A United Parcel Service worker inadvertently became one of Santa's favorite elves, after he went above and beyond to help one family keep Christmas magical. UPS driver Josh Satkin stopped at a home in Warwick, New York, on December 18, while making deliveries on his usual route.
Now, he's being cheered online for going the extra mile to carefully hide a box so the kids who lived there would be none the wiser.
Homeowners Mike and Megan Delaney caught the whole thing on their Ring camera.
The video that's going viral shows Satkin unloading a large box from his truck and placing it against the family's garage. It's clear from the video that Satkin knows the contents of the box are important (because the image on its front clearly depicts what's inside), which is why he wheeled over two of the Delaneys' garbage cans to wedge the box between.
Then, just to make sure that prying eyes really couldn't see the goods, he placed a piece of cardboard on top of the hiding place for good measure.
Megan Delaney later said she watched the whole thing in real time and was relieved when she saw that Satkin had gone the extra step to keep it hidden.
Both parents get alerts from their camera system when someone is in their driveway, which is how Megan Delaney was able to see the whole thing play out, even though she was out with her kids for the day.
"And then I see the box, and I'm like, oh no," she recalled, admitting that she was momentarily worried the surprise would be ruined for her then 4-year-old as soon as they returned home. But that's exactly when Satkin made his move.
"I'm like, 'Yes, he saved Christmas,'" the mom told ABC 7. "He covered it."
The parents posted the video on social media, as a way to thank Satkin for his helpful actions.
They also thanked him in person the next time they saw the UPS driver, who admitted he had no idea he was even being recorded — he just knew that if he didn't hide that box, the holiday would be a little less special.
"It makes it even so much cooler that no one's watching and he's doing an act of kindness just because," Megan Delaney explained. "It's amazing that he did that for us."
A statement from UPS explained that Satkin's quick thinking is all part of the job UPS drivers strive to do well each and every day.
"UPS drivers are trained to deliver packages in a way that keeps them out of sight as much as possible," a company representative noted in a statement. "Sometimes they need to get creative, especially when making deliveries such as this one for the holidays."
And oh, how thankful we are when they do!
