Marquita Allen usually dishes out donuts to customers through the drive-thru window as part of her job at Dunkin' Donuts in Panama City Beach. But, it was a shock when she was on the receiving end of something sweet.

Allen said, "Nothing like this has ever happened in my whole life."

Marquita is expecting a baby in a few weeks, but wasn't expecting a drive-thru baby shower thrown by complete strangers.

"They showed up this morning and surprised her and just starting coming through the window, handing out gifts, one after the other," said Dunkin' Donuts manager Eric Wibberley.

Car after car passed gifts through the Dunkin' Donuts drive-thru for Marquita and her family. Paul Allmaras, who gave a gift, said, "It's nice to be able to help somebody that's in need."

Allen Newton, pastor at Woodlawn United Methodist Church, thought of the idea one day after Marquita served him through the drive-thru: "I didn't really know her, she didn't really know me, but I knew she was expecting. When I left, the thought came to me, you need to give this girl a shower, and my first response was this is crazy."

Crazy or not, Newton invited his congregation to surprise Marquita with the baby shower earlier this month as part of their Christmas ministry. Tara Bench, Marquita's co-worker, said, "It's just so incredible that people during these hard economic times really can just get together and do something nice for someone they don't even really know."

Marquita and her husband were at a loss for words as the gifts kept coming through the window. Her husband Andrew commented, "Stuff like this doesn't happen to us." Marquita said, "I don't know what to say. I have no idea. I want to cry and I want to jump and it's better than Christmas. It really is."

Pastor Newton says this is a perfect and simple example of keeping the Christmas spirit alive.