Angie Robinson, a bubbling 5-year-old with braided hair, is asking Santa for a microphone, a pocketbook, and a dirt bike this year. Showing off a picture she drew of a Christmas tree in school, she says her older sister is asking for shoes, pants, and shirts.

James Williams, on the other hand, isn’t “asking for much” this year—except maybe the PlayStation 2 game “Bulletproof.” The tall, studious-looking 11-year-old does not believe in Santa anymore, but he still likes to help his mother find gifts for his 4-year-old brother and 2-year-old sister. James is looking forward to the holiday party his aftercare program at school is throwing, and is even participating in a gift exchange there.

Unlike most children with long Christmas wish lists, Angie and James are both homeless and live at a shelter for homeless families in southwest Washington called ‘DC Village.’ Still, the homeless kids in the DC-metro area often look forward to the holiday season with excitement, like every child should. With the help of service providers and well-meaning parents, many homeless children, like Angie and James, do not even realize that they are homeless, even around the costly present-giving holiday season.

Project Northstar is a tutoring program with seven sites throughout the city, including one at DC Village. Nina Wu, academic case manager for Project Northstar, said, “Last month, when I was talking to my students about the [Fannie Mae] Help the Homeless Walkathon that Project Northstar was a part of and trying to raise money for, one of my students who lives in the Spring Road Shelter raised his hand and asked if he could help us out by collecting cans of food for homeless people.”

Wu notes that she does have students who are acutely aware of their housing situation and what that means in the broader picture of American society. “I think that [others] have a perception of people experiencing homelessness as being only those who live on the streets with grocery carts and bags of their belongings by their side, rather than those who live with a roof over their heads,” she added.

Nine-year-old Daijha Spencer is asking for a “doll baby that talks and uses the bathroom” this year. For Thanksgiving, she went to her grandmother’s house with her mother and sister for a feast including turkey, greens, cranberry sauce, lasagna, potato salad, cake, and pumpkin, apple, and pecan pie. “We’re going to my Aunt Marsha’s in Maryland for Christmas. We’ll have mostly everything for dinner again,” she said.

Daijha’s Project Northstar tutor at DC Village, Teresa, notes, “Christmas around here is even more chaotic than usual.” Teresa also volunteers with the Homeless Children’s Playtime Project at DC Village, and both groups she works with plan on throwing Christmas parties for the kids.

Whether homeless children fully realize the state of their own economic situation or not, parties around the holidays are something they come to expect and look forward to. “We had parties here four days in a row at Halloween,” Daijha said.

On the other hand, perhaps placing too great of an emphasis on gifts and money throughout the season is a bad idea. “To be quite honest, I usually avoid the subject of Christmas with our children who are in shelters because I don't want them to be reminded of what a big deal it is in our society and think that there's something huge that they're missing out on,” Wu said.

James added, “My mom just got a job and she doesn’t like to take off. She likes to make extra money around Christmas.” Though he does realize how Christmas may be different for him living in a shelter. “I don’t like to tell people I live here,” he said of DC Village.

That exact sentiment is what many homeless advocates, including Project Northstar, are trying to combat. “What's unfortunate is that some of these students think that their personal experience is something to be ashamed of. We try to help them understand that it's not, that they should feel empowered by their experience because they have a unique and valuable perspective to share and teach others about,” Wu said.

Even with all the presents from providers, homeless children still have not forgotten the true meaning of Christmas, and what it means to give of themselves. Eleven-year-old DC Village resident Donea is one such child. She doesn’t believe in Santa anymore, but she already knows what she’s getting her mother for Christmas. “I’m gonna cook her a ham and cheese omelet for breakfast, and make toast with butter and jelly,” she says, with excitement in her eyes. “But don’t tell her, because it’s a secret.”