What started as a joke has now become a holiday treat.
A recent sarcastic Facebook event called the “Walmart Self-Checkout Employee Christmas Party” in Lanoka Harbor struck quite a note recently after over 20,000 people responded to the event.
Created on Nov. 26, the event was described as “celebrating another successful year of picking, paying, and bagging your own groceries while actual employees just stand around and check receipts.” The reaction on Facebook was explosive.
Thousands of people responded, many with similar jokes, and a few Grinchy comments mixed in, as well.
Many comments joked about the idea of celebrating the practice of checking yourself out at the store while employees, repurposed as checkout monitors, keep a close watch in the checkout queue.
A swell of holiday cheer grew behind the idea of actually meeting up at Walmart in Lanoka over the last few weeks. The organizer, Andrew Delgado, floated the idea of really meeting up, purchasing a mountain of toys and donating the gifts to charities outside the store.
Delgado said he discussed the idea with with Walmart, and in a posted update said he plans to turn the event into a supply and toy drive for the less fortunate this holiday season. Sign-up sheets quickly circulated in the comments on the event page.
“I had no idea that this was gonna get as big as it did and while they [Walmart] did also find it funny, there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of interest in having an actual event at the Lanoka Harbor store,” Delgado wrote in a post last Friday.
“With that being said, we came to the agreement that it would be amazing if we turned this into something positive for families in need.”
Delgado did not immediately return a message Wednesday with questions.
Delgado’s update noted that police were on alert and urged people not to show up to the Lanoka Harbor Walmart for the joke event. An Amazon list of donations was created and shared on the event page Tuesday, as well as a wish list from the Popcorn Park Zoo, identified as one of the organizations that people can donate to.
In addition, the Lacey Elk’s Lodge in Forked River volunteered to host a collection event on Dec. 15. The event will collect unwrapped toys and other donations for the Lacey Food Bank Kids, the Lacey Food Bank, or pet food or blankets for the Popcorn Park Zoo. That event will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Matthew Enuco may be reached at Menuco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Matt on X
