We know we’ll get presents from loved ones and maybe a few close friends if we’re lucky, there’s the Christmas lunch including that relative we’d rather avoid and overindulging is pretty well a given, leading to the flow-on New Year’s resolution to lose weight in 2017.

But there are families who are not so lucky – parents who do not know how they will scrape the cash together to buy their children presents or people who don’t even have family around them and spend the day alone.

It’s also a tough time for charities.

Vinnies’ Christmas appeal suffered recently when an estimated $600 was taken from its collection boxes at St Joseph’s Church.

That charity has asked people to dig deep and now the Salvation Army has asked for help to support the 30 families in need, and that’s not counting the families who might need support in January if they overextend themselves financially during the holiday period due to social pressures.

Two hundred children from those 30 families is a startling figure.

Donating directly is obviously one way we can all help, but there are also other methods.

There’s the good old giving tree and building on that idea, some charities offer a function on their websites where you can pick a toy and pay for it online and it’s sent to an appropriate child in need.

Other websites allow you to put up your unwanted Christmas gifts and a match is found with a charity. 

For those who wish to reach further afield, they could consider a donation to buy a child in a developing country a chicken or put them through school. 

But often the most valuable gift is time, which has been exemplified by Orange volunteer Annella Powell.

While many like Ms Powell travel to developing countries to build houses or help out in community facilities, she points out rightly that opportunities are created when a person dedicates time to an organisation.

Not only that, the act has advantages for the volunteers as they share their skills, learn new ones and grow as a result.

The saying goes ‘tis the season to be jolly, but the reality is much harder to achieve – a donation might make little difference to us, but it makes a world of difference for those who need it most.