When Helen Napier dropped her “special New York” hat out the window of Ben and Erin’s hotel room during the family’s recent trip to New York City, chances she’d ever get it back seemed slim — until Ben showed up in a big way. Much to Helen’s chagrin, her lost white-and-gray beanie (only $10 from Target) had been sitting on an exterior ledge of the hotel, just out of reach, for 24 hours. The hat, it seemed, was destined to live out the rest of its days in the blustery autumn air of Manhattan. “[Helen] was so sad,” Erin says. Hotel staff even considered bringing in a lift when Ben decided to get creative.

In the Home Town host’s latest Instagram post, he’s shown using what looks like a long wire to retrieve the beanie through an open window. “[Helen] was so upset, but it’s ok cause her daddy’s a redneck and found a hardware store,” Ben wrote in the caption.

Ben recounts the story to HGTV: “I walked to a nearby hardware store and said to the guy behind the counter, ‘Hey this is a really weird question, but my daughter lost her hat, and I need wire to get it back.’ His response was, ‘This is New York City — that’s not the weirdest question I’ve been asked.’”

Ben left the store with 25 feet of stiff wire Erin describes as “a coat hanger on a spool.” Then came the tricky part. “When I hooked the hat and started lifting it off the ledge, the wind was blowing … that hat was barely hanging on,” says Ben.

Ten minutes later, however, the beanie was back in Helen’s hands and all was well. “All for a $10 hat,” Erin laughs.

Helen’s special New York hat: $10. Watching super-dad Ben get the biggest hug ever from his daughter: Priceless.

Ben and Erin will be back in an all-new season of HGTV's Home Town premiering December 4 at 8/7c. Plus, catch the duo in HGTV's new holiday movie A Christmas Open House, streaming on discovery+ now.