By Nick Dermody BBC Wales news website

Home for Christmas: Mrs Lewis, Jordan and Louise settle in

The 23-year-old and her son Jordan, five, and Louise, two, could have spent the festive season in a hostel for homeless families.

This week she began putting up festive decorations in a three-bedroom council house in her home town, Tredegar, south Wales.

"Santa has been good," she said. "I have been very lucky."

The family had been on the housing register of Blaenau Gwent Council since September.

Mrs Lewis' explained how she became homeless when she and her factory worker husband bought a property in need of renovation.

Being made homeless was an experience that made me stronger. If you can go through that, you can go through anything Ceri Lewis

Financial constraints forced them to move in with her husband's mother as work got under way on their house.

It was during this time, she and her husband, who have been together for seven years and married for two years, decided on an amicable separation.

There was no equity in the property and she was advised to sign her half over to her husband so that she would be able to register as homeless with her local authority.

The children have their own bedrooms again

"I moved in to my mother-in-law's, but it was a bit awkward to stay there," she explained.

Later she moved in with her mother's two-bedroom house, where her grandmother and sister were already living.

Eventually, however, she had to declare herself homeless and move to a hostel with the children.

"In the beginning, it was as if I had hit rock bottom. I think it was the stigma, but I got used to it.

"Jordan was telling everyone: 'I live in a hostel'. It was so embarrassing, but he treated it as a little adventure. I have found out since there there's a quite a lot of people who have gone through it, actually."

Mrs Lewis, a mature student, was delighted to be given a new family home in time for Christmas.

A wicker snowman adds a Christmas touch to the kitchen

She said: "It's reassuring to have a roof over your head, to settle the children down, and to be a family. From having no home at all, this is a big step.

"Being made homeless was an experience that made me stronger. If you can go through that, you can go through anything."

The family has made a timely escape from its place among Wales' homeless population, a figure which has reached new record levels, according to the charity, Shelter Cymru.

The homeless organisation estimates at least 240 families in Wales will celebrate this Christmas in bed and breakfast accommodation - simply because there is no other more appropriate property in which they can be housed.

The charity claims the youngsters in these families are just the tip of the iceberg, with more than 8,000 children becoming members of homeless families in Wales last year and more than 20,000 children are living in poor housing or overcrowded conditions.

It says Mrs Lewis' case is typical of people who struggle to buy at the bottom of the property ladder, and who are then the first to fall off when there is a change in their circumstances.

Shelter Cymru director John Puzey said more investment in affordable social housing would ensure that fewer families in Wales would end up as homeless.

He said: "The private rented sector is never large enough. More social housing would help stabilise the property market as well."