One of childhood’s greatest joys is celebrating a birthday.
All her son wanted for his 5th birthday was a manta ray stuffed animal.
When single mom and Reddit user, Wildfire Smile, couldn’t afford to buy the one birthday gift her son wanted most, she decided to take matters into her own hands. She turned his old baby blanket into an adorable manta ray stuffed animal.
She posted a photo of her creation on Reddit with the caption:
My son wanted a stuffed manta ray for his 5th birthday but I didn’t have money to buy one, so instead I converted his old baby blanket into one! (Hand sewn) – (Reddit – Wildfire Smile)
She couldn’t believe the responses she received from her message posted to the “PovertyFinance” forum on Reddit. Her post garnered thousands of supportive comments and over 66,000 likes.
The positive comments started rolling in along with more stuffed animal sea friends for her son.
The single mom’s initial shock and gratitude for the outpouring of love and encouragement prompted her to write a response to her supporters.
“I’m going to get buried in my own post but thank you all for the overwhelming love and support. I never expected this to get more than a few views, honestly thought I’d get roasted. Thank you for making a mom who has been fighting like hell for her kids and is exhausted and defeated feel loved. You guys are amazing. Truly, even if it sounds cringe, I know it’s just Reddit but y’all have lifted my spirits tonight and I cannot overstate how thankful I am for that. ❤️”
The ‘Internet Santas’ save the day.
Not only did this grateful mom receive a ton of support online, but she also started receiving a bunch of stuffed animals. One fuzzy sea creature after the next made its way to her door and they were all for her son. She couldn’t believe how complete strangers had swooped in and made her son’s birthday a success.
“I posted on Reddit about making my son a stuffed manta ray by hand since we were too broke to buy him one. Redditors from all over the world proceeded to send him all sorts of stuffed Manta Rays and other sea animals giving my ocean-obsessed son his best birthday ever!” – (Reddit – Wildfire Smile)
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