Pick Me Up! 28-Dec-2017

What A Bore! I hate New Year resolutions, so I’m making mine fun this year, with more travelling, more time with friends and family – and more chocolate! 11 …that’s how many shopping days there are left until Christmas. I suppose I should make a start on mine… What A Celebration! I just love Christmas – the parties, the mince pies, the silly Christmas jumpers… literally everything! What A Bump! My twin sister Clare is 34 weeks pregnant and ready to pop… I really can’t wait to meet my new nephew! What A Pose! I’ve been practising my yoga at various locations, but this must’ve been one of the best – with the sun setting over Paphos.…

Little STAR I dressed my daughter Pixie, 2, up as an adorable Christmas pudding, but she wasn’t very impressed! Francesca Mowles, Felixstowe Staffie Santa Our Staffie Jack will turn 10 on Boxing Day! Here he is looking super-cute while playing Santa! Holly Jesson, Romford Sleigh break My grandchildren were simply delighted when we came across these adorable reindeer! Russell Griffin, Bristol Finders keepers Last year, a local church left knitted angels around town. I came home to find my hubby had found one for me! Lynne Newton, Spennymoor Elf on the loose My 7-year-old daughter Grace makes a very cheeky Christmas elf! Joanne Davenport, Radcliffe Santa’s little helpers This is our little girl Evie with our whippet Pippa. We think they make great Santa’s little helpers, don’t you? Chris Murray,…

‘Allaround us, lights twinkled. But our lives were shattered’ Balanced on a step-ladder, my husband Darren, then 34, added the last bauble to the tree. ‘We’re ready for Christmas!’ he grinned. Darren was already dressed up in his elf outfit. All ready to amuse the local children, including our own five, at a party later that day in December 2012. The best thing about Darren was that he was such a big kid at heart. He loved making Christmas special for our lot - Jack, then 15, Danielle, 13, Callum, 11, Louis, 5, and Caitlyn, 4. Working hard as a ground worker, every penny he had went on our brood. He’d take them swimming and dive bomb in the pool to make them laugh. ‘I’ve got six kids, not five,’…

‘Within seconds, my whole body erupted on fire’ ‘Abusive names would ring out as I walked to class’ Read that headline again. And then imagine someone saying that to you...aged 6. A week earlier, I’d been standing by an open bonfire at the farm where we lived in Mexico. Watching the bright-orange flames, me and my older brothers Franz, then 8, and Hans, 10, laughed and joked as it crackled away. But as I leant closer, I felt a burning sensation. Just a tingling at first. Then, suddenly, my entire body erupted on fire. Flames burning my clothes. It happened in seconds. But I’d remember every agonising moment for the rest of my life. The boys panicking, throwing water on me, trying to pat me down... Overwhelmed by pain and…

‘I didn’t have a boyfriend, wasn’t even dating!’ My back twinged as I carried a huge pile of plates into the care-home kitchen. It was 23 December last year, and I was coming to the end of a hectic double shift. Thank goodness! My job was tough, but so rewarding. And it fitted in with my favourite motto - work hard, play hard! Looking back over the last year, I’d had a great time! There’d been a fling with a mate in March, and a very heavy night out on my 23rd birthday in August. Vodka slushies, fags, dancing til dawn... I’d had a whale of a time! And, once I’d done my Christmas Eve shift the next day, I knew there’d be lots of partying ahead. First, though, I…

‘Bodies lay in the street next to fallen Christmas trees’ ‘He even turned to the CCTV camera and raised a finger’ The area of Breitscheidplatz, in the west of Berlin, was buzzing with festive feeling. It was 19 December last year, and a Christmas market near a church was heaving with shoppers. The delicious scents of mulled beer and wine filled the streets. And fairy lights twinkled in the darkness. Everyone was excited about the holidays and getting into the Christmas spirit. But at 8pm, the bustling market became a scene of horror. A stolen truck tore through the crowds, mowing down innocent bystanders. People fled for their lives. But not everyone was lucky enough to escape. The truck travelled 50 metres through the market before coming to a halt.…