Children truly make Christmas magical. Christmas is special in its own right, but having kids around and seeing the wonder and excitement in their eyes always bumps up the holiday spirit.
Plenty of kids focus on what presents under the tree have their names scrawled across them, but some find that there is joy in giving.
Since most kids aren’t flush with cash, their presents are usually handmade works of art, ornaments or other tokens of affection that parents and grandparents deeply appreciate.
But not for a young man named Gabe. Gabe had his eye on just the thing for his mom, and he had to be creative to buy it.
His mother, who goes by El Marie on Facebook, posted an account of their unusual shopping trip on Facebook the day before Christmas. They went to Target on the morning of Christmas Eve, and Gabe went off to run a few errands of his own while she shopped.
When she pulled up to a checkout lane, a woman interrupted her. “Your son is something special,” she said. “He is an absolute angel!”
“Then, as I approached the checkout, I noticed three or four employees scurrying around, and giving me sly looks,” the mom recounted in her post. “One was carrying a roll of wrapping paper. Gabe comes running over to me with ‘Mom, don’t look. Dont come yet. I’m not through with your gift yet.’”
Confused, she asked her son where he was getting the money to pay for this.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=577177196054799&set=a.130197444086112&type=3
“What are you talking about, Boy?” she asked. “You dont have any money.”
“I just need that $20 I made from working at your job last week,” he replied, and so she handed it over while onlookers smiled knowingly. Everyone seemed to understand what was going on except for her.
When it was her turn to check out, the cashier told her again that she had an amazing son. Still confused, the mom finished up and met her son at the door. He was carrying a large, wrapped box.
“Mom, I heard you say you wanted this,” he said. “I hope you love it when you open it on Christmas.”
“Gabe. . How did you pay for this? And. . . Target doesn’t wrap presents. How did you get this one wrapped?”
“I didnt want you to see it so the people wrapped it. I want it to be a surprise.”
Still unsure how Gabe managed to pay, mom was shocked at his explanation and wrote that “this is when I lost it, emotionally.”
“Gabe: When they rang it up it was $80,” he said. “I didnt have that much, and I told them I wanted to get you this surprise, so a lady in line behind me paid the other $60.”
“Me: Wh. . aat, Gabe? What lady? Did you know her? Did you thank her?”
“Gabe: (nonchalantly) Yes, Mom. . I hugged her, I thanked her a whole bunch, and I said ‘God bless you.’”
https://www.facebook.com/100012875708551/videos/577558252683360/
On Christmas day, Gabe filmed his mom opening up the much-anticipated gift. It turns out that he had noticed his mom’s winter coat was a little worse for wear, and wanted to get her a new one.
“I certainly underestimated my Gabe,” the overwhelmed mother said on Facebook. “I would really like to thank the woman who showed my Chocolate Drop love in action, and renewed my faith in people. Please share our story in the hopes that it might reach her, allowing me the opportunity to thank her in person for her kindness.”
