Husband puts Iowa lottery ticket in wife’s Christmas stocking — and she wins big prize

A husband in Iowa got his wife a $3 lottery ticket to put in her Christmas stocking — and it ended up being a gift worth much, much more.

April Miller, of Walnut, scratched her “Merry Money” ticket after her family celebrated Christmas. She was in shock when she realized how much she had won, according to a Jan. 9 news release from the Iowa Lottery.

“You just don’t believe it,” the 43-year-old wife told lottery officials when claiming her prize. “It was just unreal. I still don’t believe I won that much.”

Miller won a $30,000 prize — the most you can win from the “Merry Money” scratch game.

“We were screaming and jumping up and down and freaking out,” Walnut said in the release. “And then of course, (I) had to call all my family. I FaceTimed them to say, ‘We won!’ And they didn’t believe me, so I had to send them a picture of the app showing that I won.”

She plans to use her newfound cash to make some home improvements, go on a tropical vacation and buy a new purse.

After taxes were withheld, she took home $21,300.

Walnut is in southwest Iowa, about 90 miles from Des Moines.

If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.

Unemployed mom dreamed of winning Spain’s Christmas lottery. Then her number was called

Nurse plans a special Christmas for her grandkids after big NC lottery win

Mom gives sons early Christmas gift — a cut of jackpot SC lottery win. One ‘screamed’