Stranger pays off $8,300 in checks for customers at toy shop
They say the Christmas period is a time for joy, and nothing could be truer for customers at a toy shop in Western Australia.
That's because a very secret Santa has this week surprised shoppers at Toyworld in Bunbury - 170km south of Perth - by paying off $8,300 of their checks.
News of the anonymous benefactor first broke on social media after the store's two owners - brothers Rick and Harvey Baker - revealed that the donor was a local businessman.
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Other than this one key detail, the duo have kept tight-lipped about his identity.
"It has been truly amazing being able to share this news with our customers and see their joy ... upon collecting their lay-bys," the brothers wrote in an online post.
"What a wonderful Christmas gesture to share some joy among the Bunbury community."
In conversation with 7NEWS.com.au, Rick and Harvey revealed that the generous individual in question had told them he'd enjoyed a good year financially, and that he wanted to pass on some of his success.
Harvey confessed: "I was gobsmacked, over the moon and all the emotions that come with it.
"We kept it in-house for about two weeks and then broke the news to customers as they came in."
The toyshop owner added that is had been a particularly overwhelming few weeks, after witnessing first-hand how the world's ongoing cost of living and houses crises had affected the wellbeing of some parents during the run up to Christmas.
Harvey went on to explain how delighted he was to have the honour of telling mums and dads visiting the store the incredible news.
One specific tale summarised just how much the generous donation meant to him, after a single father - who'd recently lost his job - bursting into tears when told his $275 toy bill was accounted for.
As mentioned, the global cost of living crisis is affecting citizens of almost every country around the world, last month, one US man shocked his followers by revealing how little groceries he was able to purchase with $100 during a recent food shopping trip.
TikToker Carenstino decided to show his followers exactly how hard the crisis has got by showing his purchases online.
He captioned the clip: “I’m literally shaking from shock… something needs to change.”
After shopping for ‘very basic’ items, he says: “This is getting out of hand. It’s to a point where people can’t live.”
Carenstino panned over to his his $100 grocery shop, which looked like a very tiny pile.
“You’re telling me this is $100? This isn’t even barely anything to feed me for a couple of days," he adds.
He then reveals a small pack of chicken, a dozen eggs, rice, juices, body wash, deodorant, English muffins, stationery and canned energy drinks.
"$100 for this? Excuse me?" he says in utter disbelief.
One person wrote in the video's comment section: "I used to make family dinner 6 years ago for $40. The same exact dinner cost $90 now."
Another added: "Grocery prices have become absurdly high.”
And one user even claimed: “We’ve literally hit the point where it’s now cheaper to eat out.”
Rhianna Benson