The US has a new Christmas tradition. Wealthy secret Santas are popping up across the country and paying off toy shop bills to spread festive cheer and help struggling families.
Mystery donors have called at three branches of Toys R Us in Massachusetts to pay off lay-away accounts - plans that allow customers to spread the cost of Christmas over several weeks.
In the biggest windfall, a visitor described by staff in Boston as a "bubbly older woman" paid $20000 towards other people's lay-away accounts.
"If you have it, give it," said the anonymous woman, according to The Milford Daily News.
Days later, another store reported a similar episode. This time the bill was $19600 to close 125 accounts. A spokesman for Toys R Us said: "It's what the holidays are all about."
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