Pick Me Up! Special Festive Special 15.12.2019

They say the greatest gift is the gift of giving, and what better time than Christmas to really show our generosity towards others? This month, we’ve been inspired by so many selfless acts of kindness. When her best friend needed her the most, Julie (pg40) put her own wishes aside to give him the greatest and most selfless gift she possibly could. She ended up changing her own life – and his – and now they couldn’t be happier. Mum Francesca (pg35) is using her generosity this season to help other parents. When her baby started choking at just four months old, she was powerless to do anything. But now, not only has she learnt vital lifesaving skills, but she also wants to share them with everyone to prevent the…

Spot the bauble Cheers to the festivities! This green and gold pineapple blends in with the rest of the tree, but up close you can spot the shape! Hilda, Manchester How funny!  Why is it always cold at Christmas? Because it’s Decemberrrrr! Christmas market There's nothing better than spending an evening at a Christmas market! Bailey's hot chocolate and chocolate waffle for me. Amy, Warrington Shake it up Rose loves the magic of Christmas – and this glittery snow globe! H. Moxham, Plymouth Let the feast begin! Every Christmas dinner, we have homemade breaded mushrooms for starters. They are delicious! Lucy, Barry Santa Stitch I’ve never seen a better shrub than this! Joanna, Wales Stressed, blessed and holiday-obsessed Princess castle Disneyland Paris is so magical at this time of…

Tears streaming down my cheeks, I was totally overwhelmed by the beautiful moment. ‘Congratulations,’ the midwife smiled, as she handed me my newborn baby girl. ‘She’s beautiful.’ I gazed down at my daughter, with her peaches and cream skin and deep brown eyes. ‘She really is,’ I whispered, soaking it all in. It was 1996, and my partner Paul, now 48, and I decided to name her Jayden. It wasn’t long before we were able to leave hospital and take her back home to Folkestone, Kent. My two eldest – Lisa, now 29, and David, now 27 – were quite a bit older than little Jayden, so when they were at school, it was just the two of us. Wherever I went, she would come with me – my little…

On 13 December 2013, I found out my beautiful girl would never again be returning home to me. Ben was arrested on suspicion of murder without a body, after the police found some evidence to suggest his involvement in something sinister. Five days later, Jayden’s body was discovered. I knew she would be dead even before her body was found, but I hoped that my motherly instincts were wrong. So when the police turned up at my door to tell me, I didn’t even need them to speak before I broke down in a heap in the doorway. ‘I’m very sorry, but we’ve found what we believe to be Jayden’s body,’ they said. She'd been stuffed inside a suitcase Nothing could have prepared me for the moment when I had…

Creating a GoFundMe page, I hoped I'd be able to raise the funds. I desperately needed £8,000 in order to pay for my precious pup's surgery. Our beloved English Bulldog, Katie, had just been diagnosed with a liver defect and had six months to live unless she had the £8,000 operation. But the problem was, even if we raised the funds, there was only a slim chance she would survive the grilling surgery. ‘But we have to try,' I told my husband Ronald. By now, Katie's health was seriously deteriorating – she could barely walk. Whenever she tried to totter out into the garden alone, she would just tumble down the steps. That's when I came up with the idea to fundraise for her. I was a retired teacher and…

Cradling her baby sister, my eight-year-old daughter Autumn was in her element. ‘I’ll always take care of her,’ she smiled up at me. ‘I know you will,’ I said, so proud of her. Ever since Aimee-Leigh had arrived, Autumn had been by her side, helping to take care of her and playing with her every chance she got. They were two peas in a pod. But as Aimee-Leigh got older, we noticed something wasn’t right. As a toddler, she struggled to walk. And then she began suffering terrifying seizures. When she was a little older, tests at the hospital revealed that she had cerebral palsy. ‘She’ll need to use a walking frame,’ the doctor told me. I was devastated. She was only little – how would she cope? I worried…