A Framingham woman seeks Christmas help for her nephew who was abandoned by his drug-addicted parents and is now in her care.

A mother from Gloucester talks about how tight the family budget is since her only income is 20 hours of pay a week for taking care of her grandparents.

And a mother from a community north of Boston speaks of how she and her daughter are working to recover from the suicide of the little girl’s father.

All three will get help from Santa. Here are their stories.

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“I had recently had the pleasure of obtaining legal permanent guardianship of my nephew,’’ the woman from Framingham writes in her letter to Globe Santa.

The boy, now 5 years old, was abandoned by his parents when he was 3½, she says. And after seven foster homes and a children’s residential program, he has come home to his aunt, who says the boy “has never had a ‘real’ Christmas with a real family.’’

The woman isn’t working now because she is in school studying to become a veterinary technician so finances are lean.

“I am humbly asking that you help me in giving [him] the Christmas he deserves,’’ she says.

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The Gloucester mother, who has a 2-year-old daughter, says her only income is through a state program that pays relatives for caring for aged parents or grandparents. She says her parents are dead and her daughter’s father is in prison.

She is grateful for the income but can’t supplement it because her grandparents, who are in their 90s, need constant care.

“Life has its challenges,’’ she tells Globe Santa. “I don’t make much, don’t have a car, and not much down time to just enjoy life.

“I’m 37 years young and want my daughter to see that no matter what life throws our way, we can always find a way to make life work.’’

“We may not be as privileged as most families, but I don’t want my daughter to go without a wonderful Christmas even though her mom can’t afford much,’’ she says.

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The mother from north of Boston says her 2-year-old daughter lost her father to suicide earlier this year.

“It’s very hard to raise her alone and provide for all her needs,’’ she tells Globe Santa. “Receiving help for Christmas would mean so much to me knowing I can’t do it all on my own.

“The holidays are already going to be hard for the both of us,’’ she says. “I don’t have the best income for us right now but we are making it work. All her needs are being met. It will just be hard trying to get some things together for her for Christmas.’’

“I really hope she gets approved for Christmas to make it a little lighter on me.’’

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Globe Santa will help all of them just as it has been doing since 1956.

But the program, which is run by the Boston Globe Foundation, relies on donations from thousands who feel the need to bring Christmas joy to tens of thousands of deserving children each year.

Please consider giving by mail or telephone or online at globesanta.org.

Tom Coakley can be reached at thomas.coakley@globe.com