Find where to get help at Christmas, including free holiday programs in 2025.
Find where to get help at Christmas from charities in your area or even national organizations. During the 2025 holiday season, low-income families can get free Christmas toys, presents, and a wide variety of other gifts. A focus of these programs, such as those offered by a local charity or church, is on supporting families with kids or senior citizens. However, anyone that is struggling can apply in their area at a Christmas assistance program. Find where to get help at Christmas in your community, near you with links to phone numbers to local or national programs listed below.
Assistance varies by organization, the applicant’s need and their local community. As noted below, there are many local charities that giveaway free Christmas gifts to children as well as boxes of food in 2025 to the working poor or households that are facing a hardship. There are also national organizations listed below that provide free help at Christmas, including applications for free Christmas toys. The main types of Christmas help available listed below include the following.
Below you will find information on various programs that help struggling people at Christmas and organizations that provide assistance with links to more details. If you have questions, want other tips from people from across the U.S. you can visit our discussion forum of Christmas assistance programs. Find replies from people across the country and post your needs or find other local resources.
Types of holiday programs that provide help with Christmas and who they assist
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In general, local charities that may be near you or national organizations accept applications in an effort to ensure that every low income family has both a food basket and some type of Christmas gift given to them in 2025. The application process and dates for the 2025 free holiday assistance programs usually start during October or November timeframe, but this varies by location and community with some even open in September. Note the national programs that help people at Christmas also generally start in October too. However it is possible to be instantly alerted, in real time, to Christmas giveaways.
The programs, all of which are free to apply to, go by various names as well. Depending on where the person lives and the local charities that provide help, the programs that provide help at Christmas may be referred to as Adopt-A-Family, Angel Tree, Toys for Tots or even something generic such as Christmas gift giveaway. Some local organizations may also be involved in handing out free winter jackets through the Coats for Kids program for the Christmas season.
- How to improve your odds to get help at Christmas - be sure to apply as early as September or October. Be prepared with required documents (usually ID, proof of address, children’s ages/sizes if asking for gifts) and keep contact info current.
All sorts of holiday items are given away. The various Christmas assistance programs that are offered by charities such as the Salvation Army or churches will provide everything from free toys for kids, clothes, stocking stuffers and more. A charity will also help seniors at Christmas so the holiday is not spent alone. Any Xmas toys or other forms of help are usually provided first come and served for those that are eligible. National organizations, including non-profits, may even deliver free Christmas gifts by mail to the homebound or low-income families in rural areas.
Local organizations that help with Christmas in your area
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In addition to the counties listed below that list local free Christmas assistance programs, there are national programs that cover all states, counties, and cities. Continue to scroll down to find more free nationwide Christmas resources at the bottom of this page that help the low-income in 2025. There are also organizations that give free Christmas money for toy shopping in partnership with national retailers.
The major metropolitan areas, listed below, often have several churches, faith based groups and charities that specialize in meeting the needs of the less fortunate during the holidays. The availability of resources will vary based on city and county and also what has been donated. Generally what will be given away by a charity around Christmas can include free toys, hot meals, presents for children, decorations, and more. Many organizations that may be near you will also deliver food and also companionship to senior citizens as well as the homebound.
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas (The entire state)
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware (The entire state)
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii - All cities and counties.
Idaho
- Boise area and surrounding counties.
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine - The entire state.
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana - Statewide holiday assistance programs.
Nebraska
- Omaha, including Douglas and Sarpy County.
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island - Agencies have Christmas help for all counties, including Providence.
South Carolina - The whole state.
South Dakota - The entire state
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
- Burlington area, including Chittenden, Franklin, and Grand Isle.
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia (Resources for the state)
Wisconsin
National programs that provide free Christmas and holiday assistance
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The Salvation Army not only has locations in every single state, but they also operate in most towns and counties in those states. Even if a center is not near you, the agency will usually have referrals to other nearby charities and Christian churches that may be able to help during the holidays. Find a list of local list of local Salvation Army assistance programs.
