Santa's Helpers

Following our story last week about an anonymous donor who paid thousands of dollars to cover the costs of layaway items at a store in Mississippi, word reaches us of similar festive generosity in Australia.

Staff at Mr Toys Toyworld on Australia's Gold Coast had the surprise of the year at their store when a woman in her late 20s or early 30s entered the store, accompanied by two other people. The unknown woman paid off all of the layaway bills at the store - totalling over $16,000. Thus ensuring that their Christmas would be merry, bright, and a whole lot more stress free. In a year that’s been especially hard for people, those who benefited from this generosity are truly grateful for the gesture.

A layaway is system of paying a deposit to secure an article for later purchase, in the hope you can afford to pay for it by then.

And that was not the end of it. About an hour later, the trio returned and brought gifts for all of the employees. Then they chose a lucky customer and walked around the store with him as he selected toys. The woman paid an additional $3,000 to $4,000 for his purchases.

“We were all speechless - it was a really crazy moment,” employee Maddie Gillespie (pictured) commented. “We didn’t get their names - all they said is to tell people it was Santa’s helpers.”