Secret Santas get sneaky

ELKHART, Ind. – Christmas cheer covered Lorrie and Charles Kryder’s home on Friday.

The sparkle of red, greed, and tinsel glared throughout their living room. Lorrie Kryder said, “We got a tree, we got the presents under it, yeah.”

It’s obvious, their family loves Christmas, but this year the Kryder’s almost skipped the holiday. With no presents there was no tree, no lights, no ornaments, nothing.

“There was nothing Christmas in here,” Charles Kryder said they just could not get into the holiday spirit, “It’s been a tough year.”

This is the couple’s first year together as a married couple, and when their families merged their Christmas list doubled.

C. Kryder said, “We got, well you can see by the stockings on the wall, nine grandkids.”

With so many to shop for, the two picked out all the gifts for their grandkids before Thanksgiving and put them all on layaway at K-Mart.

The Kryders had until this Friday, Dec. 16, to pay for all the gifts, but they didn’t have the money.

“The last couple of days wondering how we’re going to get it all out and what we could put back,” C. Kryders said.

If they didn’t pay in full, all the presents they had picked out for their grandkids would be put back and the Kryders would be out of luck.

“They was almost ready to be put back on the shelf,” L. Kryder said.

Then on Friday, Lorrie Kryder got a phone call from K-Mart, the woman on the phone told her someone paid off her family’s one hundred and nine dollar layaway balance.

“I’m like I have no idea who did it, so hearing it was a secret Santa is pretty unbelievable,” C. Kryder said.

The Secret Santa, a man did not give his name or any contact information, just a message, “To tell us to have a Merry Christmas,” C. Kryder said, “And that we had made their Christmas being able to help us.”

L. Kryder said he was amazed, “You just don’t think that stuff goes on, so it was a blessing for us for sure.”

Now, all the of presents for “Papa & Nana” are wrapped, under the tree, ready to be torn open.

“From the bottom of our hearts, thank you, it really, really helped make our Christmas,” C. Kryder said.