This winter, children's charity Variety is facing unprecedented demand for warm clothes, dry shoes and beds from New Zealand families in hardship. The Herald spoke to families seeking help about how they got into hardship, what they need - and how Kiwi families can help.

To donate go to www.variety.org.nz/winter

Jack Frost nips in, icing Canterbury in a glistening sheet of white.

Danielle and 5-year-old daughter Aria huddle in the lounge beneath blankets. Even with the fire crackling with treated offcuts retrieved from a local building site, they're still cold.

"The house is freezing. Even with the fire going, it never gets above about 13C," says Danielle.

Heaters take the edge off. But they are used sparingly. Money's tight, to say the least. And winter's cold grip strangles every last cent.

The school holidays are here. When the sun comes up, and the frost starts to thaw, Danielle and bright-eyed Aria explore nearby playgrounds, go on long bike rides, and scour the Kids Fest booklet for free activities. Last week, they did a dinosaur hunt at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens.

Today, they're splashing out with a rare trip to the movies. It was either the cinema, or swimming. Aria is bouncing with excitement at the prospect of seeing Incredibles 2.

"It's a treat but it feels good to be able to do something for Aria," says Danielle. "She'll always come first before me. Everyone always says parenting is hard – I don't think parenting is hard. Money is hard. It makes everything hard and if you don't have it, you go without."

Things are slowly starting to improve for the little family. Danielle starts a business diploma at Ara Institute of Canterbury this week. It means she's had to stop her bar and cleaning work. And extra petrol driving from home outside Christchurch into the city four times a week.

But for Danielle, it's about improving their lot.

"I need to do something to prove to my child that you don't just sit around and do nothing."

Danielle moved around with her family a lot when she was young. Her father was a farmer, first at Leeston, then Culverden, and Ashburton. Back in Leeston, her sister Stephanie died of a rare tumour aged just 15.

She later moved out and went flatting at 18. She was in Christchurch when the deadly February 2011 earthquake hit, and was supposed to be on the bus that was crushed by falling buildings on Colombo St.

Then, at 21, she became pregnant. Her 19-year-old boyfriend of just three months didn't want a child and left her.

When Aria came along, they moved around a lot. Last year, they found the rented place they're at now. Aria is thriving at the local school, and they like it here. They want to stay. They just need a little hand to see them through.

Danielle has applied for Kiwi Kid Sponsorship through children's charity Variety and has been on their waiting list for six months. She recently got a clothing grant from Work and Income.

The wet June saw the washing pile grow into a mountain as Danielle had no means of drying the clothes, sending wee Aria off to school in an array of outfits.

With Working for Families Tax Credits and winter payments, they get $645 per week. After $300 a week for rent, around $120 for groceries, $30 electricity, $20 insurance, $80-$120 for petrol, and internet and Netflix ("It's my only wind down time"), there's not a lot left over.

She puts $10 a week into an emergency saving fund that a close friend administers.

"If, like today, we want to go to the movies, or if I pop a tyre, or Aria needs something for school, then I know there's at least a little money there I can dip in to. Otherwise, there's nothing left. Nothing."

They have a little vegetable patch where broccoli and spinach and growing. The silverbeet has just survived the frosts.

They wrap up in robes, blankets and extra socks.

She hates her daughter going without. And little Aria knows there's some things she can't have.

"If we go to the supermarket, Aria asks, 'Can we buy this?' when I say no, she says, 'We can use my piggy bank money!'."

Tips from her bar work go into the piggy bank. Aria buys her own toys out of it. She loves My Little Pony and proudly shows them displayed on her bookcase – donated to Danielle after a babysitting job.

"I know it looks like we're better off than other people," Danielle says. "But it's not easy. If someone saw that we were applying to a charity to get Aria some help, they might not think we need that support. But they don't know where it all goes.

"People on benefits have a bad name. But I'm not one of them. I want to work and I just want the best for my child."

POWER PRICES - AT A GLANCE

The amount New Zealanders pay for electricity is coming under greater scrutiny.

Household power bills have risen faster than the rate of inflation for many years, while commercial prices have stayed the same. Since 2000, retail prices have increased by 50 per cent, putting pressure on low income families' budgets.

Residential prices rose faster in New Zealand than any other country in the 22-nation International Energy Agency, and were well above the organisation's average.

These findings prompted the Labour-led Government to begin a review of electricity prices in May, to check whether New Zealand households are getting a fair deal.

In the meantime, it has also introduced the winter energy payment worth $700 a year this month, which is available to most beneficiaries and pensioners.

The previous Government's main approach to addressing high power bills was to encourage competition, partly through a state-funded website which helped consumers find their cheapest retailer.

That has encouraged companies to offer fixed prices and discounts but has not had a significant impact on retail prices.