FOR families on low incomes or struggling financially, Christmas can be a particular source of stress.

From pressure to get gifts for partners and children to forking out for Christmas dinner, it can be hard to do the festive season on a budget.

1

The good news is that there are grants and charities that can help you get through it.

Charity Turn2Us says that while most charitable funds do not provide specific grants to help people meet the costs of Christmas, some may consider applications of this nature, depending on your circumstances and background.

At the same time, others might give you money to help with your day-to-day living costs, which could free up some cash for the festive season.

The amount of money available through grants depends on which ones you are eligible for. Some are created for people who work or have worked in specific professions, whilst others are aimed to help people with specific disabilities or health conditions. Others are tied to a specific location.

Grants don’t have to be paid back, and they won’t affect your benefits. Most charities offer at least £100, but some offer thousands.

For instance, the dance professionals fund has grants available between £600-£3,000 for dancers, dance teachers, and choreographers. The money can be used for cost-of-living expenses, medical fees, and even career retraining costs.

Meanwhile, B&CE’s Charitable Trust has grants available worth up to £500 for people in the construction industry. These can be used for day-to-day livings expenses, paying off debts, and even holidays.

The Salespeople charity helps anyone who has worked as a Business to Business (B2B) salesperson for 5 years within the last 10 years, visiting business customers in their premises to sell goods or services. Grants are worth £1000 or more.

Some grants are even specific to employees of certain companies. For instance, the BHS Trust Fund helps people who have worked for BHS for at least twelve months, whether they’re currently in work, between jobs or even retired.

The charity awards Christmas grants to individuals facing financial difficulties in the lead up to the festive period.  The support ranges from hampers and food shopping vouchers to toys for children. Applications open in November and run through to the first week of December and you can find out more here.

To find out what grants you might be eligible for, you can use Turn2Us’ grant search tool. If you fill in your age, any disabilities or illnesses, your profession (and your partners if you have one) and any religious affiliations, it will show you a list of grants available.

You could also use the platform Lightning Reach, which tells you the grants you might be eligible for, and helps you apply.

It also details how much the grants are worth, the eligibility criteria, and how to apply for each one.

Some grants are paid within weeks, while others take longer, so if you’re specifically concerned about the Christmas period, it makes sense to start applying as soon as possible.

Household Support Fund

You may be able to get help with essential living costs from your local council through a program called the Household Support Fund (HSF).

This program is meant to assist people who are struggling or cannot afford basic needs like energy bills, water bills, and food.

Some councils provide food vouchers to families during school holidays as part of this program.

Eligibility criteria differs from one council to another, so it’s a good idea to visit your local council’s website to find out what help is available and how to apply.

For example, Richmond Council offers grants of up to £600 for families with two or more children, while Haringey Council usually gives out vouchers of around £100 per household.

Other charities providing Christmas help

The Salvation Army

Each Christmas, the Salvation Army supports thousands of people across over 600 communities in the UK.

It says that this year, it will be providing Christmas lunches and companionship to older people living alone, giving food parcels to families who are struggling to afford a proper Christmas lunch, and distributing toys to children whose parents are unable to afford presents.

You can find your location Salvation Army using the map tool.

Crisis

Every year, Crisis at Christmas offers warmth, accommodation, healthcare, food and specialist advice. 

Last Christmas, the charity worked with over 6,600 people facing homelessness through day centres and hotels in London, and Crisis Skylight centres across Britain.

Visit the ‘Get Help’ section of the website, if you think Crisis can help you.

CashforKids

The CashForKids Mission Christmas appeal provides gifts for kids from underprivileged families.

You can’t apply directly, but referral services such as social services, GPs and teachers can do so on your behalf.

Priority is given to applications that are submitted from social services and other bodies of authority within the remit of caring for disadvantaged children.

The organisation or professional making the application is responsible for ensuring that the gifts are distributed to children who meet the eligibility criteria.

Family Fund

Family Fund works with partners in the UK to offer grants that can be used to allow families with a disabled child to go on holiday. This includes holidays over the festive period. 

The charity says applicants should include as much information as possible about the type of break you’d like as a family and the difference it will make to the child or young person you’re applying for. You can make an application here.

Schools, councils and churches

Many local schools, councils and churches run schemes to help disadvantaged families over Christmas, so it’s worth checking with any that are near you to see what’s available. 

In the run up to December, more charities will announce schemes. For instance, Lidl, Book Trust, Action for Children, and Family action have all run initiatives in the past.

