Asa Padilla thought the $300 worth of toys she put on layaway on Black Friday were going back on the shelf.
"I had $28 to my name then and I came in to see what I could put on layaway," Padilla said.
But a bout with the flu had her laid up for a week and a half. She doesn't have paid time off.
"I was starting to struggle and stress about finances and then I was worrying about our Christmas layaway," she said.
So she arranged payment plans with her utilities and cell phone carrier. The presents are all for her son, 3-year-old Azias.
"Then I just got a check for $252 from work and was getting ready to cash it," she said.
Her plan was to pay for some of the toys she had on layaway at the Toys "R" Us at Talking Stick Shopping Center. But she didn't have to.
"They called and said a Christmas Santa paid for everything in full. My toys are ready to be picked up," Padilla said.
With a race track, an archery set, and the big one -- a drum set -- the total was close to $300.
"I began to cry because these things only happen in the movies, not in real life," she said.
And people in that plaza are beginning to wonder. The Toys "R" Us is just steps from the 5 and Diner, that's where a $2,000 tip was given to the wait staff over the weekend.
Regardless of who the secret Santa or Santas are, she wants him or her to know this: "From the bottom of my heart how truly grateful I am for the gift you gave us this year, not just for me, but for my son," she said.
The manager at Toys "R" Us at Talking Stick Plaza couldn't say exactly how many layaway tabs were paid, only saying there were "several".
