From toy drives to sharing a church and a community Christmas lunch, the residents of Eugowra are determined to create a sense of normality this festive season.
It has been just six weeks since a catastrophic flood wiped out most of the rural New South Wales town.
Houses were lifted from their footings, cars were washed away and two people died amid the widespread carnage.
Catholic mass in Anglican church
The local Catholic church is one of the many buildings that remains uninhabitable after it was destroyed by floodwaters, which means it cannot be used for mass.
Instead, they have been sharing the town's Anglican Church, which is up on a hill and was spared major damage.
Both denominations will hold separate services in the church on Christmas Eve, and everyone is welcome.
"And that's wonderful. That's Eugowra, we're all one big community," the principal of the local Catholic school, Cathy Eppelstun, said.
"We're still celebrating and we're keeping that spirit alive, at the same time as keeping Eugowra's spirit alive."
Thousands of toys
There is also a concerted effort to make sure the town's children, and adults too, don't miss out on presents on Christmas Day.
So far, thousands of toys have been collected through the toy drive at the public school.
Organiser Raewin Molloy hopes the toys and Christmas presents will take some pressure off parents and bring joy to families.
"I think it will be good to give children a really, really good day on Christmas day," she said.
Ms Molloy has been amazed by the "massive" amount of donations, with more and more coming each day from all over the state.
"I couldn't estimate how much is there, but it would be over 3,000 gifts ready for the community to be able to come and get some for their children and for adults for Christmas."
Ms Eppelstun has also been overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of strangers, not just in donating Christmas items, but with clean-up and recovery efforts ever since the disaster struck.
"People have been incredible, oh my gosh, we call it a flood of love," she said.
A feast for families
With church services and presents sorted, the Eugowra Promotion and Progress Association turned its attention to organising a Christmas lunch everyone could enjoy.
President Sean Haynes said the food was being donated by Havana House Ministries in nearby Forbes, a community that has also suffered multiple floods this year.
Mr Haynes hopes the lunch will bring a sense of normalcy and allow the community to heal.
"It is a time where people get together and we've been rocked by what has happened to our community," he said.
"People may not have family or maybe not even a home to go to, so we'll be hosting the lunch at the Eugowra showground, where people can come get a meal."
He said although this festive season was unlike any other, the town was keeping the Christmas spirit alive.
"We do see that festive spirit coming out in decorations around the town, we are missing our big Christmas tree which usually adorns the park, but it's those little bits and pieces which we still have that gets that Christmas festivities out there," he said.
"We need to stick together in these tough times to be able to move forward.
"Not every day is an easy day but as a community, we can move forward."
