Family can spend first Christmas at home with tiny premature son in festive miracle
A little boy born nine weeks early is spending his first Christmas at home – with his family calling it the “best present we could possibly wish for”.
Chellsy Manning, 36, gave birth to son Isaac Manning-Young in February – nine weeks before his due date and weighing just 3lbs 1oz.
The tot, from Southend, Essex, was seriously ill with a number of complex conditions due to being born so early.
The family went through countless hospital stays and transfers in the first few months of Isaac’s life.
Isaac also underwent a surgery to repair a double hernia at five months – adding more stress to the lives of Chellsy and her partner, Simon Young, 34, a product development manager.
Against the odds, resilient Isaac is now home in time for his first Christmas.
Chellsy, a stay-at-home mum, said: “Every day, he surprises us with his strength.
“We feel deeply grateful for the support we received along the way, which helped us get to this point.
“We are so excited about spending Christmas together as a family.”
Isaac’s tough start in life began when mum Chellsy was admitted to hospital for severe pre-eclampsia when she was 29 weeks pregnant.
Concerned doctors quickly transferred her to Broomfield Hospital, where Isaac was delivered three days later.
Tiny Isaac was immediately taken to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Over the next year, the family would undergo countless hospital stays and transfers.
They were supported throughout by The Sick Children’s Trust – a charity providing support to families of seriously ill children.
Throughout Isaac’s intense medical journey, his family were fortunate enough to be given accommodation in two of the charity’s “homes from home”.
This gave them a comfortable and private space close to the hospitals where Isaac was being treated.
Chellsy said: “Looking back, we genuinely don’t know how we would have managed without The Sick Children’s Trust.
“They gave us a stable, supportive environment where we could be present for Isaac, even when everything felt out of control, which was crucial for our mental wellbeing.
“We were helped by the charity twice during Isaac’s first weeks of life and we will forever be grateful to them”.
With Isaac doing well and as resilient as ever, the family is now looking forward to their first Christmas together.
Chellsy said: “We know there are far more babies out there that have had worse journeys than Isaac.
“Without The Sick Children’s Trust, god knows what we would have done.
“I cannot put it into words about how incredibly grateful and happy we both are about celebrating his first Christmas, especially the fact that he is healthy.”
She added: “It is the best present we could possibly wish for.”
Gay man who spent $125K to become a dad shares life update
A gay single dad who spent $125k to “fulfil” his dream of having a baby has found love and plans to have a second child.
Matt Bonnen, 32, had always dreamed of being a parent and when his relationship of four years broke down he worried it wouldn’t be possible.
But after a cancer scare and losing his brother, Christopher, 31, in a drowning accident, Matt realized life was too short and decided to go it alone.
Matt found a surrogate – a 30-year-old woman – and she fell pregnant in February 2023.
He witnessed the birth of his son, Noah Christopher, now 14 months old, on October 14, 2023, and feels so “grateful” to have him.
Matt has since found love with a new partner, but doesn’t regret doing it by himself – saying it’s the “best decision” he’s ever made – and he plans to give Noah a sibling in the not too distant future.
Matt, who owns a restoration company, and lives between Miami, Florida and New York, US, said: “He’s so big. He’s 14 months old now and walking and talking.
“I want to invest in my happiness.
“Noah was so wanted. I feel that is beautiful.
“It’s the best decision I have made.”
Although Noah has been a “huge joy” for Matt, the dad-of-one says he’s been having “health problems” since June.
“I’m taking time off from work,” he said.
“It’s been really, really difficult. I have kidney failure, so I’m on dialysis as we speak.”
Since Noah’s arrival, Matt has found love with Thomas Bloecker – a TikToker and real estate agent.
“Once I get all this situated with my transplant, then I’ll have another kid,” Matt said.
“We’re going to do the surrogate option.
“I already have embryos created and am going to do it with my sperm and then, hopefully in the next couple of years, Thomas can have his own embryos and we could expand the family.”
Matt always wanted to be a dad, but when his long-term relationship of four years fell apart, he almost lost hope.
He began researching agencies to assist with surrogacy and selected an egg donor who shared similar physical characteristics with him.
