YOUR CHANCE
TODAY the Sunday Mirror is asking you – our army of kind-hearted readers – to Save A Kid’s Christmas after families living on the poverty line told us they are facing their bleakest ever festive season.
With the pandemic having a catastrophic toll on the economy and jobs, the worst off in our society are having to make agonising choices about how best to bring even a glimmer of cheer to their cash-strapped homes this year.
Kelly and Tony Fisher have already had to warn their four kids this Christmas just won’t be the same.
And they have had to remind their eldest, 10-year-old Hawa, that some things are more important than pressies.
Kelly, 36, said: “I try to tell her that while the gifts might not be here, family always will be and that’s what matters.”
It’s a tough message for any parent to deliver – but the Fishers are not alone.
New research for Save the Children reveals 84% of hard-up families will struggle to pay for Christmas.
So we’re launching Save A Kid’s Christmas alongside the charity – in a bid to make sure no child is starved of food or fun this festive season.
The research, published as part of our Christmas campaign, shows 60% of families who already rely on Universal Credit or Child Tax Credit fear the festive season will push them into debt.
More than half are worried they won’t
be able to afford presents and two-fifths will need to use Christmas food parcels or charity meals to feed their families.
Parents have been left feeling “depressed and ashamed” because they haven’t got the cash to buy the gifts on their children’s lists for Santa.
Kelly was already struggling to make ends meet on Tony’s minimum wage before he was furloughed from his job at McDonald’s.
When lockdown lifted, he was taken back on but his contract was for just four hours a week.
The couple live in Manchester, where more than 40% of children live in poverty. And they are now sacrificing the essentials to pay for some little presents for their kids.
When Tony, 41, went back to work, he had to walk for r more than an hour before his 5am shift, as buses did not run that early. arly.
But he can’t afford a new coat for his cold early arly starts as the couple want to o buy presents and a dinner this his Christmas.
The poll of 1,000 parents revealed 77% are planning to cut back on essentials sentials to pay for Christmas. A third will borrow on credit dit cards.
The Fishers get a Save the Children Emergency mergency Support Grant. t. They also use a Bread and Butter food bank, which has so far saved the family from going hungry. Kelly has also been buying and freezing food she has seen on offer in the run-up to the festive season – including the turkey – in order to try and make a saving.
But she said: said “Without the Save the Children Ch fund, I’m not sure w we’d be having Christmas dinner.”
The festive season is not the only conc concern, however. Kelly, who s stays at home looking after Haw Hawa, Missy, five, Emmance, four, and Franklin, two, added: “We’re worried worr about the future of Tony’s j job.
“We are wor worried he may be furloughed again ag or lose his job completely as Manchester is going back into Tier 3.
“Franklin “didn’t hav have a bed at the sta star t of the
pandemic – he’d got too big for his cot and was starting to climb out of it. We’d been trying to save, but then Tony was furloughed.
“We wouldn’t have been able to afford a bed if it wasn’t for the Save the Children grant.
“The stress of the pandemic has impacted on the kids. I’ve tried to explain we don’t have the cash for the presents we want to buy, but it’s hard. Hawa keeps asking for a tablet, a bike and a phone for Christmas like all the kids at her school, but we just can’t afford it.
“It’s hard when other children in her class have things we can’t afford and her friends keep asking her what she’s getting. She just says, ‘I’m not sure.’
“Now I’m trying to find second-hand deals online for presents and I’ve been looking in pound shops for little gifts.”
Things have started to look up for the Fishers, though. Tony’s hours have
increased and he has borrowed a bike to get to work. Meanwhile, Hawa is trying to stay upbeat for her siblings.
She said: “Mummy has explained I’m not going to get all the presents I want from Santa, but I want my brothers and sisters to have a good Christmas.”
Dan Paskins, Director of UK Impact at Save the Children, said: “Every parent wants to protect the magic of
Christmas for their kids. But when you’re having to make impossible choices between heating your home or putting food on the table, there’s nothing left over for gifts.
“Many low-income families have had their budgets stretched to the limit by the pandemic.”
But child poverty was already a problem. New government stats show 4.2 million children were suffering before Covid and that is set to rise by a million by 2022.
Dan said: “Child poverty won’t just go away when the Christmas lights come down. The impacts of poverty on children are life-long.
“By donating to this appeal, you can help make a huge difference to some of our poorest children, boosting early learning at home and helping families meet basic needs during this crisis.”