Christmas came early for dozens of Tennessee families this year, thanks to the generosity of a super secret Santa.
As PEOPLE reported, unidentified individual recently showed up at a Walmart store in the city of Bristol and anonymously donated nearly $65,000 to cover the cost of all the items currently being kept on layaway.
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One customer, Lloyd Leonard, admitted he was rightfully confused when he got a notification saying his items had been paid off.
In fact, as he told WJHL , he thought it was downright weird. But the store’s manager quelled his confusion by letting him know that it definitely wasn’t a fluke — someone had actually paid off his balance.
“She said, ‘Yeah somebody came in this morning at 6 o’clock and paid everybody’s layaway’,” Leonard recalled to the outlet. “’But he wants me to tell you that he loves you, God bless you and Merry Christmas’.”
Another shopper, April Hilliard, said she was overcome with emotion when she found out her balance had been covered.
“The emotional type that I am, I just broke,” she told WJHL. “I just started crying.”
“That restores my faith,” she continued. “It’s like a Christmas miracle. He’s Santa, that’s what he is. He’s a Santa to everyone here.”
In total, the “Secret Santa” donated $64,995.51 to cover the entire store’s layaway balance.
Store manager Kris Light said random acts of kindness, like the one the stranger has shown, are especially poignant during the holiday season.
“[It] serves as another example of the generosity our customers show year-round,” she said in a statement, as per PEOPLE . “We’re honored to play a small role in these acts of kindness and we love seeing the joy it brings to our customers this time of year.”