After an initial unsuccessful attempt, Matt learned in February 2023 that his surrogate was expecting.
He was able to attend all the scans, either in person or via FaceTime.
“All my life I had this idea of having a family,” he said at the time.
“I played with Barbie and made them have kids. I always aspired to be a parent.
“I thought ‘why can’t I do this by myself?’.
“Why do you have to wait for someone else to fulfil your dream?”
In December 2018, Matt was unexpectedly diagnosed with astroblastoma — a rare brain tumor — but underwent surgery to have it removed that same month.
“Three years later when I was ready – I knew I wanted to be a parent,” he said.
“I didn’t find another person but I thought ‘I think I can do this by myself’.
“I was missing that one thing.”
Before donating his sperm, Matt underwent six months of psychological testing to ensure he was “fit to be a parent.”
After choosing an egg donor that looked similar to him, he knew he was on his way.
“It’s like a catalogue,” he explained.
“I felt most comfortable with how my family looks.”
The agency froze eight embryos, and Matt selected a surrogate through them to carry his child.
After some initial struggles with the pregnancy — which “devastated” him — Matt received good news he would become a father and stayed along for the whole journey.
“It was amazing,” he said of Noah’s birth.
“It was a beautiful experience. As soon as he came out I saw myself in him.”
Care home gets special Christmas visit from alpacas dressed as reindeer
Alpacas dressed as reindeer have been bringing Christmas joy to care home residents in animal therapy sessions.
Alpacas Luke and King Kong received a warm welcome earlier this month after paying a special visit to residents of Grange Court Care Home, in Baildon, West Yorkshire.
The visit came following an invite from the home’s activities coordinator Sue Sroka, 50.
Sue said: “They came dressed up with antlers on, the residents couldn’t believe an alpaca had walked through the door.
“Their faces lit up with joy, everyone had a stroke of their necks, they felt very soft. The staff and residents all thoroughly enjoyed their visit.
“It was good for everyone, but particularly those living with dementia.
“One of the residents reminisced about being brought up on a farm and having horses, it helped her remember things that perhaps she hadn’t thought about for years.”
The former radiotherapist – who has been working in care homes for six years – added: “I’ve always enjoyed working with people and looking after people.
“It’s a brilliant job, and it’s really good satisfaction.
“At the end of the day, when you’ve made people smile – even if someone with dementia has just remembered something for 10 minutes – it’s just lovely.
“It’s just lovely making people smile and happy.”
Danielle Knowd, 40, set up AlTreka – a family-run alpaca trekking centre – four years ago.
The company offers alpaca treks at the weekend and undertakes alpaca therapy visits during the week.
Danielle said: “Animal therapy is good for all sorts of people, the residents at the care home were following them around in the corridors.
“Animals can make a big impact on people’s lives.”
She added: “The treks – which are a full hour’s walk – fund the animals that we rescue.
“We have a total of 70 animals – 10 alpacas, one llama, as well as sheep, goats, chickens, ducks, cats and dogs.”
Grandmother crochets adorable festive hats for babies spending Christmas in NICU
A grandmother crocheted adorable festive hats for tiny babies spending Christmas in NICU.
The babies at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital were treated to the handmade gift on December 13, 2024.
The woman is the grandma of one of the clinic’s graduates – and knows the challenges of having a baby in NICU.
She crocheted festive themed hats and the babies were even visited by Santa for their pyjama party.
Therese Razzante, NICU family support specialist at Cleveland Clinic Children’s, said: “Traditions like these create precious memories and remind families they’re surrounded by a team that cares deeply for them and their little ones.
“It’s truly heart-warming to see the smiles on parents’ faces as we celebrate with them.”
The parents and caregivers helped the little ones get into their festive pyjamas and hats.
‘Santa Jim’, who is also a respiratory therapist at Cleveland Clinic Children’s made his annual visit to the NICU, spreading warmth and cheer —a tradition he has upheld for more than a decade.
The clinic said their annual traditions are one of the ways the team tries to normalise the NICU environment.
“I’m living in abandoned barn in -20 temperatures while renovating my dream ranch”
A woman is living in a “drafty” abandoned barn in -20 degree temperatures so she can have financial freedom while renovating her $610k ranch.
