Each year, families in America spend around $1,000 on Christmas gifts. This is spread throughout the members of their family, but it can be quite costly. Not everyone has an extra grand lying around that they can use to purchase gifts. The good news is that there are several ways you can get free Christmas gifts. For low income families this is a great way to ensure that everyone participates, even if they can’t afford to make purchases.
It has become a custom in America that each year at Christmas people exchange gifts. While many adults get in on the tradition, most people want to ensure that it is the children who are not forgotten. Everyone wants to ensure that children receive gifts so that it makes them happy and they feel the spirit of the holiday. Family, friends and community members will go to great lengths to ensure that children get gifts on Christmas.
What Happens When You Don’t Have the Money
Some parents start planning for the next Christmas months in advance. They save up a little each week, so that when they get to the holiday season they have a some money to purchase their child a gift or two. Others may plan to do it when the holiday approaches, only to find out that an unexpected bill came up and they don’t have the money to go shopping.
No matter what the reason may be, there are always people who don’t have the extra money to purchase Christmas gifts for their family each year. Rather than be embarrassed about the fact, they can take action to ensure that their child still has a gift or two to open. There are several options they can take to ensure that they are able to obtain gifts for the holiday.
How to Get Free Christmas Gifts
Check out the options below for being able to get free Christmas gifts for your low income family. These options are available each year and are instrumental in providing many families with gifts for the holiday. You can contact several programs so that you can ensure you will be covered for the holiday.
Churches – With around 400,000 churches around the country, they are one of the best places to reach out to if you need free Christmas gifts. Churches aim to help people who live in the community who need assistance or have a low income. Christmas is their big day each year and they are happy to throw celebrations for it. They often get people in their congregation to donate gifts to be given out to people in the community. Contact some of your local churches to see if they can help you obtain free gifts for your family during the holiday.
Police Stations – Many police stations around the country participate in programs where they collect gifts that are then given out to those in need. Often times their focus is on collecting new bikes that are then given out to children from low income families in the community. Contact your local police department to inquire about if they offer a program like this and how you can get register for it. If they don’t offer one, they may be able to tell you a local program that does offer it.
Salvation Army – This faith-based organization is great at helping people with a variety of needs. They will provide people with free food, clothing, shelter, and more. They will also help people with obtaining free Christmas gifts for their family. There are locations around the country. Contact one near you to see if they have the free gift program and how you can get into it. They may ask you to have your child write down what they want and then they will post it in the community to get people to help purchase it for them. To find a list of locations, click here.
Catholic Charities – Similar to the Salvation Army, this organization has locations around the country and they will help people in need. You can contact a location in your area to see if they can help with providing free gifts during the holiday. If they cannot help you then they be able to provide you with a referral to a local program that can help. To get more information, contact a location near you. To see a list of locations, click here.
St. Vincent de Paul – This is another faith-based organization that helps people in the community who need assistance. They have many thrift stores as well. They may be able to help low income families with obtaining free items and gifts. To get more information and find a location in your area, click here.
Toys for Tots – This is a program run by the U.S. Marine Corp Reserves. Each year, people can register to get help with free Christmas gifts and they will provide many people with free items. They have given away well over 650 million toys to over 300 million children in the country. You can sign up on line to request a toy and you can use their website to find a local chapter, since there are many local ones around the country. They help so many people by the contributions they receive from members of the community and partnering corporations. To get more information and register online, click here.
USPS Operation Santa – The postal service offers a nationwide free Christmas gift program that anyone can participate in. Children can write to Santa, they can post their wishes for what type of gift they want, and more. Other people who want to participate in the program can read the letters and “adopt” a family to purchase gifts for. A family will purchase the gifts that the child is asking Santa for, and then they will be delivered to the child. Operation Santa is available around the country and helps many children obtain free gifts each year at Christmas. To get more information, click here.
