On Jan. 3, the Ellen show surprised single mom Stacey Sortor and her four children, including  Lafayette grad Alex Sortor and her younger brother, Mitchell, a sophomore.

With money tight, the family was unable to create a Christmas full of presents for each other so Alex wrote to Ellen. She expressed her gratitude for her mother’s selflessness and how blessed she and her family were regardless. The show then gave the Ellisville family more than $30,000 worth of gifts for the bonus day of the 12 Days of Giveaways.

Alex describes the moment she opened the front door to see Ellen’s elves on her front lawn.

“[It was] shocking. It was completely and utterly unbelievable. Bright lights, the sound of applause and our lawn was covered in Ellen “elves” wearing Ellen gear and Santa hats. Incredibly shocking and unbelievable.”

In addition to the gifts, Ellen is flying down the family to be a part of one of her shows.

“Going to see the Ellen DeGeneres show is going to be the most incredible experience ever. Her shows are full of fun, laughter and the best of all, dancing. We are absolutely thrilled to be heading to L.A. soon.”