About half a million Australian children will likely wake up on Christmas morning without any presents as the financial burden of the season weighs on families, a poll shows.
The Roy Morgan poll commissioned by the Salvation Army shows almost half of all Australians believe Christmas is a "financial nightmare" and about 2.4 million people are worried about how they will afford it.
About 11 per cent of Australians almost always or often feel lonely at Christmas and the majority believe the gap between rich and poor is getting bigger.
"As families and friends gather to celebrate, this survey reminds us that there are some Australians who have no one to share a Christmas meal with," Salvation Army major Paul Moulds said.
"Poverty is not limited to the absence of material things. Relationships and social connections are also often impacted," Maj Moulds said.
The poll also shows hundreds of thousands of Australians enter debt to pay for Christmas, with almost 500,000 always getting into debt they cannot comfortably afford to pay back.
In contrast, the poll found about 8.6 million Australians buy too much food over the period.
"When you compare that to our surveys that show that nearly half of our clients are forced to skip meals due to extreme financial hardship, the contrast is astounding and disturbing," Maj Moulds said.
"We are a nation known for standing by people in need. By donating to The Salvation Army's Christmas Appeal, you can give hope where it's needed most by blessing families in crisis with a Christmas they could never afford to have," he said.
STRAINS OF CHRISTMAS
* About half a million children under 10 are likely to wake up without any presents
* 1.9 million people will almost always or often feel lonely on Christmas
* 1.8 million think Christmas will likely leave them worrying in debt
* More than three per cent will sell things to fund their Christmas
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