Christmas on any size budget can sparkle

Santa Claus (Michael Pollock) visits children at the Crossroads Family Center in Providence.

Alvin Bryant with his grandson, Isiah, 3, in the kitchen of their Providence apartment.
Alvin lost his job, and his daughter, Alicia Bryant, 34, (not shown) is supporting a multigenerational family of five with food stamps and the $7.85 an hour she earns as a seasonal retail cashier at Kohl's.

Alicia Bryant holds her son, Isiah, 3, in the living room of the Providence apartment she shares with her father and two nieces. Alicia is supporting her extended family.

The Wilson family of Antioch, Calif., gets ready for dinner. From left is mother Velma Wilson, Claryssa Wilson, 12, Jesse Wilson, 10, and father Clarke Wilson. Velma is a 40-year-old mother of three who was forced to quit her job at an auto dealership last October due to a knee injury. Now, she receives slightly less than $2,000 a month in workers' compensation, less than half what she was making.

Jesse Wilson, 10, plays an electronic game in his room. After having their house broken into in July and much of the kids' gaming gear stolen, the Wilson family put clothes, shoes, toys and electronics on layaway. But Velma Wilson had to cancel it due to funeral bills for her husband's mother. The children will get clothes that Velma bought several months ago.

"My kids have gone through a lot because they've had to experience Mommy and Daddy both losing their jobs. They've had to deal with holiday seasons where the economy is so bad, what we would try to do for Christmas we couldn't do because we didn't have the means. We were just trying to live," says Velma Wilson, here with her husband, Clarke, who has found a new job.

Claryssa Wilson, 12, does her sixth-grade science homework in her room.