Stranded travellers find refuge from crippling blizzard at Fort Erie Walmart

As a child, Daria Bera always dreamed of spending the night in a toy store.

Over the weekend, the Toronto woman got her wish - sort of.

Bera and her husband Derek Kobylarz and their 17-year-old son Julian spent Christmas at the Walmart Supercentre on Garrison Road in Fort Erie.

The family left Toronto Thursday afternoon and headed and toward the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie en route to North Carolina.

All was fine until they arrived in Niagara and were met by a crippling blizzard.

By the time we get here the border was closed and the last exit we could actually exit on - going pretty much five kilometres an hour with our heads outside the window because we couldn't see - we end up following another car to this parking lot," Kobylarz said.

The Walmart was closed by that point due to the blizzard, but ten associates were inside as they were unable to leave.

A couple of us had attempted to trek out, but we all came to the consensus it was far too dangerous to drive or walk," said assistant manager Nicole Toth.

There was absolutely no chance we were going to let anyone out these doors."

And, that include the stranded Toronto family.

The group hunkered down in the store on Friday and expected to leave on Christmas Eve, but Mother Nature had other ideas.

The blizzard continued to rage so the group of 12 decided to make the best of a bad situation.

We're already a big family here so it was like one big sleep over," Toth joked.

On Christmas Eve, they made a traditional Christmas dinner with all the trimmings in the decorated staff lounge.

We did a nice little feast using our air fryer, two microwaves and a kettle," Toth said. And our new friends brought some great traditional Polish cake."

Later in the evening the group, all sporting matching pyjamas, exchanged gifts and watched holiday movies on a large-screen television.

Associate Jodine Booth said she had no problem spending Christmas at work.

It definitely wasn't on my bucket list, but we're a family here," she said.

Kobylarz said his family never forget their impromptu holiday in Niagara.

We were blessed, welcomed by people with great hearts. I never thought I'd spend Christmas in Walmart but we will remember this for the rest of our lives."

Bera agreed, and noted she was also able to fulfil a childhood dream.

It was always my dream to spend the night at a toy store when I was young," she laughed.

Meanwhile, a Walmart in Chatham-Kent became home for the holidays for a group of 50 customers on Friday when road closures left them stranded overnight.

Staff at the southwestern Ontario store staff blew up air mattresses for the shoppers and served hot meals from the deli.

Niagara remained in a state of emergency on Christmas Day following a two-day winter storm that paralyzed much of the region.

Communities along the north shore of Lake Erie - Fort Erie, Port Colborne and Wainfleet - were particularly hard-hit as the storm forced road closures and left people, including first-responders, stranded.

Alison Langley is a St. Catharines-based reporter for the Niagara Falls Review. Reach her via email: alison.langley@niagaradailies.com