Christmas assistance programs in 2025 - Local and national holiday help

Find where to get help at Christmas, including free holiday programs in 2025.

Programs for Seniors and Elderly

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 Types of programs and who can get help with Christmas: Local Christmas assistance programs: National organizations that help with Christmas: 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: 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

Faith-Based Emergency Assistance

. 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: 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: Baldwin County Birmingham region: Etowah County: Madison County: Mobile County: Tuscaloosa County Arizona: Maricopa County: Pima County: Pinal County Arkansas (The entire state) Fort Smith area, including Sebastian, Crawford, Franklin and Logan County: Northwest Arkansas, including: Benton, Washington, Carroll and Madison County: Pulaski County and Little Rock California: Alameda County: Butte County: Contra Costa: Fresno County: Kern County: Los Angeles: Madera County: Orange County California: Placer and El Dorado County: Riverside California: Sacramento County: San Bernardino San Diego: San Francisco: San Joaquin County: San Mateo County: Santa Barbara County: Santa Clara: Solano County: Sonoma County: Stanislaus County: Tulare County: Ventura County Colorado Denver and surrounding counties: El Paso County: Connecticut: New Haven, Hartford, and Fairfield: Connecticut: City of Bridgeport only Delaware (The entire state): District of Columbia: Washington DC Florida: Brevard County: Broward County: Collier County: Duval County: Escambia and Santa Rosa County: Hillsborough County and Tampa area.

Lee County: Leon County and Tallahassee area: Marion County: Miami-Dade County: Orange County Florida region. Palm Beach County including Martin and St. Lucie. Pasco County: Pinellas County: Sarasota and Manatee: Polk County: Volusia County as well as Flagler. Georgia: Augusta, Richmond County, and Columbia area Christmas programs.

Click here Atlanta and Fulton County , including northern GA. Bibb and Houston County as well as central Georgia. Chatham County and Coastal Georgia area. Lowndes County and Valdosta: Muscogee County Hawaii - All cities and counties. Idaho Boise area and surrounding counties. Illinois Chicago: DuPage County: Kane County: Lake County: Sangamon County: Will County: Winnebago County Indiana: Counties across central part of state, including: Indianapolis Northwestern Indiana, including: Allen, Lake County and nearby regions.

Iowa: Cedar Rapids and Linn County Des Moines: Johnson County and Iowa City as well as nearby counties Kansas: Johnson County: Sedgwick County Topeka region and nearby counties Kentucky: Bowling Green, Warren County and nearby areas: Jefferson County: Lexington-Fayette area, including all of central Kentucky Louisiana: East Baton Rogue Parish region: New Orleans area, including Jefferson Parish: Rapides Parish Maine - The entire state.

Maryland: Anne Arundel County Baltimore: Howard County: Montgomery County: Prince George’s County: Massachusetts: Essex County: Middlesex and Suffolk County Massachusetts: Plymouth County: Springfield and Hampden County: Worcester County Michigan: Genesee County: Kalamazoo County: Kent and Ottawa County: Michigan - southern and central region: Wayne and Oakland County Michigan: Entire State - In addition to above, Michigan VOA Adopt a Family is available.

Minnesota: Minneapolis region, including: Hennepin, Ramsey, Anoka, and Dakota: Mississippi: Gulfport and Biloxi region: Hinds, Rankin, Madison County Missouri: Boone County: Kansas City and surrounding counties. St. Louis Montana - Statewide holiday assistance programs.

Nebraska Omaha , including Douglas and Sarpy County. Nevada: Clark County Nevada: Washoe County: New Hampshire: Hillsborough County: Rockingham County New Jersey: Atlantic County: Bergen County: Burlington County: Camden County: Essex County New Jersey: Gloucester County: Hudson County: Mercer County and Trenton: Middlesex County: Morris County: Ocean County New Mexico: Bernalillo County and Albuquerque: Dona Ana County and Las Cruces New York: Albany County: Erie County and Buffalo: Jefferson and St.

Lawrence County: Long Island New York: New York City: Monroe County: Onondaga County: Orange, Dutchess, and Rockland County: Or find charities that focus just on: Dutchess County: Westchester County: North Carolina: Buncombe County: Cumberland and Robeson County: Durham County: Forsyth County: Guilford County: Mecklenburg County: Wake County Wilmington area, including Brunswick and New Hanover Ohio Cincinnati area, including northern KY and southern OH Cleveland and surrounding counties: Dayton and Montgomery County: Columbus and: Franklin County area.

Greene County: Lucas County: Mahoning, Trumbull, and Columbinia County: Stark County: Summit County Oklahoma: Le Flore and Sequoyah County area: Oklahoma City and surrounding counties, including Cleveland and others. Tulsa Oregon: Marion County and Salem Portland region as well as 3 neighboring counties.

Pennsylvania: Allegheny County and surrounding region. Dauphin County: Erie County: Lancaster County: Lehigh and Northampton County: Luzerne County and Wilkes-Barre: Philadelphia area: York County: Rhode Island - Agencies have Christmas help for all counties, including Providence.

South Carolina - The whole state. There are also holiday programs focused on the area around: Charleston County , including Dorchester and Berkeley. Greenville County has dedicated free Christmas programs.

Or locate: Myrtle Beach and Horry County holi