'Secret Santa' takes charge of Walmart customers in Vermont

They do not know his name. They really do not know anything about him, except a fan of the Patriots.

But the people of Derby, Vermont, are grateful for a secret Santa Claus who entered a Walmart store on Nov. 15 and bought the note from almost everyone – including charges on items set aside for the customers who were not even there.

Client Julie Gates took a picture of the mysterious man – who paid for his purchases that day – while he was away. His face is not visible, but he is wearing a New England Patriots jacket.

At first, Gates said she was incredulous.

As she approached the register with a delivery box, a man asked her if she "put something in layaway." She said yes, referring to her package, but she had not finished shopping yet. The man told him that he would wait until she finished and pay everything.

"I mocked a little thinking," This guy must be crazy, "she says. Gates went around the store looking for holiday gifts with her mother and son as she had planned.

Indeed, when Gates returned, the man was still there, waiting. And when his account totaled $ 199, he used his card to pay.

"I said," Who can afford that? And he replied, "Santa Claus can," said Gates.

Gates said she did not even notice the man at first, as he seemed to be an "ordinary, ordinary guy". But she thinks her gesture of kindness will go far.

"I know there are a lot of people in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont who have been so, absolutely helped," said Gates, referring to the northeast corner of the state. Kindness means even more at the end of the fall and winter, she said, when heating bills are on the rise.

An employee at the store confirmed the generosity of the anonymous buyer, although Walmart officials declined to say how many people he helped or how much he spent.

After posting an article on the act of kindness on Facebook, Gates told other friends and neighbors that the store had told them that their default fees had also been paid. A couple of Gates spoke to Walmart that day saying that the man had paid their $ 800 bill.

When she asked the man's name to thank him, he replied, "Kris Kringle".

"I left the store, moved, tears in my eyes," she said. "A man who knew none of us would simply like to enter a Walmart located in a small place like Vermont and pay for everyone's lay-off."

It was like watching a Christmas movie, she said.

"The only message that he would like me to send you is" be nice to everyone, "said Gates. "He's an amazing man and we need more people like him."