Weatherford family gets Christmas surprise

A Weatherford family thought they were getting just a free meal at a Weatherford Olive Garden restaurant. Instead, they got a huge holiday surprise, complete with gifts and a visit from Santa.

The family is a couple who helps kids who either don't have parents or come from broken homes. Right now, they're helping nine kids, and when the restaurant had the chance to help them, the community showed up in a big way.

The children, part of a faith-based ministry called A Place For Grace, got Christmas gifts that were collected over the past three weeks from employees and customers at the restaurant.

"We had some people throw in their whole tips from a shift, you know, crazy amounts of money,” said waitress Kayla Falls. “They're struggling to make bills. It's almost Christmas and they're giving us all that they have.”

And when nearby businesses heard about the gift collection for the family, they jumped at the chance to help.

"I went to the chiropractor on my break today and they pitched in a couple bucks,” said Falls. “I mean, everybody’s just more than happy to give whatever they can.”