{"id":10496,"date":"2011-12-21T16:25:37","date_gmt":"2011-12-21T21:25:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/news\/?p=10496"},"modified":"2011-12-21T17:17:36","modified_gmt":"2011-12-21T22:17:36","slug":"all-across-america-secret-santas-anonymously-paying-off-strangers-layaways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2011\/12\/all-across-america-secret-santas-anonymously-paying-off-strangers-layaways","title":{"rendered":"All across America, “Secret Santas” anonymously paying off strangers’ layaways"},"content":{"rendered":"

A\u00a0generosity phenomenon is spreading like wildfire this Christmas season\u00a0— “Secret Santas” walking up to layaway counters and paying off balances owed by total strangers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
A Michigan family learns of their good fortune<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The phenomenon may have begun in Michigan where\u00a0a woman paid off three layaway charges at a Grand Rapids Kmart. Media coverage prompted a slew of copycat givers. Then it spread\u00a0to stores in Nebraska, Iowa, Indiana, Montana and beyond, according to Kmart executives.<\/p>\n

Usually the benefactor swears clerks to secrecy, then asks them to find layaway accounts where children’s clothing or toys\u00a0have been put aside\u00a0— usually with the customer paying a little each month, then showing up just before Christmas with final\u00a0payment.<\/p>\n

Lori Stearnes thought it was a\u00a0prank when an Omaha\u00a0Kmart clerk called to tell her that\u00a0a Secret Santa\u00a0had paid off the $58\u00a0owed on her account, according to USA Today.<\/a> \u00a0“It was a shock, of course, and then it just made me feel warm and fuzzy,” she says. She picked up the<\/p>\n

CONTINUED on\u00a0page 2<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A\u00a0generosity phenomenon is spreading like wildfire this Christmas season\u00a0— “Secret Santas” walking up to layaway counters and paying off balances owed by total strangers. The phenomenon may have begun in Michigan where\u00a0a woman paid off three layaway charges at a Grand Rapids Kmart. Media coverage prompted a slew of copycat givers. Then it spread\u00a0to stores…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":270,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[102],"tags":[2281,1915,1914],"class_list":["post-10496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-feature","tag-christmas","tag-layaway","tag-secret-santa"],"yoast_head":"\nAll across America, "Secret Santas" anonymously paying off strangers' layaways<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2011\/12\/all-across-america-secret-santas-anonymously-paying-off-strangers-layaways\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"All across America, "Secret Santas" anonymously paying off strangers' layaways\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A\u00a0generosity phenomenon is spreading like wildfire this Christmas season\u00a0— “Secret Santas” walking up to layaway counters and paying off balances owed by total strangers. 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