Mum-of-four Alice, works as a healthcare assistant and is a carer for her husband. The family are grappling with the cost-of-living, which means Alice relies on a charity.
08:00, 23 Nov 2025Updated 19:10, 25 Nov 2025
Ripping open their presents on December 25, Alice can't wait to see the joy on her four children's faces, as they discover their new outfits - if she can afford to buy any.
Community healthcare assistant Alice's festive smiles hide a wealth of pain and fear, as if it wasn't for the help of charities, she would have to cancel Christmas. "Christmas is such a difficult time, everything is just so expensive, the cost-of-living is just crazy", says Alice. Living in temporary accommodation provided by the council, her husband has not been able to work as a paramedic since being diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2020. Relying on Universal Credit, Alice visits Hertfordshire FOOD Club every week run by charity Family Action and Hertfordshire County Council children's services.
It is heartbreaking for Alice, who adores her children - aged 7, 9, 11, and 16. She says: "I'm just trying my best. We are really, really struggling. School uniforms are very expensive. It's really hard to get the grant from school. They want you to buy the items and they pay you back. My daughter is in sixth-form and it's really sad that she doesn't have more variety of clothes to wear like others in the class."
The FOOD club provides her with a food box worth £15 for just £4 packed with fresh and tinned food and personal items weekly without the need for a referral. And she loves bringing her children to the family centre, so they can play while she enjoys a hot drink in their homely kitchen and a chat with other parents. The centre also has a pre-loved clothes bank and support service on wellbeing, life skills, education and employability. And at Christmas, it transforms into a festive grotto. Last year Family Action distributed over 12,000 gifts to children across the country.
"I won't be able to afford to buy the children's Christmas presents", says Alice. "That's why we always visit Santa's Grotto here, because I know they'll get a present, which means I leave it up to them. Instead I try to save money so I can buy them a new outfit and try to take them to the cinema. The staff at the centre are very friendly, caring, kind and patient. Whenever I have problems I know I can speak to them, they’ll advise me and find a solution. My children like coming here."
Life is really tough for Alice and her family. Unpaid council tax has meant bailiffs have come knocking at her door. They've been living in temporary accommodation for four years, since being evicted from private rented accommodation when the landlord wanted the house back.
She says: "I get into arrears with the council tax bill. As soon as you miss a payment, they penalise you. I clear one council tax bill, but I incur extra charges because I've missed payment. I pay it off and then I receive the next one, it's a vicious circle. I've had bailiffs at my door because of council tax bills and it was terrifying."
Family Action's annual winter survey reveals that millions of families across the UK could be facing severe financial pressures, struggling to afford food, heating, and other essentials this winter - just like Alice. Their poll of 2,083 parents and carers found that a quarter were struggling to afford food, while almost a third were having problems paying energy/heating bills and three in 10 will still be paying off debt from last Christmas, while preparing for this one.
Alice says: "The electricity bill has gone up. The bills keep coming and I just push them to the corner. It’s a lot to juggle, I work part-time, I'm raising four children and looking after my husband. After I've paid the rent, bills and transport for school I have nothing left. I have no money left over at the end of each month. It is incredibly hard when the children have school trips and you get a letter from the school saying mine is the last payment they're waiting for. It’s not nice if your child is the only one not going.
"I would like to take the children to the cinema or even a night away for Christmas, but I know when I look in my pocket, there won't be much money. So we'll have a nice dinner at home, play games and sing, if we can't go out. The children like going to the football club during the holidays. I will just keep doing the best I can."
Family Action would like to see the Government investing in services to better support families.
Sir David Holmes CBE, chief executive of Family Action, says: "The Government’s forthcoming Child Poverty Strategy is a huge opportunity holistically to address the wide range of issues that so many families are contending with, such as family income challenges, and the costs of food, housing, childcare and energy, in order to drive down child poverty.
"A programme of concerted action here could transform lives and communities. Our community services, like those in Hertfordshire, show how this can work in practice, offering both universal and targeted support, reducing stigma, and helping families before problems escalate.
"We'd like to see a budget that recognises how interconnected the challenges facing families really are. Poverty, poor health, housing worries, school struggles, and relationship breakdowns often go hand in hand, and tackling them means investing in joined-up, long-term support. That means sustainable funding for services that work with whole families, not just individual issues. And it means investment in the implementation of an ambitious child poverty strategy that will deliver long term impact."
You can donate to Family Action's toy appeal here.