Christmas on the breadline: 'There's always someone worse off'

Extract from The Guardian

Our six Life on the Breadline writers share their expectations, hopes and dreams for their Christmas Day

• About this series

David Samuel** , Nia Reynolds, Gavin Ritchie, Amethyst DeWilde, Mick Smart and Tara Rose

Thu 20 Dec 2018 12.51 AEDT Last modified on Thu 20 Dec 2018 12.53 AEDT

‘I always feel a twinge of disappointment that my presents to my friends will be nowhere near as nice as the ones given to me.’ Photograph: Andrea Obzerova/Alamy Stock Photo

David Samuel

This year, should I be wishing for a place to call home? What about meaningful paid employment? What about some roast vegetables and mint peas? I will probably get nothing, but I don’t care – I am grateful for what I do have and for having made it this far through the tests I have faced in 2018.

‘Christmas is a time for giving – and forgiving,’ says David Samuel. Photograph: Sarah Rhodes for the Guardian

It would be nice if Christmas was not simply a retail event for some people, splurging – possibly going into debt to do so. Envy, gluttony and greed are three of the seven deadly sins – even nonbelievers should remain cognisant of that. But hey, we all get a public holiday for the alleged birth of a supernatural being with a famously absent father. Whatever it means to you, enjoy it your own way!
Christmas is a time for giving – and forgiving. Some of the gifts I would give to the world if I could: to be delivered from tyranny and authoritarian regimes. To end poverty. That everybody can have a stable home of their own. That I had the power to save the planet before that clock strikes midnight. That people were nicer to each other every single day. We can give these things to each other (and future generations) if we make the effort. Just no more cold lumpy gravy for me this year, thanks. I have been a good boy all year, but I doubt I will get that electric mountain bike.

Nijole Naujokas

Nijole Naujoka: ‘I will feel grateful that the cheap bottle of wine I bring to a party can be bought at all.’ Photograph: Kelly Barnes for the Guardian

Christmastime for me always brings up mixed emotions.

On one hand I love the sparkle, the lights, the joy on my friend’s children’s faces as they see Santa Claus. On the other, I feel sadness and shame at my inability to be as generous as I’d like with presents. I always feel a twinge of disappointment that my presents to my friends will be nowhere near as nice as the ones given to me.

I will spend my Christmas catching up with friends, grateful that I can spend what little money I have as I see fit. I will have an occasional festive drink, something denied to my fellow Newstart recipients who are subjected to the cashless welfare card. I will feel grateful that the cheap bottle of wine I bring to a party can be bought at all, and that I still have some small amount of control over my finances.
I want to thank all the Guardian readers who have left beautiful, kind, and encouraging comments on my writing during the year. Your support has buoyed me through some dark moments, and I wish all your readers a lovely Christmas, and a safe and happy new year.

Gavin Ritchie

Gavin Ritchie: ‘This year [for Christmas] I’m going to the Wayside Chapel street party.’ Photograph: Carly Earl for the Guardian

So Christmas is approaching at the rate of knots. I’m always taken aback when it hits, even though it is well anticipated. Mothers scurrying about shopping, children obsessed by possible gains that come with Christmas.

These days I don’t make too many plans. Planning for Christmas is for my mind a surefire way to disappointment. There is so much about this time that doesn’t run to schedule so I prefer to take the “any way the wind blows” approach.

All I know is where I will be and what I know I will experience.
This year I’m going to the Wayside Chapel street party in [Sydney’s] Potts Point for the fifth year running. I know that I will eat, drink and be merry alongside hundreds of strangers. I will bear witness to love in action so pronounced it’s gobsmacking. It’s an experience where people of differing socioeconomic standing forget their differences and unify to celebrate the spirit of Christmas. I will make friends, laugh, cry, eat, drink and dance. I will contemplate life and meaning and go home reinvigorated and ready for 2019.

Amethyst DeWilde

Amethyst DeWilde: ‘I was the sort of kid that recycled little International Roast coffee tins and filled them with smarties for gifts.’ Photograph: Kelly Barnes for the Guardian

Christmas at the family home has always been a raucous affair. The family being replete with the as-yet-undiscovered leftwing gene, we grew up drinking lemonade out of plastic orange Ned Kelly cups and listening to the adults enjoying violent political agreements around the dinner table. The lemonade has progressed to wine and the Ned Kelly cups are long gone – but little else has changed.
Mum saves up her Flybuys points all year and then uses the balance to pay for Christmas. I usually go over the day before to help her cook the roast and trimmings. We then plate it up and refrigerate the meals, zapping them in the microwave before serving to the hungry horde the next day.
Christmas gifts are not usually expensive and are always appreciated with the same generous spirit with which they are given.
I love giving presents. I always have. I was the sort of kid that recycled little International Roast coffee tins and filled them with smarties for gifts. I generally buy my presents over the year and put them away but this year I’ve been plagued with so much illness that any thoughts beyond how I’ll get through one day to the next were put on the back burner. As a consequence I’ll be getting all my presents from Savers. I can’t wait! I love Christmas shopping!

Mick Smart

Mick Smart, who suffered serious injuries while working on a work-for-the-dole scheme, picture with his girlfriend Marnie. ‘This year we are making some very appreciated sacrifices to help our friends.’ Photograph: Chris Hopkins/Chris Hopkins for The Guardian

Christmas will be quiet again this year. My partner and I planned to travel to see and housesit for family, visit friends, take care of a few personal matters – but our plans have been put on hold due to various unforeseen circumstances that unfolded over the last few weeks.

Our friend Jan’s puppy Phoebe was hit by a car within a week of us moving in. Luckily we were here to help her navigate a difficult and traumatic event, and my partner and I spent both our yearly advanced payments on travelling to and from the emergency vet in Melbourne – helping to cover the cost of fuel, food, hotels, puppy supplies, etc.
Our friend is also a pensioner, has epilepsy and other health issues which limit her daily function, and apart from friends and distant family that occasionally visit, she lives alone and cannot work, so Phoebe was not only her pet, friend and family member, but kept her company as an emotional support companion.
So this year we are making some very appreciated sacrifices to help both our friends: Miss Phoebe, who requires around-the-clock care, physio, medications, feeding, bathing, emotional support and mental stimulation, and her mum Jan, who offered us a room to stay until we find an affordable rental or caravan to move into.

Tara Rose*

‘This year, thanks to hard-saved Flybuys points, we’ll have a heartier Christmas dinner, maybe even a ham, and they’ll each receive a present.’ Photograph: Carlos Barría/Reuters

Christmas to me has always been about family, caring, generosity and love, whether around the dinner table or opening presents under the tree. My three children grew up surrounded by family at Christmas with an abundance of presents and plentiful food.
Since becoming a single parent household on a greatly reduced budget, that’s all diminished. Sure, I’ve been able to put together a meal and give small gifts to be opened, but the atmosphere has been different. This year, thanks to hard-saved Flybuys points, we’ll have a heartier Christmas dinner, maybe even a ham, and they’ll each receive a present.

But I want them to really understand that generosity is about more than just gifts. This morning I spent time on the phone organising emergency food and assistance for my frail, ageing mother who lives alone interstate and recently had an accident. St Vincent de Paul was amazing, answering my call for help without hesitation, stepping in to take essentials to Mum, but also providing some companionship.
Their generosity without hesitation or judgment humbled me. I have been reminded that there’s always someone worse off, yet there’s always someone generous enough to help. I hope I can do the same one day.
*Name has been changed

• Comments on this article will be premoderated