- One of the Salvation Army programs that is offered in most communities, and that is in highest demand, is Angel Tree. It provides free toys, gifts, clothes to kids, winter attire and more to children and even struggling senior citizens. Everyone should be able to receive some type of holiday cheer, and this resource can help make that happen. Read more on Salvation Army Angel Tree program.
- While the demand is greatest during the 2025 Christmas holiday season, the Salvation Army operates year round and also has other options available to low income families for their Easter and Thanksgiving needs. Find a comprehensive listing of all of the Salvation Army’s holiday programs. Whether Easter, Thanksgiving or Christmas, there is support from the holiday programs, and contact them for additional details.
Toys for Tots is offered in all states and it helps the low-income at Christmas. Also be sure to always ask a charity about some of the other similar sounding programs that may be available where you live. As a local charity or church can be a great source of holiday information on the Marine Corps Toys for Tot program or other free Christmas assistance program. The point being every community will have a program in place that is similar to Toys for Tots that gives kids from working poor families some type of free gift to open Christmas morning.
USO (United Service Organizations) hosts nationwide holiday programs for service members and their families, with many events in local communities. Think free Christmas toy giveaway events, holiday meal kits, and “Operation Holiday” gatherings on and near installations. Events are local, but coordinated through a national network with details here. https://www.uso.org/programs/uso-operation-celebration.
USPS Operation Santa helps struggling parents with kids during the Christmas Season. It is an nationwide Angel Tree / Adopt a Family Type program in which kids can “write letters” to Santa Claus with their Wishlist of gifts. Generous members of the country may purchase the stuff for the kids and mail it, or they can pick it up locally. More on the USPS Operation Santa Program.
Free clothing banks and thrift stores are available in most communities as well as nationally. They may sell, or giveaway, gently used clothes or toys to the general public which can then be used as Christmas presents by those families. Some of the centers near you may even provide vouchers or gift certificates to qualified low income families to help them during the Christmas season. Those can then be used to shop for free items during the holiday at the clothing closet. Find more on free clothes and items from clothing closets.
Referrals are also available to many other places with free Xmas programs. The free United Way holiday program is involved in partnering with thousands of non-profits, churches, corporations, and other groups, all of which may provide assistance in 2025 during Christmas. The non-profit is focused on local communities, and families can get information on meals, lists of gift giving programs, where to get presents for their kids, and more. Find details on United Way Christmas assistance programs.
Society of St. Vincent de Paul has a national Clearinghouse Christmas assistance program too - this is in addition to the local community resources above. The Catholic Volunteer Charity accepts donations of money, gifts for kids, clothes, gift cards and more and provides the stuff to kids at Christmas. Find details on local and national Saint Vincent de Paul programs for the low-income.
Prison Fellowship Angel Tree serves children of incarcerated parents with free Christmas gifts delivered in the parent’s name. It operates nationally through churches and community partners. Caregivers of the kid(S) can connect with a local Angel Tree charity or, in some areas, apply online and details of the program are here. https://www.prisonfellowship.org/about/angel-tree/.
The Lions Club is a nationwide network of volunteers, young professionals, and even local businesses. They hold holiday drives and give out everything from free Christmas tress to games, gifts, toys, meals, presents and more. The sick and elderly in nursing homes may also get help as well as the unemployed or single mothers with a low or no-income More details on Christmas help from the Lions Club.
Volunteers of America, a national charity that helps the poor, homeless and vulnerable, also provides help at Christmas as well as other holidays, including Thanksgiving. VOA may offer toys for children, free Christmas presents for households run by single moms or parents, Meals on Wheels for the homebound, and veteran support too. Find how to get Christmas help from Volunteers of America and learn about the application process.
Soldiers’ Angels has a national Adopt-A-Family program, with gifts and food given out locally. The non-profit pairs donor “angels” with deployed service members, post-9/11 wounded, and low-income veteran families for holiday gifts and a grocery gift card. More information is here. https://soldiersangels.org/holiday-adopt-a-family/.
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