As the rising cost of living continues to bite for many Australians, Claire Dalanbah has been finding innovative ways to make Christmas feel festive without the usual price tag.
The full-time student and mother has been second-hand shopping for presents, such as books from the op shop and propagated plants from Gumtree.
"With all the rises in prices, I've had to find ways to make the money I do have stretch further," she says.
"You can buy a book new and give that as a gift. But, then, as soon as it's read, people give them to the op shop, and then they're only a dollar, but they're still in pristine condition."
And for Christmas lunch, she's skipping the recipes that use expensive ingredients.
"I'm making an ice-cream cake in a special tin, just with ingredients that are not as expensive as the ones you see in magazines," she says.
Ms Dalanbah says she started preparing for Christmas back in July, because she knew she'd need to be crafty this year.
"You do have to spend a bit more time to make it work," she says.
Rising demand for charity services
At a Christmas lunch put on by the Salvation Army, many are worried about being able to put food on the table.
Salvation Army commanding officer Brendan Nottle says it is causing a rise in demand for their services.
"We're seeing people come to us for help [who] are making decisions [such as], 'We're not going to buy our medicine, because we won't have enough money to buy toys for the kids'," he says.
"They're doing things like not replacing the bald tyres on their cars."
Research commissioned by the Salvation Army found 77 per cent of their clients, and 21 per cent of the general public, are struggling to afford food this Christmas.
The Salvation Army is distributing hundreds of thousands of meals, hampers and gifts this Christmas to help those in need which, Major Nottle says, includes people who are employed.
"It's not just practical help they need, it's emotional support," he says.
"If you need help, reach out to us.
"We hear you and we're here for you — you're not on your own."
Charities struggling to raise funds this year
The rising cost of living also means people have less spare income to donate to charities and organisations this year.
With Christmas being a key fundraising period for many not-for-profits, they're left worried about being able to provide their services over the next year.
Children's charity The Smith Family are down $2 million on their fundraising goal for their Christmas fundraising drive.
Chief executive Doug Taylor says this means fewer children than they had hoped will be able to access programs for overcoming educational inequality.
"We can't bring more young people into these programs that would really make an enormous difference for their education and their life trajectory," he says.
"It's clear that giving, for most charitable organisations, is facing some challenges this Christmas period, and it's at a time where people need it the most."
He says those who want to help out but can't afford to donate could volunteer or become a mentor for a young person in The Smith Family's program.
For Claire Dalanbah, having a frugal Christmas this year doesn't bother her so much, as she'll be spending it with loved ones.
"Christmas will feel the same, regardless of how much money you've spent, regardless of the ways you've tried to stretch your money," she says.
