'Layaway Angel' Pays for $20,000 Worth of Toys

Linda got the surprise of her life on Wednesday when Toys 'R' Us called her to let her know that the gifts she'd put on layaway had been paid off – by a stranger.

The "layaway angel," as she is being called, spent $20,000 at a Bellingham, Massachusetts branch of Toys 'R' Us, paying off more than 150 accounts, the Milford Daily News reports.

"I thought, 'You have to be kidding me,' " Linda told the paper of the moment when she heard the news. "I almost wanted to cry. It was only $50, but to me that's a lot of money, and that someone would go and do that gave me chills."

She added: "What she did was so caring and thoughtful. I feel like I was part of something special – touched by an angel."

The individual in question wishes to remain anonymous, but employees describe her as "bubbly older woman" who said that she would "sleep better at night" by doing the good deed.

And she's not the first: So-called 'Layaway Santas' are on the rise after a story by the Associated Press highlighted the do-gooders in 2011.