A secret Santa paid off more than $10,000 of holiday layaway bills on Friday for customers of a New Jersey Toys “R” Us store.
The Good Samaritan, who only identified himself to reporters as “Charlie K.,” said he patronized the Cherry Hill Toys “R” Us to shop for a gift for his son, but decided to buy a few extra gifts this year, the Associated Press reports.
Charlie K. paid for 62 strangers’ layaway orders totaling $10,780 and bought $2,000 worth of merchandise to be donated to Toys for Tots.
The man said he wanted to make some “Christmas wishes” come true for people.
“Just trying to bring some happiness to people. That’s really it. Help give back to the community that brought so much happiness to me and my family,” Charlie K. told KYW.
Shoppers who showed up later to pick up their layaway items paid for by the anonymous donor expressed their surprise and gratitude.
“We usually have secret Santas but not to that volume,” one of the customers said.
Secret Santas paying off accounts at department stores are common around the holiday season.
In December 2016, a secret Santa known as “Santa B” paid off more than $46,000 in layaway items at a Walmart in Pennsylvania.
In 2015, an anonymous donor visited two Ohio Walmarts and paid off 106,000 layaway items. That same year, a secret Santa paid off $200,000 worth of layaway items at two Florida locations.