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**_My son Rowan just wanted to help people and he had an idea that would have made Santa proud. By Toni Stapleton, 26_**

As I hung up the last of the tinsel around the tree, I stood back and admired my work.

‘What do you think, Rowan?’ I asked my five-year-old son. ‘How’s the tree?’

We adored Christmas and always made sure we got the tree up as soon as possible.

Later that evening, we watched some festive films on the television, and an advert came on.

It showed a dad who didn’t have enough money to heat the house or buy presents.

‘Mum, I don’t like how some people don’t get anything for Christmas,’ Rowan said.

He sat in front of the screen, transfixed.

The advert showed the dad building a go-kart from scrap for his son before wrapping it and placing it under the tree.

‘See Rowan, he still got a present!’ I said.

‘But what about the kids whose parents can’t build them anything?’ he asked.

He pondered for a minute, then he said: ‘Can we go out and buy presents for kids whose parents might not be able to?’

‘Of course we can, love!’ I said, hugging him.

Rowan had always been generous, and keen to put others first, so I wasn’t surprised.

He ran upstairs, and came back down with his money box.

‘Here’s all my money, Mum!’ he said.

He’d saved up all of his birthday, Christmas and pocket money over the years.

‘Shall we count it up to see how much you’ve got?’ I asked.

He tipped his jar out and we counted his coins.

‘I’ve got £200!’ he said excitedly.

Next day, we made our way around B&M and Smyths Toys near our home in Salford, Greater Manchester.

‘What sorts of toys are you looking for?’ I asked him.

‘Pink things for girls, and cars and things I’d like for the boys!’ he said.

We filled our trolley and Rowan picked up an extra-special outfit too.

When we got home, I put a post out on Facebook.

_If anyone is struggling at Christmas, Rowan would like to help._

It was a woman who’d recently had a house fire, so was only able to give her son small presents.

‘Look Rowan, you’ve got your first Christmas delivery! Shall we go now?’ I said.

Rowan ran upstairs and when he came back down he’d transformed into an elf!

We set off and when we arrived at the woman’s house, Rowan knocked on the door.

‘Merry Christmas! This is for you!’ he said as he handed her a present.

‘Thank you so much!’ she said. ‘I’m going to put this under the tree. Thank goodness for people like you in the world, Rowan.’

As we left, Rowan had a big smile on his face.

‘I’m so proud of you, love,’ I said.

In the run up to Christmas, more people responded to my post and Rowan delivered 40 presents to children.

People were surprised that a boy as young as Rowan wanted to help but he’d always been so thoughtful.

After he handed over his last present, he turned to me and said: ‘I’m so happy, Mum. I’m glad no one is going without.’

Soon after, Rowan decided he wanted to do it all again next Christmas.

Now he’s ready to don his elf costume again and start delivering.

It makes me so happy to have a son who’s so caring.

The LITTLEST elf

**_When choral group The Decibelles wanted to fundraise, they peeled off more than a few notes…_**

The final note was still hanging in the air when a voice piped up and said: ‘How about we go naked?’

For Joshua Daniel, musical director and the only bloke in the Decibelles choir, a nude calendar was a great way to raise some money for charity.

But his fellow singers — 30 women — looked at him like he was off his rocker.

After all, they were used to hitting the high notes together, not whipping their kit off.

‘Understandably,’ says Daniel, ‘a few them didn’t think they had the confidence to do a naked photoshoot. But as we talked about it, they began to come around and eventually all 30 of our members agreed.’

The Decibelles choir had formed four years earlier, singing in dozens of competitions and even winning a few.

They met once a week to rehearse and had become best friends, supporting each other through thick and thin.

Stripping off in front of each other, they’d be testing their friendships to the max.

But several of the singers had been through cancer, so when Joshua was suggested they raise funds for Breast Friends, a support group for people with breast cancer in Northampton, they were sold on the idea.

The oldest singer Jan, 72, had been diagnosed with breast cancer 10 years earlier. It was only revealed by a mammogram because she didn’t have a lump or any other symptoms.