Amanda Schmidt, 31, has been living in the 50ft by 100ft building for the last six months.
She bought the 72 acre ranch with an old abandoned dairy barn and main house with the dream of creating a horse training facility.
To make her dream a reality Amanda has been renting out the main house so she can put that money into renovating the barn – which has cost her $56k so far.
Amanda is surviving the winter by wrapping up in blankets and heating up a hot bag to keep warm.
She hopes living uncomfortably for six months will be worth to see her dream come to life.
Amanda, a horse trainer, from Alberta, Canada, said: “It’s an old abandoned dairy barn – it hasn’t been used in decades.
“There were snakes living in the walls and pigeons in the barn.
“It’s really drafty. When it gets down to minus 20 it is really cold in here.
“If you sleep with enough blankets it’s OK. I used a hot bag and heat it up a couple of times a night.
“I make do with very little and don’t mind uncomfortable living situations in the name of keeping living expenses and my overhead low.”
Amanda grew up in the city but had always wanted to pursue ranch life.
She is used to “living uncomfortably” after spending a year living and travelling in a horse trailer from July 2021 to July 2022.
She said: “I had renters and instead of kicking them out and losing income I decided to travel.
“I was living like a gypsy – the cowgirl experience.
“The trailer had no water at all. It had a bed, mini fridge and microwave.
“I showered in buckets.”
Amanda sold her old home with five acres of land in June 2024 DO WE MEAN? AND PAID? for $725,000 for the new 72 acre plot.
She said: “I wanted to transform it into a training facility.
“I had to raise the roof. It was 9ft before and IS now 20ft.”
Amanda decided to rent out the main house – which was in a good condition – so she could make a a couple of grand a month to put towards her renovation.
She is living in the freezing barn – where the box stalls would have been – while her new home is worked on.
Amanda has power to the barn so she can have an air fryer, microwave and fridge and cook.
She uses an outhouse with a toilet and goes into the main house if she needs a shower. DO HER TENANTS NOT MIND?
But Amanda feels it will all be worth it and is hoping she can move in by Christmas or New Year.
She said: “I’m most excited for the arena riding space.
“I want it to be a place where people can bring out their colts that they wouldn’t have had the confidence to ride elsewhere.
“I want it to be a horse camp for women.”
Britain’s most festive man – decorates home with 10,000 decorations
Meet Britain’s most festive man, who decorates his home with 10,000 decorations – which take two WEEKS to put up and take down.
Geoff Stonebanks, 71, spends a week every Christmas adorning his home in Seaford, East Sussex with 40 crates worth of decorations.
He then has to devote another seven days in the first week of January to taking it all down and storing it away – ready for next December.
Geoff estimates that he owns around 2,500 individual baubles – but has lost count of the number of other festive trinkets he keeps under his roof.
His collection was previously estimated at around 10,000.
Geoff’s haul has been amassed over several decades and includes decorations he has bought on various holidays as well as ones handed down through his family.
Some of his decorations date back to the 1930s and one of his trees was bought from the beloved but now defunct high street store Woolworths.
In past Decembers, he has had no less than 40 trees in his home – varying in size from seven feet to 18 inches. He has seven this year.
Geoff has been obsessed with Christmas ever since he was a child and was tasked with decorating his parents’ pub for the festive season.
When he left home, he started gathering his own decorations – and when his parents retired he inherited the ones they had gathered over the years.
His collection has only grown since then.
Geoff said: “My parents used to open the pub every Christmas Day so people who were on their own had somewhere to go.
“So decorating was always a big thing.
“As a child, I got involved and started helping out. And then my mum eventually realised she could just leave me to do it myself.”
For Geoff, what is most special about his collection is the memories each piece holds.
He said: “Christmas is about people and memories. And each year, when I get the decorations out to sort through and decide where I’m putting them, I remember where I got each piece.
“Some have been given to me by people who are special to me, others I bought on a holiday I enjoyed.
“So all those memories come flooding back each year.”
Although Geoff’s home is prepared for a mass celebration, he will be enjoying a quiet Christmas this year with his 97-year-old mother, his partner Mark, and their rescue dog Chester.
On New Year’s Eve, he will start the week-long process of taking the decorations down.
