TWO Leamington youngsters were granted an early Christmas wish as hundreds of toys turned up on their doorstep.
To celebrate The Entertainer’s 35th birthday, the retailer decided to run a festive competition by handing over £15,000 worth of goodies to one lucky raffle winner.
Eight-year-old Henry and six-year-old Olivia decided to enter the prize draw with their mum – and the family were stunned to receive a phone call at the end of November to say they had won.
The win defied odds of 38,000/1, and furthermore – as a gesture of goodwill – the siblings decided to donate the majority of toys to charity so even more youngsters can experience some festive joy this Christmas.
Henry and Olivia’s prize includes some of this year’s top toys, including Hatchimals, Furby, Nerf and Lego.
A lorry crammed full with boxes containing toys turned up on a shocked Henry’s doorstep, and in true Christmas style Santa’s helpful elves were on hand to deliver the prizes.
The pair’s mum, who entered the competition while shopping for a birthday present, admitted she wouldn’t have entered the draw had she been in a rush.
She added: “We were talking to this lovely man and he handed out this competition scratch card to the kids, which unfortunately they didn’t win.
“But he then mentioned to fill out this prize draw and I wasn’t in a rush so I put my name down and thought nothing of it.
“I then had this amazing phone call which told me we’d won and I couldn’t believe it.
“We’re donating some items as raffle prizes over the year so many of the toys will benefit various charities which is lovely of Henry to do.”
Phil Geary, marketing manager at The Entertainer, explained the idea to hand out so many toys came about when one of his colleague’s children said it would be a dream come true to receive every toy in the festive catalogue.
And it would seem this isn’t the last time the national competition will take place as he added the company will repeat the competition, and possibly make next time open to more families.
He said: “It wasn’t my average day at work.
“This is the first time we’ve handed out a prize that’s been so grand.
“It’s a lovely decision by the family to donate the majority of the toys to charity, Gary Grant – owner of The Entertainer – is a great charity man and we donate 10 per cent of our profits to charity every year.
“The fact the family have chosen to give away a proportion of the gifts sits very well with us.”
