Brittney Bluitt was finishing up a routine holiday flight when a small, easily overlooked moment turned into something she would never forget. What she thought was trash handed to her mid-flight became a powerful reminder of generosity at a time when she needed it most.

During drink service, Bluitt was walking down the aisle when a passenger handed her a closed sick sack and said, “This is for you.” She admits she assumes the man is joking and believes the bag contains something meant to be thrown away.

“I honestly thought he was handing me something that needed to be tossed,” Bluitt exclusively tells PEOPLE, explaining that moments like that aren’t unusual during flights. She finished serving the rest of the cabin and brings the bag back to the galley without giving it much thought.

While cleaning up after service, she says something nudges her to open the sick sack. Inside, she discovered that every passenger on board has placed a tip inside the bag.

“That’s when it really hit me,” she says, recalling how the passenger’s words start replaying in her head. The realization turns an ordinary workday into an emotional moment she has to quietly process on her own.

Bluitt says she almost cried and wanted to shout, but she was still on duty and had to contain herself. Instead, she took a moment of gratitude, thanking God for what she described as an incredibly generous gesture.

The timing of the surprise made it even meaningful, arriving during a holiday season that hasn’t felt joyful for her. She says the weeks leading up to the flight feel different than usual, missing the cheer and warmth she typically associates with the holidays.

“This season didn’t feel how it normally does for me,” she explains. At the time, she’s worried about finances and whether she’ll be able to buy her parents Christmas gifts.