Geoff said: “I love Christmas and I have all the decorations up by December 1, but even I must admit I get tired of them by the end of the month.
“So I’ll start taking them down – which takes a week – and then pack them away ready for next year.”
You can find out more about Geoff’s Christmas obsession on his website: http://www.geoffschristmas.co.uk/
Care home residents’ signs offer advice to youngsters including ‘play golf’
Care home residents have held up signs offering advice to younger generations including “keep smiling”, “love your family” – and “play golf”.
Staff at Belleaire House asked residents to reflect on their life experiences – and asked what advice they would give to young people today.
They wrote their answers on a whiteboard and ranged from starting a family to travelling and living life to the fullest.
Some residents, like 90-year-old Esther, advised young people to focus on their career and “pick a job you’re interested in’.
Joyce, 90, recommended they “stick in with education.”
Others at the care home in Greenock, Scotland focused on family life, with Morag, 86, advising to “settle down with family”.
Isabel, 78, explained young people should “appreciate life;” Margaret, 80, suggested they “go travelling the world;” and 90-year-old Ernie said “live life to your fullest.”
While there were many messages to be kind, be good to people and live an honest life, Bill, 84, believed the secret to happiness was to ‘play golf’.
Amongst a list of excellent advice Terry, 69, encapsulated it by stating “you can be all and everything you want to be,” while 88-year-old Alice and 78-year-old Lena provided a simple tip everyone can start immediately – smile more.
Tracy Docherty, general manager at Belleaire House said: “This was such a great activity to undertake as we approach the end of the year, and it generated a fun and lively discussion amongst both residents and colleagues.
“Our residents have a wealth of knowledge and life experience between them, and it was fantastic to see them recognise that – with one of our residents proudly announcing that they were ‘living history’.
“Their words of wisdom are very much appreciated – though some of them were too ‘risqué’ to capture, which gave us all a giggle!
“I know I’ll be keeping their words in mind as we move into 2025.”
‘Britain’s Naughtiest Dog’ has found a destructive rival – his great-nephew
The owner of ‘Britain’s Naughtiest Dog’ says another hound has taken the crown – his own great-nephew.
Boxer Cooper, nine, was once so destructive he caused owner Jill Kirkham, 58, £8.7k worth of damage to her home – trashing sofas, dining room tables and doors.
But he’s “mellowed out” in his old age…..paving the way for his great-nephew, boxer Harry, four.
Harry was born deaf, so Jill has been left to train him using hand signals.
But he takes after his older relative – and despite having an irresistible “puppy face and wagging tail” he’s destroyed endless amounts of furniture.
Harry has already broken a kettle, chewed three holes in walls, ripped up her laminate flooring and dragged an entire pot of stew into bed with him.
Jill estimates he’s done £2k’s worth of damage already – and shows no sign of stopping.
Jill, a cleaning supervisor from Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, said: “Harry is very destructive – it must be something in his genes.
“He’s not far off from taking Cooper’s crown as ‘Britain’s Naughtiest Dog.’
“I’d say he’s caused about £2k worth in damage – I haven’t started paying for things to be replaced yet.
“I need him to get out of his chewing phase!”
After looking after Cooper for five years, Jill decided to adopt Harry in January 2021.
Her friend’s hound had given birth to a litter – and couldn’t keep Harry, because she already has seven Boxers.
He was the only deaf puppy in the pack, so Jill volunteered to give him a good home.
“My friend was looking after her poorly mum at the time,” she said.
“She would’ve kept Harry otherwise – but I took him home.”
Harry was 10 weeks old when Jill adopted him – but by four months old, he was already starting to trash the furniture.
The tall canine stretched himself onto the kitchen counter, and destroyed Jill’s kettle and toaster.
He loves to jump on his hind legs and reach for household items – often breaking them in the process.
“For my own sanity, I’m refusing to deal with replacing the furniture until he’s older,” she added.
“It was like, ‘here we go again.’
“At least it wasn’t my sofas, though – that’s the main difference between him and Cooper, he leaves my sofas alone.”
Cooper destroyed eight sofas as a younger dog, which Jill had to fork out £5.6k to replace.
