Man's joke about a Walmart Christmas party turns into a toy drive with thousands of RSVPs

The holidays are a time for spreading good cheer. However, with all the preparations and shopping come frustrations of long queues and last-minute goof-ups. In a similar situation, Andrew Delgado, from New Jersey, was annoyed by Walmart’s self-checkout policy. However, his sarcastic post on Facebook about his annoyance turned into something massive. So much so that he’s being hailed as Lacey Township’s holiday hero.

Delgado’s viral Facebook event read, “Celebrating another successful year of picking, paying, and bagging your own groceries while actual employees just stand around and check receipts.” As per Good News Network, his initial plan was to hold a Christmas party at Walmart’s self-checkout counter as a joke. However, to his surprise, 21,000 people RSVP’ed to the event he posted. Due to such an overwhelming response, the man decided to turn this into an actual event.

Delgado planned to hold a toy drive where everyone who RSVP’ed would buy some toys from Walmart and camp somewhere outside to distribute the toys. Needless to say, Walmart disagreed to hold the event. Delgado persisted, but eventually, another local store came to his brilliant initiative’s rescue and the Elk’s Lodge Community helped him arrange a drop-off venue. He also posted multiple follow-up posts to let people know that the event wasn’t going to be held at Walmart and asked if they were still interested.

The responses kept pouring and more people kept showing interest in the event. It strengthened Delgado’s belief that they’ll actually be able to get something good out of the drive. “I genuinely believe that something good can come from this. Times are tough for a lot of people. I think this would be perfect,” per the outlet. What was even more surprising was that the turnout of his impromptu event was quite impressive. 7000 out of the 21000 who RSVP’ed actually showed up and there were trucks full of toys, food, and pet food up for donation.

The gifts brought joy and cheer to more than 1000 families in the town. Delgado’s final update read, “Well, our journey has finally reached the official end. We rolled over to Popcorn Park Zoo to deliver the last of their donations and then stopped at Lacey Food Bank to drop off the literal shipment of boxes full of food and toys to them as well.” Nobody could’ve anticipated that a mock Facebook event would turn into a Christmas miracle for such a significant number of people.

The local Walmart owner also turned up with stuff to donate and Delgado gave him a special mention. He also added that he actually likes self-checkout. The moment came to a full circle while becoming a potential Christmas tradition that could become the essence of the season of giving for the town. Delgado posted a post-event video with the caption, “We did a lot better than I expected. Lots of nice toys, food and supplies for the animal shelter. It’s still crazy to me that this all happened. My heart feels full.” People in the comments couldn’t stop praising Andrew Delgado for his kindness and great sense of humor. The event proves that a little fun and effort can turn any situation in your favor.