Thankfully, after radiotherapy and five years of medication, she went into remission.

But cancer support remained a cause close to her heart and those of many of the others.

As the day of the photoshoot approached, a few nerves surfaced. But with support and encouragement from each other, they all stuck to their word and showed up.

Photographer Kay was a great sport. And Joshua, 32, had promised to take part too.

‘I was wearing just an apron,’ he says. ‘I’d brought a French baguette to lighten the atmosphere, which caused some giggles.’

‘You can drop your dressing gowns now,’ Kay said.

The ladies looked at each other, then one said: ‘C’mon, we’ve all got lumps and bumps!’

Everyone stripped off and when they were completely starkers, they used choir books to cover their modesty.

The group made sure they had a shot for each month of the year.

For December, Joshua sat at the piano while strategically-held baubles and presents covered everyone’s key notes.

‘Getting into the swing of it, we started to feel quite liberated, and had a whale of a time too,’ Joshua says. ‘After one particular shot, one of our singers Gabby put the guitar she was holding on the floor, forgetting she was naked underneath.

‘The look of surprise on her face had us in stitches.’

The Decibelles were thrilled when they saw the final photos.

When the calendar was released, it became a hit all over the world, reaching as far as Australia and the USA, and raising £300 for the charity.

The group went on to scoop the top slot at the North Northamptonshire Music Festival.

‘We were on cloud nine,’ Joshua says. ‘I’m so proud of the group for getting stuck into the experience and putting their worries aside to raise money for such a great cause.

‘We’ve always been close, but now the bond between us is stronger than ever.’

STARKERS, the herald angels sing!

**_We were facing the toughest Christmas, but some special people helped us make memories that would last a lifetime. By Naomi Tuckwell, 38_**

I set up the camera, then my partner Adam and I snuggled up on the sofa with baby Orla and her big sisters, Ava and Poppy.

It was Christmas Eve and we were taking our traditional family photo in festive PJs.

Orla had arrived just two weeks earlier, and was the best present we could’ve asked for. Now, with our little family complete, we were ready to celebrate.

After a fun Christmas, we threw ourselves into family life and, as Orla grew, she had her big sisters wrapped around her little finger.

The summer after Orla’s first birthday, we went on our first family holiday to Cyprus. But one morning, a week after arriving home, we noticed bile in Orla’s cot.

She’d been struggling with reflux, so we took her to the GP, who reassured us it was nothing to worry about.

But over the next weeks, our usually bright, giggly little girl became tired and lethargic.

Then, she also seemed off-balance when walking, so we took her back to the doctor.

Orla was admitted to hospital while they investigated, and when her heart rate began to drop, she was rushed for an emergency CT scan.

Adam and I were terrified as we waited for news. When it came, it wasn’t good.

‘Orla has excess fluid and a mass on her brain,’ the consultant said.

‘It’s likely she has a brain tumour,’ he replied.

Shock overwhelmed us as Orla was rushed to Great Ormond Street Hospital, known as GOSH, by ambulance.

There we discovered she had medulloblastoma, the most common malignant children’s brain tumour, which grows at the back of the brain, near the spinal cord.

First, she needed emergency surgery to drain the fluid and relieve the pressure on her brain.

‘It’s a life or death situation,’ the doctor warned.

My heart was in my mouth as we watched our baby being wheeled into the operating theatre.

Thankfully, it was a success — but days later, Orla was back in surgery to remove the tumour itself.

‘Orla’s had an operation on her head,’ we explained to Poppy and Ava.

When she was finally well enough to go home, Adam had a surprise waiting for her.

‘This is for you,’ he said, showing her a wooden play-kitchen tied up with a red shiny bow.

She clapped her little hands together, and it soon became her favourite toy.

Once she’d recovered from the operations, Orla began chemotherapy. It made her so poorly, she had to be admitted to GOSH again. Seeing our baby girl suffering was heartbreaking.

Then one day, a play specialist came to see Orla, and she said: ‘I thought you might like this.’

It was a toy kitchen just like the one she had at home.

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