Eddie Vedder and his Pearl Jam bandmates made one family's Christmas wish come true by donating a signed guitar to replace a special memento which was stolen in a burglary.

The band handed over a signed instrument to Josh Hardy from New Hampshire in 1992 when he was dying of brain cancer and after his death, the instrument was left to his younger brother, Ben.

The precious guitar was recently stolen from Ben in a break-in and subsequently returned with the musicians' signatures scrubbed off, but the 34 year old was delighted when a special delivery from the band arrived just before Christmas.

He tells the Boston Herald, "FedEx delivered a new guitar. In a note Pearl Jam said they've been following the story and this is what they decided to do. It's an amazing gesture of goodwill. It exceeds expectations... They went above and beyond."

Ben's mother Donna Hardy adds, "It's a blessing for our family to have all this happen. This is our Christmas story. Pearl Jam is amazing and to think that they remembered Josh after all these years is incredible."