, saving and collecting comes from,” he said.

“If my mother kept this, that’s why I’m here. I blame her.”

“People think we’re a little weird, I think, but we just love browsing in thrift stores. We chat, browse the shelves, a lot of it is just junk, but then you find the treasures that keep you coming back,” Joan said.

“Today the whole thing turned out pretty well!”

Tyler’s passion for thrift shopping is so great that the father of one recently started an Instagram account called @ThriftDaddy where he posts his treasures for all to see, many of which were found at the Value Village store where he celebrated his birthday.

“I think it’s really sweet. The funny thing is that most of the people who came here for the party are customers,” said Razan Batshoun, production manager at Merivale Value Village.

“I thought, ‘Oh, I know this guy, I know this woman!’ So it’s nice to see that.”