Andrea Eastley couldn’t believe what came in the package for her kids (Image: @liza_melb_aus; @wanderlustandthetribe)

A family was disgusted after receiving a skull and dried fish for Christmas.

Andrea Eastley couldn’t believe it when her kids opened a package from their grandmother that was supposed to contain cookies and lollipops, but found the raw skull instead.

In Australia, her three children had been anxiously awaiting their grandmother’s package, their favorite chocolate bars and sweets from home.

But the family in Alaska, USA found a small animal skull and a piece of cloth with unknown symbols on it.

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(Photo: @liza_melb_aus)

The family was expecting a selection of chocolates and biscuits (Picture: @liza_melb_aus)

Andrea Eastley (Photo: @wanderlustandthetribe)

But instead they found some dried fish (Image: @wanderlustandthetribe)

Andrea Eastley (Photo: @wanderlustandthetribe)

And what looked like a skull wrapped in the grooming kit (Photo: @wanderlustandthetribe)

There was also preserved fish sealed in clear plastic and “wrapped like a mummy”.

Ms Eastley said: “We think the package was opened by customs to inspect it and they put the wrong items in it.”

Have you ever received something unexpected in the mail?answer now

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) website confirms that international packages can be opened by customs officials for inspection, stating, “After clearing customs, the customs officer will repackage and seal the mail.”

Ms Eastley wasn’t sure if the skull was real, but said she couldn’t find a trademark of the type stamped on it. It also had some dirt on it.

The children’s grandmother had assured them that she had put cookies, lollipops and gravy mix in the package when she sent it in.

Australia Post was unable to provide details on what might have happened to the package when SBS News reached out, except that the system had confirmed the package had arrived in the US in early October, nearly two months before it reached the family in Alaska.

Ms. Eastley said she emailed the USPS about the strange delivery and planned to return the items to the post office after Christmas, when the queues cleared.

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