Every year, parents spend hundreds of dollars making sure their children get everything they want for Christmas – often working overtime or two jobs in order to afford their child’s expensive taste. While most kids show their appreciation with a thank you and a hug, others take their appreciation one step further.
During last year’s holiday season, Ryan Hicks – a magician and mind reader best known by his stage name Ryan Tricks – was driving through a neighborhood when he noticed a young boy standing on the side of the road in the freezing cold – he had a cardboard sign sitting next to a bunch of his used toys.
Ryan decides to pull up alongside the little boy – who was 10 years old – to get a closer look at his sign, which read: “Toys For Sale For Mums Christmas Present.” Curious to learn more, he proceeds to ask the little boy why he decided to sell all of his old toys. The answer this boy gives should go down in history.
“My mum does a lot for me. And she does weekend shifts so she can buy me Christmas presents and gets extra money. So I thought I’d sell the toys that I don’t really [want anymore] to buy her a Christmas present,” the little boy explained. Ryan Hicks, who was blown away at this, saw an opportunity to help.
The little boy goes on to explain that his mother doesn’t know he’s selling his toys to buy her a present, but his grandmother – who was inside the house – was in on it. While he admitted to being outside for an hour and a half, he unfortunately hadn’t sold anything yet – despite having some pretty good stuff for sale.
Wanting to help, Ryan started to ask how much some of the items were – he was selling a Hoverboard for 10 pounds (equivalent to about $12), a King Kong action figure for 2-3 pounds (around $4), and a Mario Kart track for 10 pounds ($12). Ryan was thoroughly surprised at how generous he was with the prices.
“You know what, because this is absolutely amazing and I can’t believe you’re doing this for your mum – seriously your mum’s going to be super proud of you,” Ryan Tricks says – giving the boy a high five as he introduced himself. “Now, I want to buy all of these toys off of you,” he adds – much to the boy’s surprise.
Ryan Hicks Helps Little Boy Achieve Christmas Goal
When Ryan Hicks offered to buy all the toys from the little boy, he quickly and humbly replied, “Are you sure?” Establishing that he was serious, Hicks asked the little boy how much he would sell everything for – keep in mind, he was selling nearly a dozen of his old toys and some of them were worth a good penny.
“50 [pounds],” the little boy responds – which caught Hicks off guard. “50 pounds for all the toys? Do you know what? 50 pounds, I think, it’s a bit cheap, right?” he says – referencing all the toys he has for sale (including a Hoverboard). To ensure the boy wasn’t ripped off, he made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
He offers to give the boy 100 pounds, but he initially refuses – saying 50 pounds would be just fine. “Seriously, it’s Christmas and you’re out here in the freezing cold,” he says. After the boy takes the money, he asks Ryan if he can give him a hug. “Of course you can,” he responds – but that’s not all.
Hicks had one last surprise for this little boy. Since he was doing all of this for his mother, he wanted to make sure the boy got something for himself. So, he gave him another 100 pounds to spend on himself and ended up not taking any of the toys – that way, he got what he wanted without giving up any toys.