Family cant afford Christmas

Pollycat

SingleSue wrote: »

It was a dire situation but I got my thinking cap on, sold some of my own items to get some money and then got to work finding cheap second hand items in good condition. I only spent about £10 per child but they loved every single thing.

Thankfully, my parents were able to provide the Christmas dinner (we always go there for Christmas day) without our usual contribution of the turkey and trimmings although I still managed to squeeze out a small financial contribution.

See, SingleSue, some people are resourceful and 'glass half full' but some expect other people to sort out their problems.

thorsoak wrote: »

Wonder if the OP was Andy something or other?? Always had horrendous stories about benefit cheats etc!

Andy & Flo....?

thorsoak

Pollycat wrote: »

Andy & Flo....?

That's the one(s)!

Marvel1

annandale wrote: »

As for having nothing wrong with them, there are many conditions where people are unwell and to look at them you would think they were healthy.

Its wise not to judge. If any of this is true, just do as other people have suggested, buy their Christmas dinner or have them over for dinner and buy the kids some presents.

No dramas.

But they have money for drink and fags :T They give that up and saved it to what they would spend they would have money for Xmas.

annandale

Seriously!!! They have money for drink and fags!

Never knew that

BarryBlue

I'm afraid I wouldn't give the family in question a penny. First of all, you don't need to celebrate Christmas at all, certainly not in an extravagant way. You can prepare a decent Xmas dinner for little more than the meal you would have had anyway. Although I suppose they would all have had instant rubbish because the parents were hopeless!

If you can't afford a fancy Christmas, then don't have one. How difficult a concept is that? Kids might learn from it too. You know - realising that they had no proper presents because their parents were wastrels. If kids still get Playstations and Smartphones from useless parents, what does that teach them?

The bottom line for me, however, is that if they can afford to smoke and drink, they cannot possibly be poor.

brianposter

As a kid I did not much like Christmas and would have much preferred a standard day off school.

Worst thing was lunch which meant you had to sit for hours and then had to help with the washing-up - total waste of a day.

Presents were not much appreciated either. It is possible that one present was a bicycle, but otherwise the only ones that I remember were disappointing. Eating the chocolate took about a day and was then forgotten.

My recomendation would be to try and make the presents constructive.

marisco_2

curty510 wrote: »

Would you bail them out?

No. End of. Lending them this money doesn't bail them out of anything. It just enables and encourages them to continue to be low life scrounging wasters!

just_trying

Okay here goes. I've been like the op friend on benefits, yeah 3 children daily fail headline.

I borrowed money once and it was paid straight back. People said it's teaching the kids a lesson, what in getting a slagging when they go back cause they had nothing. Your adults not kids going back to school.

If it's your wife's money, then think what she wants to do to help. £500 maybe excessive, the once ive borroweded it was paid straight back. The op is looking for a benefit bashing lot probably.

Scrounging waster comments don't help, anyone can end up on benefits.

seven-day-weekend

missbiggles1 wrote: »

If they were actually starving, possibly. So that they can have a bang up Christmas with all the trimmings, definitely not.

I would make sure they had adequate food and help them get budgeting advice. Beyond that, no, and certainly not £500, I do't spend that much at Christmas myself.

seven-day-weekend

Poor_Single_lady wrote: »

But if it's true that means that a lot of people replying are happy for 3 children to wake up on Christmas morning without any presents. That breaks my heart. I don't want any kids waking up without presents on Christmas Day and I don't care if their parents work or not.

I would send gifts for the kids not cash and as someone else said lunch from Asda. £500 is excessive though but they can't not have anything. Have people forgotten what it's like to be a child. I feel really sad by this thread. Very much hoping it's fictional.

Yes it is a shame the kids have irresponsible parents.