"There are good people out there:" Stranger pays off layaway Christmas gifts

“There are good people out there:” Stranger pays off layaway Christmas gifts

SHEBOYGAN (WITI) -- A secret Santa strikes in Sheboygan! Christmas gifts on layaway at Walmart were paid for by an anonymous donor.

There are signs all around that Christmas is here. For a Sheboygan family struggling to make ends meet, a special gift was delivered this season -- but not from Santa.

"I don't know who you are but you made my day. You made my son's day," said Tina Grunow, received Christmas surprise.

Grunow had a PlayStation on layaway at Walmart since September.

"It was my son's birthday gift, his graduation gift, and it was going to be everything all in one gift for Christmas," said Grunow.

Except the price tag, $500 seemed more like a holiday dream.

Last week, Grunow expected a payment reminder from Walmart, instead...

"I felt amazing that day. I felt truly amazed," said Grunow.

A store email informed Grunow the rest of the balance had been covered. She doesn't know who this generous person is, but she wants to say thank you. She even had her thank you note published in the Sheboygan Press. Not only is it a nice gesture during the holidays, it also comes at the end of a rough 2014 for the family. Grunow's daughter suffered a drug overdose.

"For five days she sat in Sheboygan Memorial Hospital on life support," said Grunow.

Six weeks later Grunow had a hernia, then her son Andrew got in an accident and Grunow found out she has celiac's disease.

"Just when I thought I wasn't going to catch a break this year, someone made me believe my year was going to be way better than this year," said Grunow.

The light from one can help make a brighter day for many.

"There are good people out there," said Grunow.

According to Walmart, this person paid for the items on layaway for seven other families. In total, the secret Santa spent $1,400 on gifts for strangers.