Bucks County’s Doug Turner threw a viral winter party. How did it go?

Viral internet fame isn’t something most 87-year-olds actively court, but it found Doug Turner anyway.

Turner, a Bucks County resident, became an overnight sensation after a video of him inviting his neighbor to his “Winter Party” took off online. On Jan. 13, Turner, walking with a cane, approached the doorstep of his across-the-street neighbor, Michelle Hernandez, holding a folded piece of white paper. It was an invitation to the party at his house: “A Celebration of Winter,” it read, “February 15. 4 p.m. Until the Cops Arrive … Food and Drinks on Offer: Bring Only a Smile.”

And the pièce de résistance: a large snowflake, hand-drawn in ink pen.

Immediately struck by the sweetness of the gesture — and of the invite itself — Hernandez, 29, a recent transplant to the suburbs, uploaded a video to her TikTok channel, where she typically posts fashion, beauty, and Philly-area lifestyle content.

“We have the cutest neighbors,” she says, gushing over the invite. “This is the sweetest thing ever.” She tagged the video with hashtags like “#cryingintheclub,” “#oldpeople,” and “#neighborhoodparty.”

Hernandez subsequently posted the original video from her door’s Ring camera of Turner arriving, invite in hand. Before long, it racked up more than 2 million views.

Along the way, Doug’s Winter Party became a social media sensation. Satellite parties were hosted across the country, and as far north as Turner’s native Canada, with festivities in Calgary, Alberta; Chilliwack, British Columbia; and Estevan, Saskatchewan. Turner’s friend, Haddonfield native Adam Puff, offered his business address to anyone who wanted to send gifts, cards, or party favors. The response was overwhelming.

Former NFL tight-end and current TV insurance pitchman Rob Gronkowski took to his own social media, leading a group of naval seamen in a barking chant, with the caption “POV: Doug’s front door on Feb 15th.” And Canadian crooner Michael Bublé posted a video of himself cradling bottles of whiskey and red party cups. “I was just on my FYP,” he says, referring to TikTok’s “For You Page,” “and I saw something that didn’t make me sad.”

Doug’s Winter Party is one of those internet-era phenomena that gains traction seemingly instantly and surprisingly. Boil it down, and the whole thing is little more than a neighborhood celebration in suburban Bucks County — the same party Turner has been planning annually, hand-lettered invitations and all. They had become a regular fixture of his calendar over the past few years, since losing his wife. And they were a fun, simple way to bring his neighborhood together.

For the two dozen-or-so friends, family, and neighbors who took part this year, the prospect of a feel-good winter shindig couldn’t have come at a more opportune moment. “I think it’s the timing,” said Victoria Gomez, Turner’s daughter. “With the L.A. fires, and the election … and all the hate that’s being spewed. I think people were just so sick of being divided.”

With Hernandez handling the social media side of things, Turner’s actual winter party was livestreamed for any onlookers who wanted to join in, from as far afield as Peru and Scotland. Turner and a dozen-or-so friends drank plastic cups of red wine, noshed on snacks and slices of a cake frosted with the words “Doug’s Winter Party,” and paused intermittently to awkwardly acknowledge anyone tuning in.

Occasionally, digital filters would send a pair of cartoon sunglasses or Elvis-styled pompadour to float into the frame. At one point, Turner was hugged around the neck by a computer-generated panda bear. “It’s been a great connection with a bunch of good neighbors,” Turner said, in his final sign-off address of the evening. With individual fans and businesses donating chips, caramel corn, baked goods, and even whiskey, the affair was certainly well-catered. “We didn’t get rid of all the food and drinks, but we did put a pretty big hole in the pile,” he said.

Turner was a bit more boastful in a recent interview with NBC’s Today show that aired on Feb. 21. “It was a rager,” he said. “We even snuck into my whiskey stash, and drank that. It was pretty wild.” The party itself wrapped around midnight. No police were called, but there was an officer stationed in a patrol car nearby, in the event that unwanted, uninvited guests found their way to Turner’s house.

“There was one guy who was kind of a creep, who posted my dad’s address on TikTok,” Gomez said. “He even sent my dad a thousand dollars. It was creepy. He said he didn’t want to scare anyone. But the police were aware of it. Everyone else was super sweet.”

Like Turner, his 55-year-old daughter seems equally tickled and baffled by this simple get together drawing global attention. “It’s pretty mind-blowing,” Gomez said. “I ended up doing a TV interview myself, in Australia! I was so nervous.”

Gomez lives in California, and wasn’t able to attend the party in person. But like thousands of others, she joined in the livestream, and was sent pictures by other partygoers, including her niece. She and the rest of the family seem, for now, relieved that the social media whirlwind has moved elsewhere. Though she’s proud of the role they played in sparking a few hours of joy, in a world that seems increasingly bereft of it. “Thank you for uniting the world,” a TikTok viewer said, commenting on the final dispatch from Doug’s Winter Party.

As for Turner, he seems pretty worn out: both from the party, and the press and social media circus surrounding it. Declining an interview, he told The Inquirer, via his daughter, “I have retired from the news world.”

The 2026 edition of Doug’s Winter Party is sure to be a quieter affair.