Employee Discovers Christmas Wish List, Tracks Boy Down After Reading Heartfelt Requests

Dec 16, 2021 by apost team

One of the joys of being a kid at Christmas time is writing out a list of toys that you want Santa to bring you. Children may also ask for clothes or books as well. When you get older, the lists get shorter and more expensive, as items like gadgets appear. What is rare is for a kid to ask for something intangible or altruistic for Christmas.

In 2014, Julian Huey was at Costco with his family when he lost his Christmas list somewhere in the store. One of Costco’s employees, Eric Barragan, found the list and was surprised to see that among the toys, clothes and video games there was a request for Santa to “bring peace and joy to the world,” and “just love!” Barragan was floored by these unique wishes and knew he had to try and find the owner of the list. 

Barragan also went the extra mile and bought everything on the list for the young boy and posted a picture of the list on social media to try and find out who it belonged to. Fortunately, one woman from Temecula, California, where the list was found, recognized the name scrawled on the bottom. She connected Barragan with Julian and the Huey family. Barragan also bought gifts for Julian’s siblings as well and made the holiday extra special for the whole family.

Julian’s mom, Michele Huey, said that their family relies on a military pension, and because they are a large family, money is usually tight around the holidays. Read on to learn more about this family and the amazing requests that Julian made.

The story gained attention from the media, and CBS Los Angeles had the chance to speak to the Barragan and Huey families. According to the outlet, Julian’s Christmas list only had eight wishes, and one of them included “bringing peace and joy to the world” as well as “love!” These are not the typical gift requests made by young boys, so Barragan was shocked when he first read the list.

Right away, the Costco employee knew the kid who wrote this list was not like other children. “Most kids don’t ask for those things, and I thought that was pretty special,” Barragan shared. The man wanted to reward the boy who had thought to include others on a list that was only meant to be for himself. It also showed that he valued and appreciated the love in his life.  

Julian’s family couldn’t have been happier or more surprised by Barragn’s actions. “I think I spent the first half of the last 24 hours just in shock,” Michele said. Seeing all of her kids receive wonderful gifts from a total stranger made the mother feel incredible. Especially because, as she shared, times are hard for the family with their limited income. Knowing her children had an unforgettable Christmas was a gift in itself.

Barragan got everything he could purchase off the list, but Julian noticed that something was still missing. “It’s still not everything that I wanted,” he said. “All I want, mostly, my biggest thing is a big heart to love everyone and bring joy to the world.”

apost.com

What do you think of this touching Christmas list? Would you ever buy gifts for a stranger? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your friends and family that need some holiday cheer.