Unlock the US Election Countdown newsletter for free

The stories that matter on money and politics in the race for the White House

It is a truism that US vice-presidential debates rarely affect the electoral outcome. After Tim Walz’s lacklustre showing against JD Vance on Tuesday night, Democrats will be praying that still holds.

Political betting site Polymarket gave Walz a 70 per cent chance of winning at the start of the debate. By the end he was trading at just 33 cents. It will be some consolation that the TV viewing numbers are likely to be far lower than the audience of almost 70mn that tuned into Kamala Harris’s encounter with Donald Trump last month.

Either way, the Vance-Walz debate was probably the last of the 2024 presidential campaign. Trump has shown no interest in agreeing to Harris’s call for a second encounter, understandable given how much blood she drew in their first.

In terms of how America votes on November 5, Tuesday’s “veep debate” may not even rank as the second-most impactful event of the day. The first was Iran’s missile attack on Israel and the threat of a wider Middle Eastern war. If sustained, the jump in crude oil on Tuesday will feed into higher US fuel prices and hit consumer sentiment, which would harm Harris. Any impression of Middle East chaos is also likely to play into Trump’s hands.

The second-most important event on Tuesday was arguably Trump pulling out of CBS’s widely watched 60 Minutes show next week and Harris confirming her participation. How she comes across in that interview, and the fact of Trump’s absence, is likely to have more sway than the Vance-Walz debate with the few million American voters who are still undecided.

Nevertheless the vice-presidential encounter offered several pointers on the nature of this election. Three stood out.

The first was Vance’s confidence and fluency. The Ohio senator also told some whopping lies. Of these, Vance’s claim that he had never supported a federal abortion ban and that Trump strengthened the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare”, were most egregious. Vance has consistently backed a national ban and other restrictions on women’s bodily autonomy. Trump tried to abolish the ACA multiple times.

Vance also conspicuously dodged questions about whether the 2020 election was stolen. His evasions may come back to haunt him. Overall though, Vance evidently took on board widespread advice to come across as more likeable. The debate was a mirror image of last month’s Trump-Harris encounter. Both vice-presidential candidates were civil throughout.

Second, Walz was nervous and often faltering. The Harris-Walz campaign has taken some pride in avoiding mainstream media interviews and press conferences. Walz’s exposure has mostly been in soft settings with friendly journalists. Vance, by contrast, has been touring the Sunday morning shows almost every week. His slick evasions and polished whataboutisms betrayed many hours of practice on live TV.

The Harris-Walz campaign may come to regret their preference for gentler surroundings. America’s relatively small but potentially decisive share of wavering voters repeatedly tell pollsters that they want more information about Harris’s policies. That Trump has supplied much less policy detail is striking. But nobody said politics was fair.

Finally, Tuesday night offered a glimpse into one of America’s possible futures. Given the running mates’ respective age differences with their bosses, Vance’s performance was more significant. At 40, he is barely half Trump’s age. The prospect that a second term Trump would yield to a Vance administration before it ends is significantly higher than that of Harris giving way to Walz, who is several months older than her.

Vance conveyed Trumpism in its palatable form. He stood up for every tenet of Trumpism, including his refusal to accept that Biden won the 2020 election. But his mien was tempered and reasonable.

Many Republicans last year invested great hope in Florida’s Ron DeSantis as the man who could uphold Trumpism without Trump. DeSantis turned out to be a dud in debates and on the hustings. Vance, on the other hand, has a future whatever happens next month. Liberals are right to fear Vance; he is a hardline Christian nationalist. After Tuesday night, however, they would be rash to dismiss him.

edward.luce@ft.com

Today’s agenda: Oil prices surge; Vance-Walz debate; Google’s AI lab assistant; how Andrea Orcel did it; and Martin Wolf on the end of cheap money

Good morning. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate against Iran after the Islamic republic fired scores of ballistic missiles at Israel yesterday as the region slid ever closer towards all-out war. Here’s what we know.

What happened: Israel said it intercepted most of the estimated 180 missiles, but there were a “few hits” in the centre and south of the country. A person briefed on the situation said Tehran’s intended targets included military and intelligence infrastructure near Tel Aviv. Iran said 90 per cent of its missiles had hit targets, with state media claiming successful hits on an air base and civilian airport. Israel’s military said it was not aware of any casualties from the barrage. The attack came soon after two Palestinian shooters killed six people in Tel Aviv’s southern neighbourhood of Jaffa.

