Stories of layaway angels, or ordinary shoppers who pay off strangers’ layaway tabs in the weeks before Christmas or the beginning of the school year, proliferate in the news at this time of year. They make the legend of Santa Claus—someone who gives gifts while asking for nothing in return—literally come true. [More]
layaway angels
‘Santa B’ Strikes Again: Layaway Angel Pays For $50K Worth Of Gifts At PA Walmart
By 12.9.16
It’s that time of year again, when we’re happy to hear about shoppers performing good deeds and random acts of kindness. Some of those warm-hearted folks we know better than others, including Pennsylvania’s “Santa B” layaway angel, who has now covered the cost of Walmart shoppers’ layaway items for the third year in a row. [More]
More “Layaway Angels” Pay For $306K In Gifts At Four Walmart Stores
By 12.16.15
Just hours after “Santa B.,” a so-called layaway angel, shelled out $79,000 to pay for toys and other gifts at a Pennsylvania Walmart, another generous person was paying off $106,000 in balances on layaway orders at two Walmart stores just a state away in Ohio. [More]
‘Tis The Season: Secret ‘Santa B’ Pays For $79K In Layaway Gifts At Pennsylvania Walmart
By 12.15.15
Each year, so-called “layaway angels” visit retailers covering the remaining balances of orders that strangers had planned to pay for over time. This year is no different, as one generous person shelled out $79,000 to pay for toys and other gifts on layaway at a Pennsylvania Walmart. [More]
Another Layaway Angel Swoops In, Pays $50K Worth Of Bills At Pennsylvania Walmart
By 12.16.14
In a season where there can be Grinches around every corner and bah-humbuggers just waiting to get ya, it’s always fun to hear about those layaway angels who go around paying off other shoppers’ bills all in one fell swoop. We’ve landed a big one today, folks — someone’s just paid off $50,000 in layaway items in Pennsylvania. [More]
Layaway Angels Fan Out, Hit West Virginia And Tennessee
By 12.15.14
Layaway is a useful tool that some retailers only offer during the holiday season. Let lets consumers without access to credit pick out gifts and pay them off over time––and, as one mother pointed out to me, keeps gifts hidden at the store, far away from impatient, snooping kids. Layaway was dying out before the Great Recession, and came back with its own folk heroes: the Layaway Angels. [More]
Santa Exists, Dropped $20K To Pay Off Toys ‘R’ Us Layaway Accounts
By 12.12.14
News stories about “layaway angels,” people who stop by a retailer’s layaway counter and pay off the balances of strangers, became very popular during the holiday season of 2011. They’ve since become a recurring tradition, and this year we have mostly heard about people spending five-figure amounts to pay off everyone’s balance in a show of generosity. [More]
Secret Santa Gifts $15K To Pay For Strangers’ Walmart Layaway Items
By 12.5.14
It’s that time of year again, when generous folks around the country pop in to their local retailers and plunk down a pile of cash to make strangers’ holidays happier by paying for their layaway purchases. This time, some secret Santa in Ohio left a substantial $15,000 gift under shoppers’ trees. [More]
Kmart Builds Holiday Ad Campaign Around Layaway Angels Of 2011
By 12.20.12 — Updated: 12.21.12
So far this year, we’ve mostly shared tales of people complaining about the process of purchasing items at Kmart using layaway. Last year, something inspiring started to happen. People, including our very own readers, would walk up to the customer service desk at their local Kmart and offer to pay off the layaway balance of a random family. The “layaway angels,” media outlets began to call them. The idea spread nationwide, mostly in Kmart stores. This year, Kmart has built an ad campaign around them. [More]
