Mum’s six little reasons to live

But what makes this typically festive tradition almost unbearably poignant is that it could possibly be the last they spend together.

For brave mum Maggie has terminal cancer and on December 27 she has a date with a new clinic in Germany in another desperate attempt to prolong her life.

The reason she’s feeling so positive is that its medical director, Dr Robert Gorter, told her: “In time we will endeavour to celebrate your 88th birthday.”

And Maggie, 46, believes that where there’s hope, there’s life.

She’s aware her parents and extended family might not share her optimism, so she’s making sure they spend a memorable Christmas together. She’s been busily sewing outsize stockings for the children and helping them decorate the tree.

She’s looking forward to their usual singsong on Christmas Eve, followed by lunch the next day with her parents, Liam and Anne Standen, in Stanbridge.

Then she and David and the children will head for Cologne because this time she can’t bear to be parted from them.

> You can help by contributing to Maggie’s treatment at www.maggieshope.co.uk