Stranger makes the wishes of two small girls come true.
In December, Luna and Gianella Gonzalez, 4-year-old twins from Kansas, released star-shaped balloons with their holiday gift wish list attached for Santa.
The sisters' mother, Leticia Gonzalez, told Good Morning America that while the balloon sendoff was a special moment for the girls, she had no expectations that anyone would respond to wishes written on the balloons, least of all Santa. "It was a windy day and I just thought it was going to get lost, get caught up in a tree," said Leticia.
The balloons didn't reach the North Pole, but one of them made its way to Alvin Bamburg in Lousiana, 600 miles to the south. That could be described as the wrong direction but, as it turned out, it wasn't.
Bamburg retrieved the note on the balloon, which revealed that Luna had asked Santa for candy, a Spider-Man ball, a Frozen doll, a puppy, and a My Little Pony, while Gianella asked for candy, stickers, flowers, earrings, and a My Little Pony, too.
"I opened it, and it was a Christmas list. I just had to do something for them," Bamburg told GMA.
Bamburg decided to post a photo of the note on Facebook and eventually learned who released the balloon for Santa. With help from family and friends, he shipped all the gifts - with the exception of the puppy - to the Gonzalez household
"We did not expect it," said Leticia. "It was a big surprise to us."
But Bamburg wasn't done there: he and his wife bought a puppy named Max for the twins and, in the Spring, drove hours from Louisiana to Kansas to gift the canine to Luna and Gianella in person. How nice is that!