Will the US get dragged into a potential war? American naval destroyers helped Israel to shoot down Iran’s missiles in yesterday’s attack, and the US has promised to “work with Israel” to ensure “severe consequences” for Tehran. The US has also been deploying more forces since Israel assassinated Hizbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and intensified its bombing of Lebanon. It has about 40,000 troops in the region.

The chances of the US not backing Israel are small, writes chief foreign affairs columnist Gideon Rachman, who notes that the strike has delivered an “October surprise” that may benefit Donald Trump in the US election. Politicians will want to appear fully supportive of Israel and avoid appearing soft on Iran.

We have more insight into this latest escalation and its impact:

• Oil prices surge: Brent crude rose as much as 5 per cent to $75.40 a barrel yesterday as the possibility of all-out war stoked supply fears.

• Military briefing: While Israel’s Iron Dome intercepted most of Iran’s missiles, there were crucial differences from Tehran’s earlier attack in April.

• 12 key moments: From exploding pagers and assassinations to missile strikes, Middle East editor Andrew England traces the events pushing the region toward full-scale war.

Scroll further to read about how the hostilities will affect the White House race. And here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today:

• Starmer in Brussels: European officials have warned the UK prime minister not to expect an easy ride as he tries to “reset” Britain’s ties with the EU.

• Aircraft ‘mega trial’: AIG, Chubb and Lloyd’s of London are among insurers facing a multibillion-dollar claim in London’s High Court from owners of planes stuck in Russia.

• Markets: ConAgra Brands, JD Sports, and Lamb Weston report results. Israel’s markets are closed to mark Rosh Hashana eve.

Five more top stories

1. Vice-presidential candidates JD Vance and Tim Walz sparred over US foreign policy and immigration in a debate yesterday night, laying out sharply contrasting visions of America’s role in the world at a pivotal moment in the campaign’s final stretch. Here’s what they said about the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

2. Exclusive: Google DeepMind and BioNTech are building AI lab assistants to help researchers plan scientific experiments and better predict outcomes as companies race to find specialised applications for energy and data-intensive artificial intelligence models. Google’s AI chief said biology was “seeing a revolution” as a result of AI.

3. China’s outbound investment is surging from already-record levels, government data shows, as analysts suggest that the country’s booming clean energy technology sector is increasingly looking to set up manufacturing operations abroad in the face of US and EU tariffs and driving a “tsunami” of green investment.

4. Exclusive: City minister Tulip Siddiq is pushing for the UK to start issuing “digital gilts” on the blockchain amid concerns that Britain needs to modernise its markets to compete internationally, but the Treasury agency responsible for managing the government’s debt has resisted the move. George Parker and Michael O’Dwyer have more details.

5. Nike has reported a 10 per cent drop in quarterly sales and withdrawn its full-year forecast, sending shares down as much as 7 per cent in after-hours trading yesterday. This come as the world’s largest sportswear maker navigates a tumultuous period ahead of the arrival of its new chief executive.

News in-depth

Andrea Orcel stunned Germany last week by raising UniCredit’s stake in Commerzbank to 21 per cent, mirroring tactics from hostile takeover battles of more than a decade ago. But a loophole in EU disclosure rules has since been closed, making large-scale secret stakebuilding impossible. So how did the Italian lender’s chief manage to sidestep these rules?

We’re also reading . . . 

• Ozempic and the gym: Weight-loss drugs and a new focus on wellness are pushing many exercise machines towards obsolescence, writes Brooke Masters.

• Eli Lilly’s rise: The company is set to become the first $1tn drugmaker by market value, but investors see warning signs it has reached “peak enthusiasm”.

• Raspberry Pi: Conceived to enable technology education, the Cambridge-based company has charmed its way a UK computer revival, writes John Gapper.

• Modi’s big challenge: India faces an economic mismatch: a chronic shortage of jobs matched only by the lack of suitable candidates to fill them.

Chart of the day

Have we seen the end of cheap money? We are witnessing the beginning of an easing cycle in monetary policy, but there are reasons to expect real interest rates to go even higher, writes Martin Wolf.

Take a break from the news

Wondering what to do, buy and eat this month? From jazz and brandy at Brunswick House in London to a restaurant with a “bring your own truffle” scheme, here are 14 brilliant recommendations from HTSI’s writers.

Additional contributions from Gordon Smith and Benjamin Wilhelm