Christmas is coming a couple of weeks early for many families across the Valley. A Secret Santa paid for every single item on layaway at an East Valley Walmart.
“I just want to say, 'Thank you so much and you made my girls' Christmas,'" said Danyelle Hoover.
Thanks to the generosity of a complete stranger, this Christmas is one Danyelle Hoover will never forget.
Hoover says Christmastime can be tough financially for her struggling family. For the past few weeks, she has been placing a number of toys from her two daughters' wish lists on layaway at the Mesa Walmart near Greenfield and McKellips.
“Everything’s Christmas related for my girls," said Hoover.
Last week, Hoover got a text saying the $400 worth of items need to be paid for and picked up by Monday. She and her husband decided the $200 dollhouse they were hoping to buy for their girls will have to go back on the shelf.
“We came in and we were like, 'We’re just gonna take off the dollhouse,'" Hoover said.
That's when the Walmart employee told them it was already paid for.
“I just like froze and started crying and my husband looked like, 'What?'” said Hoover.
A Secret Santa paid off every single layaway tab, totaling $45,000. It brought customers and employees to tears.
“It just means so much," Hoover said.
Hoover was so moved by the gesture she decided to pay it forward later that night at the Dollar Store. She paid for the two customers in line behind her.
“That’s just so touching, you know, like he’s like a secret Santa to touch so many people’s lives who needed it during these times," said Hoover.
A Walmart spokesperson tells 12 News another layaway angel paid off close to $2,000 at the Walmart store in Cave Creek.
Celebrities like Tyler Perry and Kid Rock kicked off this holiday trend last week after paying off the layaway tabs at Georgia and Tennessee Walmart stores.