Strangers have rallied around a Toronto family to restore their massive inflatable Christmas display after it was torn apart on their front lawn by a suspected vandal last week.
First reported by CTV News Toronto, Diana Goldie said that the outpouring of support she received in the days following the publication of the story has been “overwhelming.”
“It’s really nice to see how people have stepped up--people we don’t even know,” Goldie said over the phone on Tuesday.
The decorations have now returned to their former glory with a little help from a local seamstress known as the “Santa Surgeon,” a GoFundMe campaign created by a stranger which reached its $2,500 goal in a few short hours, and more than a dozen inflatables donated by Tim Hortons and Canadian Tire.
“When we were putting [the decorations] up in the last few days, we had to stop every 10 minutes because people were driving by honking their horns in support,” Goldie’s husband, Steve Jelly, said.
Goldie’s 18-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, who originally set up the decorations earlier this month, admitted that the family had planned to put an end to their more-than-a-decade-long tradition after the display was destroyed.
“We were planning not to put up any more inflatables next year and maybe just throwing up some Christmas lights instead,” Elizabeth said. “But then everyone came together and it’s just been so incredible. I’m flabbergasted.”
The family said they have also received a number of cards, some of them including cash, wishing them well and offering to help in any way they can.
However, because most of the decorations have already been replaced or repaired, Goldie said that they plan to donate the money they’ve received to charity.
And while the family acknowledges that the decorations are still vulnerable to vandalism, they hope that “lightning doesn’t strike twice” and that the tradition can continue on for years to come.
