MOST families have plenty to celebrate at this time of year but one Weymouth family has two very special little extra reasons for festive cheer.

Twice in recent years Christmas Day has seen Sam and Tracey Newington blessed with little bundles of joy.

This year will see Merridith celebrate her fifth birthday on the big day while little sister Jemima will turn three.

Mum Tracey said both of them appeared to make a special effort to be Christmas Day babies with Merridith arriving four days late and Jemima making an appearance four days early.

She said: “Merridith was due on the 21st and I went into labour on the 21st but she didn’t come until the 25th.

“Jemima was due on the 29th and she obviously wanted to be born on the same day as her sister.

“On Christmas Eve I went to bed at midnight thinking I was going to be there Christmas Day morning with Merridith but my waters broke at around 1am and Jemima was born at 4.15am.

“She definitely wanted to come on Christmas Day and we were home for Christmas dinner.”

Merridith was amazed when her mother came home on Christmas on her second birthday with a little sister as a present.

The youngster, who attends St Augustine’s Catholic Primary School, said: “She was so tiny.”

Tracey said she had tried to investigate how rare it was to have siblings both born on Christmas Day but it was hard to find exact figures and she could only rely on newspaper reports for information.

She said: “We don’t know how common it is, there are a few around if you look on the internet.”

Tracey said they do sing ‘happy birthday’ on Christmas Day and acknowledge the fact it is their birthday but both girls also have a mid-year party with Merridith’s the closest weekend to June 25 and Jemima’s around September 25.

Tracey said: “The first year or so with Merridith we did both the birthday and Christmas all together but we ended up with her opening presents for about a week.”

She said it worked out well having a mid-year party as the girls could celebrate with their friends while enjoying a family Christmas.

Tracey said she and Sam were also married on December 28 so Christmas will always be a special time of year for the whole family.