tested positive for covid in the last week. >> with all of that, we're still out here, like all other essential workers. >> reporter: should people brace themselves and expect that things may be a little late this week? >> i think in some situations, people will be disappointed that the gifts, through the post office, and maybe other carriers, do not make it quite on time. >> reporter: private carriers are also overwhelmed. last week, u.p.s. health care president, wes wheeler, warned of gift delays, as the covid vaccine rolled out across the country. >> if it comes down to it, what gets priority? my christmas gifts? or the vaccine? >> the vaccine gets the priority on the aircraft. and if your package happens to be on that truck, you're lucky. it will be in the first priority package car going out from the

gateway. >> reporter: some shoppers are choosing to take matters into their own hands. but these long lines popping up in shopping malls as customers avoid delays. >> there's things you want to get your hands on before you buy. >> reporter: others have been left without answers. >> this year has been a disaster. >> reporter: the owners of gracie's doggy delights feel they have lost customers because of delays. >> i don't know what's causing the delays. i know they have staffing issues. i know they're being jammed up on people ordering things. they had to know this was coming. >> reporter: it sounds like you're very understanding that everyone is dealing with this. and postal carriers are doing everything they can. but there's hiccups along the way. >> we hope that people understand. we know the postal workers are working hard. we can see it in our own local carriers' faces. i understand. i'm not putting this on anybody. i hope that somebody understands on the other end that we got our stuff out.

and little patience will go a long way. >> here's to hoping all of your packages get to where they're going. errol barnett reporting. "the cbs overnight news" will be right back. ♪ up at 2:00am again? tonight, try pure zzzs all night. unlike other sleep aids, our extended release melatonin helps you sleep longer. and longer. zzzquil pure zzzs all night. fall asleep. stay asleep. ♪ birds flyin' high, you know how i feel. ♪ ♪ breeze drifting on by you know how i feel. ♪ ♪ it's a new dawn... if you've been taking copd sitting down, it's time to make a stand. start a new day with trelegy. no once-daily copd medicine has the power to treat copd

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this christmas, a lot of kids are looking forward to the new cell phone or playstation 5 under the tree. it wasn't long ago that children were happy with simple holiday gifts. here's this holiday lesson. >> reporter: they are the touchstones of our youth. >> a little wobble. >> reporter: the rock-a-stack. the xylophone. >> reporter: >> who makes our little people have an interesting time? >> reporter: and -- >> the little people. >> reporter: those little people. no matter how old we are, everyone remembers their favorite childhood toys. >> here's a toy that everyone knows, the corn popper. >> reporter: there's the lesser-known bunny scoot, introduced in 1931. one of the first batch of toys introduced by fisher-price.

they called them the 16 hopefuls. >> this is the arc of the covenant, as i call it. >> reporter: bruce fox, who used to work for the company, has collected 500 fisher-price toys and the stories to go with them. >> in 1933, this toy solved an international incident in chile. they were upset and around a table. and the american ambassador pulled this toy out of the briefcase. he pulled it on the table and the toy started walking back and forth and across the table. and everybody started laughing and they all calmed down. >> reporter: remember the chatter phone? at first, called the talkback telephone. it was a flop. >> moms didn't want to buy it because they didn't want kids talking back to them. after a year, fisher-price quit making it. and they changed the name to the chatter phone. >> reporter: all-told, more than 27 million have been sold and counting. this holiday season, cooped up

parents will spend an average of $150 on gifts for each of their kids. and fisher-price is a gold mine for many toy stores. >> i used to have one of those when i was little, emma. >> my gosh. >> can i have a camera? please. >> reporter: at the toy store in sun valley, idaho, some of the best sellers are licensed reproductions of fisher-price classics. >> you can see, you turn it. wow. >> reporter: carol knight is the store's owner. what do customers say when they see the fisher-price? >> they react and say, my gosh. i remember when i had that toy as a child. >> reporter: it's emotional. >> very emotional. there's always a smile on their face. >> reporter: it all started in the small town of east aurora, new york, in 1930. businessman herm fisher joined

forces with the city's mayor, irving price, and his illustrator wife, margaret, along with a toy shop owner named helen shelly, together, they created a line of whimsical toys. after they launched, a horrible snowstorm. and they know they have to make this delivery to macy's. >> when you're a start-up, even in 1930, you do what it takes. >> reporter: chuck is senior vice president of fisher-price. >> they believed that toys were something that would make a difference in the world. >> reporter: during world war ii, the company stopped making toys and started making aircraft parts. and shipping crates for supplies. >> they really delivered the same premise of making great things. they just supported on the war effort at that time, versus focusing on toys. >> reporter: that ability to pivot served them well again this year. when the pandemic hit, the

