Meet the mum happy to spend CHRISTMAS ALONE

While her kids celebrate the holiday with their dad, Harriet Morris relishes in the peace and quiet

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Christmas Eve is a time when most mums cherish snuggling up with their children in front of a festive film and tub of chocolates. But not mother of two Harriet Morris. In her house, the children's beds are empty and there are no mince pies for Santa or presents under the tree. And rather than feeling bereft or battling with her ex over whose turn it is to have the kids for Christmas, Harriet, 54, relishes being child-free over the festive season. Though her sons Louis and Tom were just eight and five when she got divorced nearly 11 years ago, she insisted they should be with their father for the whole holiday.

She says, 'When I had the boys with me, I used to dread Christmas. I hated the waste, the forced jollity and the pressure to eat and drink to excess. It was exhausting and stressful. The first time I dropped them off at a service station to meet their dad so they could spend Christmas with him, I wept, but with happiness. I felt so free, able to enjoy a blissful few days to myself.'