But in his short life, Harry has attempted to top that – ripping up parts of Jill’s laminate flooring and dragging it out of the dining room, as well as chewing three holes in the wall.
Jill says the most disastrous incident was when she “mistakenly” left a giant pot of uncooked stew on the stove.
She said: “Harry has stolen numerous things from the worktops.
“I once left a massive pan of stew on there, ready to be cooked.
“I came back to it, and found the entire thing in Harry’s bed – it’d been eaten!”
Cooper is now almost 10 years old, and in his old age, has retired from causing chaos.
Jill said the hound likes to humour his great-nephew for a while, as Harry runs rings around him.
But ultimately, he can no longer keep up with Harry’s antics.
“Cooper’s nine-and-a-half, now,” Jill added.
“He’s absolutely fine – but he wants a peaceful life.
“It’s not really possible, with Harry around.
“He humours his great-nephew for a bit, whenever he wants to play, but he gets tired very easily.”
Artist creates world’s smallest Santa Claus – the size of a grain of sugar
A micro-artist has a Santa Claus sculpture which is the size of a grain of SUGAR – and fits in the eye of a needle.
David A. Lindon, 56, spent six weeks creating the world’s smallest Santa Claus.
The microscopic festive creation is so small at just 1mm tall that it fits inside the eye of a needle, and is the same size as a single grain of sugar.
The tiny Santa Claus is even accompanied by an even tinier cat and dog by his side.
He said in order to create such impressive details on such a small scale, he works at night to avoid distractions.
David, from Bournemouth, Dorset, is known for his microscopic creations – having previously created microscopic tiny and Van Gogh artworks, and even a microscopic model of Stonehenge on a pin head.
David said he’s so happy with how his tiny Santa turned out that he’ll make a new festive-themed miniature sculpture every year.
He said: “Just how Santa manages to get down the chimneys undetected in the middle of the night?
“Perhaps we are a little nearer the answer with my magical microscopic creation.
“It’s the same size as a grain of sugar and begs the question; how many of these can you get inside a Christmas cracker!”
Adorable dog with wonky face compared to Picasso masterpiece
Meet the adorable dog with a wonky face who is compared to a Picasso masterpiece and has celebrity fans including Amanda Seyfried.
Amanda Richter, 34, fell in love with stray Brodie, five, when she saw him on a rescue page.
The German Shepard, Mastiff, Pitbull terrier and Rottweiler mix was bitten by his mum as a pup – leaving him with a wonky face and partially blind in one eye.
But Amanda thought he was “perfect” and loves that he looks a bit like “a Picasso masterpiece”.
Amanda, a photographer, from Lake Cowichan, British Columbia, Canada, said: “He’s a spunky little guy. He makes me laugh.
“He’s a bundle of energy and care-free.
“I get the comment a lot that he looks a lot like a cartoon dog that we used to draw as a kid.
“He’s not perfect but he is still loved.
“It’s not about what’s on the outside. That dog has the biggest heart.
“He’s perfect to me.”
Amanda knew she had to get Brodie as soon as she saw a post on him by Old MacDonald Kennels in Alberta, Canada.
Brodie’s jaw is partially fused shut but it doesn’t impact him.
Amanda said: “He has no clue that he is different.
“He’s full of life.
“He wants to play all the time.
“He’s very smart too.”
Amanda started sharing Brodie online @bestboybrodie and one of her followers sent her a rescue dog with an uncanny resemblance to him.
She said: “The are soulmates.”
Three-year-old Raven, a Husky and German Shepard mix, came to join the family in February 2022 after being rescued from Fuzzy Texan Animal Rescue.
Amanda said: “Brodie was terrified of Raven at first.
“Raven was from an abusive home.
“She was petrified when I got her.
“Eventually they warmed up to each other.
“Now they are inseparable.
“They play together. It’s such a brother sister relationship.”
Brodie also has some celebrity followers including Amanda Seyfried, Leona Lewis and Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump.
Amanda said: “I think it’s hilarious.”
She hopes sharing Brodie sends a message and encourages others to rescue dogs that are not ‘perfect’.
She said: “Being not perfect is OK.
“I hope people will go and rescue dogs that are not perfect.”