company released a line of thank you heroes and donated the proceeds. with more parents working from home, fisher-price is keeping them busy with toys that allow them to imitate mom and dad. it hasn't been all fun and games. >> over 30 infant fatalities occurred -- >> reporter: last year, fisher-price recalled millions of rock and play sleepers. but now, as the company marked 90 years, chuck says they have staying power. >> let's go left. >> reporter: because they embraced their roots, like their legendary play lab. >> the play lab was inspired by herm fisher's vision, that you needed to learn from children, not tell children that wwhat th wanted. observing children would help you make better toys. >> reporter: how long is the wait list to become a tester? >> the list is not as long as you would think.

particularly in 2020, we're doing virtual toy testing >> reporter: would you like to keep those toys? >> uh-huh. >> reporter: i bet. they are among the lucky ones. can you tell when a toy is, they nailed it here? this is a great one? >> i think what you are seeing right now is a good sign. >> reporter: that's music to domini dominick's ears. after all, he designed them. a dream job, years in the making. >> it started at an early age. i probably played with toys longer than most kids. >> reporter: it turns out, it was more than child's play. now, at fisher-price, he oversees the way a toy looks, moves and sounds. inspiration can strike at any time. >> the original jump-a-roo.

how can we make babies bungee jump? we came up with a great way. >> reporter: great innovation, mixed with a little nostalgia, a formula that's stood the test of time. >> reporter: anything that's part of childhood and part of positive memories, is always something you hold dear to yourself. and is something that you want for your children and your grandchildren, so that everybody, grandma and grandpa, mom and dad, and the child, share in that fisher-price connection. >> serena altshul reporting. we have a story where all of those on the wish list made it to santa. nancy chen has that story. >> reporter: outside of stockton, california, a boy named mateo, has a responsibility. >> to get letters to santa. >> reporter: diagnosed with leukemia after his second

birthday, he has spent much of his life at home, even before the pandemic. there's one visitor he always looks forward to seeing. >> i just like watching my mailman come by every day. >> reporter: that's why mateo dreams of becoming a mailman. organized by the make-a-wish foundation, visitors dropped off letters for santa, with the kindergartner as his official helper. >> he had such a hard time over the last few years. i think something like this is what he really needed. >> reporter: make-a-wish says they will transform mateo into a mail carrier when it's safe to do so. but for mateo, the joy in this job will be hard to top. with the heady responsibility of getting letters to the big guy in red. ♪ when you're feeling sad >> reporter: a special delivery

just in time for the holidays. nancy chen,

on this christmas day, it's good to remember, there's no greater gift than the gift of life, especially when it comes from a stranger thousands of miles away. chris martinez has this joyful holiday tale. >> look at him. so cute. >> reporter: it's not every day, you get to meet a real-lifeguardian angel. >> there's no words. >> that's amazing. >> to describe how grateful we are to you, michael. you saved our son's life. >> it's my honor. >> reporter: this is the first time, chad and eileen cooper are coming face-to-face with michael, who donated part of his liver, so 10-month-old jacob can live. >> your son is born with an issue. and somebody across the country you never met, shows up to save his life. >> reporter: jacob was born with

a rare disease of the liver and bile ducts that can be deadly. >> he was getting progressively sicker. he was hospitalized with infection prior to transplant. he was critically ill. >> reporter: he says jacob needed a liver transplant to survive. jacob's dad volunteered to be a donor to save his son. after undergoing testing, chad was confronted with a diagnosis of his own. >> in the c.t. scan and the mri, we found a mass near your pelvis. this needs to be seen right away. >> reporter: with chad and eileen unsuitable donors, doctors started looking for another donor. they found one weeks later, 2,000 miles away, in ohio. 64-year-old michael speck, a father and grandfather, who had donated a kidney to a minister years earlier, was now volunteering again, to donate

part of his liver to save a stranger. >> the surgeon told me it was a little 10-month-old baby. when i found that out, i burst out crying. >> reporter: in october, in the middle of the pandemic, michael traveled to los angeles for the transplant, which was a complete success. he hopes others follow his example. >> there's so many other people that can do the same thing i did. >> reporter: saving a life, and forming a forever bond. >> saving the life of a child. it's a miracle. >> you're the miracle, my friend. >> no. >> yeah. >> it's worthwhile seeing you guys. >> reporter: chris martinez, los angeles. >> our family has been through a transplant. it was the easiest decision i've made. gratitude is a powerful thing. gratitude for