Many families across the country expect the holidays to be more costly this year, leaving them with less of what the season is all about: family and food.
"My god, is it different this year!" Steve Posey, said this week while looking into the dairy case at Aldi supermarket in Medford, Mass. "With inflation and the cost of eggs and cheese and all that stuff, it's so ridiculous."
He and his wife, India, came to the store to shop, but not for themselves. They recently picked up a second job with Instacart, to help cover their rising costs.
Despite Posey's job as a case manager at a veterans' organization, and his wife's job in child care, they still can't make ends meet. For their Thanksgiving dinner, they got a turkey and some canned goods from a food pantry. They're scraping together the rest of their meal, but Posey said it's put a damper on their holiday spirit.
"It kind of takes away from the joy," he said. "I don't feel it this year. To be honest, I'm just trying to stay above water."
Posey also has seen how much the veterans he works with are struggling. Many saw their federal SNAP food assistance disrupted this month during the government shutdown, and still haven't caught up. The strain is now beginning to show, he said.
"We're starting to see a lot more people frustrated, a lot more people angry," he said. "You're starting to see an uptick in violence, especially domestic violence, and a lot of substance use, because they're just overwhelmed."
In New York City, Queens resident Rosetta Savannah is facing her own challenges. She's one of those who saw their SNAP payments disrupted during the government shutdown and is still waiting for this month's benefits. So far, she's gotten just half of what she normally receives, and she's had extra medical bills.
Her family's Thanksgiving dinner will also be lighter than usual.
"We're doing mostly chicken, because chicken is cheaper," Savannah said. "I usually bake cakes and pies but I'm not doing that this year."
She's also relying on a local food pantry for a small ham and some sides, but she knows there's no guarantee anything will be left.
"You have to get up super early to at least be maybe the 30th person on line, and then you just wait and see," she said.
Savannah is cutting down on gifts this year, too. Her three kids will only get one small present each, instead of the several she usually gives them.
There will also be fewer presents under the tree at Bonnie Green's home in Bethlehem, Penn.
"I'm significantly cutting out gifts, there's just no way," she said. "I can't afford it."
Green, a 60-year-old professional and homeowner, has always considered herself upper-middle class. She loves Black Friday shopping and had planned on buying several new outfits for her kids, and for her first granddaughter's first Christmas. Typically she would also make an elaborate and plentiful holiday feast.
"I go big," she said.
But earlier this year, her job with the National Science Foundation was one of the many eliminated by the Department of Government Efficiency, which President Trump created by executive order on his first day in office. She still has her job as a professor at East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania, but her total income is now half of what it was.
"That's a lot of money that is no longer there," Green said. "It's really tough."
That has forced big changes this year. Besides nixing gifts, she's not decorating as she usually does, and her holiday menu is far more modest. Her usual seafood chowder will be replaced by chicken soup. And forget the Beef Wellington and pecan pie, she said. Instead, she's "leaning in" to dishes she can make with much cheaper ingredients.
The biggest blow: her sister won't be able to make it for Christmas. That's not only because of the higher airfare, but also because she's feeling the pinch and needs to work an extra shift.
"I have friends who (say) the economy has never been better," Green said. "I don't know what economy they're living in, but it's not mine."
Still Green adds, she feels fortunate compared to others, especially the many low-income students at her school.
She said the campus food pantry is doing nearly double its usual volume, and she's heard from students who say they're so financially strapped they may be forced to drop out of school just shy of getting their diploma, which would put their future earning potential at risk.
Green, who has spent her career researching how to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged students, set up a scholarship fund this fall to help students who are as close to graduating as they are to running out of money.
"It would be a tragedy beyond words," she said. "They will never be able to (have a seat) at the table without a bachelor's degree. They won't even be invited to the table, and they deserve to be there."
So far, the foundation has raised enough to keep one student in school through graduation. But there are dozens more who have been deemed eligible for the program. Green is doing what she can to help. Even as she's cut her holiday spending, she's increased her holiday giving to support the foundation.
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