A “Secret Santa” surprised two shoppers with $100 each in swiftly delivered Christmas cards at a western Pennsylvania mall.  

The Indiana Gazette reported that both incidents happened at the Indiana Mall, about 45 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

Brenda Shirley says she and her husband Tim were at the mall about 9:45 p.m. December 14 when a woman handed them a card with the words “open me” written on it. Inside was $100.

Dave Brozick, of Blairsville, says he had a similar experience, also that Friday, when a woman dropped another “open me” card in his lap. It also contained $100.

Brozick and the Shirleys both say the woman left before they could thank her.

Brenda Shirley says the lady “came out of nowhere ... we looked up and she was gone.”

Source: The Indiana Gazette, http://www.indianagazette.com

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How to Turn $1 into $5,500

A Santa Fe woman has parlayed her sister’s $1 investment in an old ammunition box into a $5,500 payout.

Marlene Arsola received the check one week from the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

She tells the Albuquerque Journal that her sister bought a couple of metal ammunition boxes for $1 each at an auction about eight years ago.

One box was empty but the other had shredded currency.

Arsola’s sister took the bills that were partially intact to the bank and received $400 to $500 for them. She turned over the smaller shreds to Arsola, who enjoys doing puzzles.

She didn’t put the pieces together but eventually contacted the Treasury Department about the mutilated money.

She discovered the check in her mail soon after.

Source: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com