Toyworld staff, customers ‘teary eyed’ as mystery man pays off every layby at Helensvale store

A secret and very generous Santa has spread Christmas cheer across the Gold Coast by paying off everyone’s laybys at a local toy shop.

The mystery man paid the balance owing on every layby item at Toyworld in Helensvale, with the only condition being his identity be kept a secret.

Gold Coast local Brooklyn Manu received a call saying a generous gentleman had walked into the store and told the manager he would foot the bill for every layby item — including the presents she was paying off for her children.

“We were very teary eyes, all of us were,” Toyworld manager Aleka Riggs told 7NEWS.

“It’s a feel-good thing you don’t see a lot, it’s beyond kindness — really amazing someone would do that.”

Four weeks out from Christmas, and in a cost-of-living crisis, 40 families have now been saved thousands of dollars.

“Just thank you again, I can only imagine there are a lot of families that might be struggling to pay those laybys off,” Riggs said.

The random act of kindness has been seen before at some stores around the country, with the tradition stretching back to 2020 when a mystery woman paid off $16,000 worth of gifts in a Burleigh Waters store.

A year later in 2021, an elderly Victorian couple performed the incredible act of kindness for 82 strangers after a difficult year in their regional community.

“These two beautiful people just wanted to change some people’s lives, and it was their time to be able to give back,” store manager Debra said at the time.

“There was a beautiful gentleman I spoke to that had twin boys who have a birthday next week and had $5 in the bank. We had goosebumps.”