In the News

A West Michigan retailer is in the holiday spirit. For the fifth year in a row, Meijer executives and store directors played Santa as part of the retailer’s “Very Merry Meijer,” a one-day event to surprise an unsuspecting customer at each Meijer store by paying for his or her entire shopping cart. The Meijer cashier who handled the surprise also is gifted with a $100 Meijer gift card.

In the world of Dr. Seuss, it was the Grinch who stole Christmas. But at Amita Health Alexian Brothers Women and Children's Hospital in Hoffman Estates, the tables were turned. Sure enough, it was the Grinch who brought Christmas to young patients and their families earlier this month in the hospital's pediatric unit.

Is your Christmas shopping not quite complete? Fear not. FOX6's Kasey Chronis spent the morning of Christmas Eve -- Monday, Dec. 24 -- at the Meijer in Waukesha -- where shelves are stocked with last-minute gifts for everyone on your list.

Two companies were recognized for giving families a happier holiday at the State Capitol Wednesday. Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley joined representatives from Meijer and Hormel to celebrate the 6,000 hams the companies donated to Michigan food banks. All of the hams will go to families in need this holiday season.

On Saturday, Lexington police went to Meijer on Reynolds Road to assist kids with holiday shopping. "It's all through donations that we can have this wonderful interaction and this great experience with these kids and be able to give back," said Sgt. Jeremiah Davis.

The Lafayette Fire Department held its annual “Shop with a Firefighter” at the east side Meijer in Lafayette. More than 75 kids partnered with Lafayette firemen as they filled their carts with items. “Shop with a Firefighter” serves the purpose of making sure kids in the community have what they need for the colder season.

It was like visiting Santa’s workshop at the North Pole. Shelves were stocked with Barbies, Lego sets, model cars, Nerf footballs, L.O.L. Surprise dolls and more as excited children selected their favorite toys for Christmas. On the evening of Dec. 5, members of the Warren Fire Department played Santa Claus by taking 30 Van Dyke Public Schools elementary school students shopping at the Meijer store at 12 Mile and Mound roads.

It didn’t take long for their carts to fill up with Nerf guns, Legos, and games, but there were more practical items, too, such as disposable diapers and baby food. Nine-year-old Emma bought some canned goods for the food drive at her school, Nicholas selected art supplies, and 17-month-old Zieyeal opted for a “Tickle Me Elmo,” while other kids shopped for hats and candles – Christmas gifts for their dad and mom. This was the fourth year that Meijer hosted “Heroes Helping Heroes” – its annual gift giving event, in which it partners with the sheriff’s department, the Northwest Homer Fire Protection District and the Lockport VFW Post 5788.

It was hard to tell who was having more fun or was more excited Saturday — the 70 members of the Kenosha Police Department or the elementary school kids they were helping during the annual Shop with a Cop program held at Meijer.

As a kid, waking up early in the morning to go shopping doesn't seem like a lot of fun. But it is when you have a chance to ride in a police car or even a fire truck to come out and pick out some of your favorite toys for your friends and family. Kids told News 10's Alani Letang that it's all worth it. "I got nervous at first since I didn't really know them. But it turned out to be really, really fun," said Rebekah O'Byrne, shopped with a hero.

This holiday season, local law enforcement is making sure that everyone in the family gets a Christmas gift. 79 kids traveled to Meijer from the Fraternal Order of Police Lima Lodge where they were paired with an officer so that they could shop for both Christmas presents and essentials. All of the money comes from community support. Since 2008, 627 children have benefited from the program.

The Columbus Meijer located on Hamilton Road previously had a liquor license to sell beer, wine, and low-proof liquor. Now, the store says they are selling high-proof liquor. There are 477 Contract Liquor Agencies in Ohio that can sell high-proof spirits, and 11 more are scheduled to open in the coming months. The City of Columbus currently has only 32 Contract Liquor Agencies.

"Breaking down barriers" between local youth and emergency services workers is a benefit to any community. That's the premise behind Gratiot County Child Advocacy's "Shop with a Hero" program.

The Fort Wayne area Toys for Tots program got a donation of $18,000 in toys Thursday morning thanks to the people at Dana Inc. "It's just heartwarming to know that we are able to give joy and a smile to a little girl or boy on Christmas morning by giving them a brand new toy," drive coordinator Sunny Helstrom explained. The staff raised the money through raffles and donations. Employees, retired workers and family members rushed through the isles at Meijer on Illinois Road, filling carts full of toys, art supplies, movies, sporting goods and other gifts.

Elk Grove Township is partnering with the Rolling Meadows Meijer store, located at 1301 Meijer Drive, for the grocer's yearly 'Simply Give' program. Now through December 29, 2018, area residents can shop at Meijer and donate funds at the checkout counter to help stock the shelves of the Township food pantry, which serves nearly 200 in-need families each month.

Planning to buy toys this holiday season? You can do good by making your purchase at Meijer. Each toy purchased will give back to local children in need. Meijer promises to donate up to $400,000 through customer purchases made in the Meijer Toy Department now through December 1.

On Sunday morning, the Meijer on Lake Michigan Drive hosted a Toys for Tots shopping spree. The store donated $5,000, and volunteers purchased gifts for some of the difficult to serve age groups.

Love in Action announced a partnership with Meijer this holiday season to provide hunger relief to local families through the Grand Rapids-based retailer’s customer-driven food pantry donation program, Simply Give.

Thousands of Miami Valley shoppers lined up inside Meijer stores early this morning to take advantage of the earliest in-store deals.

If you plan on shopping for toys this weekend, Meijer may be a good place to go. The Michigan-based retailer is giving back to local children when shoppers purchase toys from the store.

Some years I'm on top of things, buying Christmas gifts in June and July and smugly tucking them away in a closet. And then there's this year. Let's just say that I could use a few more months of prep time. But that's not going to happen. I don't even have a list of things I WANT to buy, much less a stash of items already purchased.

The reigning champion of the Meijer LPGA Classic has given a portion of her winnings to the retailer’s hunger-relief program. So Yeon Ryu donated $100,000 of her $300,000 prize to the Simply Give program, which helps stock the shelves of Meijer food pantry partners across the Midwest.

We've all had one Thanksgiving dinner where we're cooking for our family, but then realize we forgot something vital to our dish. Larry from Meijer stopped by to remind people of the most common items people forget to shop for, so you won't forget to put them on your shopping list.

Lets face it. Sometimes cooks and Thanksgiving hosts need a break. And if that’s you, here's a Thanksgiving hack to bypass all or part of cooking a holiday meal. Order Thanksgiving to go. Many area grocery stores will do the cooking for you, an option that's becoming increasingly popular. Meijer expect sales of pre-made dinners to increase 15% this holiday season.

During the holidays, everyone is going to be hunkering down with family and friends for hours and hours. Activities include eating big meals, exchanging gifts and trying to avoid politics as a discussion topic. But for some of us, we'll be playing board games. Candice from Meijer stopped by the show with a bunch of board games to say which games are hot, and why games have gotten so popular.