The Holiday Spirit Strikes a Danbury Couple

A Danbury couple were dining out Tuesday night with friends when they realized they want to do something close to home for a needy family.

So on Wednesday, the Danbury man called Mayor Mark Boughton, asking if he and his wife could take out a family in need to spend $500 on them for Christmas.

"A gentleman called me, and said he'd like to take a family out shopping. The man wanted to go to Khol's or to the," said Boughton, who tweeted the good news soon after hanging up with the man, who wanted to be anonymous. "I think it's a wonderful thing."

So far, the shopping trip has not been arranged, said the man, who told Patch he did not want to reveal his name for fear of being deluged with telephone calls after the story appeared.

Boughton also wants to keep the family anonymous. However, he said the city's Department of Human Services is matching up a needy family with the man and his wife.

The man told Patch that he and his wife, who have three children and 10 grandchidren, donate to many organizations, including and The reason they liked this idea is because they wanted to go along with the family for the shopping trip and maybe have lunch with them after. "We donate a lot of money but we don't see how it impacts anyone," the man said. He said by going shopping along with the family "you'll get to see what the reaction of the kids is."

"Children, that's what Christmas is all about," he said.