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SIPPING a glass of chilled fizz this Christmas morning, I will not only feel full of festive cheer, but also a little bit smug. That’s because this is the 17th time I’ve successfully managed to cut my mother-in-law, Rene, out of our celebrations. 3 Mel Fallowfield, left, has only ever spent one Christmas day with mother-in-law Rene, right Credit: David Cummings 3 Mel says she still suffers from a mild form of 'seasonal PTSD' following that Christmas Credit: David Cummings 3 Mel now enjoys a fuss-free Christmas with her sons Credit: Supplied While other women will be run ragged, pandering and panicking, I’ll be blissfully relaxed at home, with my husband Brian, 52, our two sons, my parents and my sister Anneliese, 53. I’ll do nothing more strenuous than peel some vegetables, munch chocolate and unwrap presents, free of festive tension. This is the exact opposite of what the day would be like if Rene was on the scene. And it’s the reason why, during 18 years of marriage, my family has spent Christmas Day with her only once. READ MORE IN FABULOUS STARRY EYED From Kim K’s tree to Paris Fury’s B&M buys – experts rate celeb Christmas looks NO KIDDING I had sex with my BOSS after my first ever drop of alcohol - now she's pregnant That was eight years ago and I am still suffering from a mild form of “seasonal PTSD”. The barbed remarks started early in the day. “Do you often eat chocolate for breakfast?” she scoffed. The slurs didn’t end until we went to bed, when she commented: “That Christmas pudding wasn’t the best”. At the end of the day, close to tears, I swore I would never put myself through the ordeal again. Most read in Fabulous HOT BUY Shoppers race to Primark for fleecy £14 hoodie will keep you cosy on frosty days CASH IN I’m a Vinted pro - the 3 things to sell now for Xmas cash & they’re not clothes LOVE HURTS Inside Beyoncé and Jay-Z's biggest relationship scandals amid rapper rape claims STARRY EYED From Kim K’s tree to Paris Fury’s B&M buys – experts rate celeb Christmas looks And now, at 51, I certainly won’t be swayed. I know I’m not alone, either. Mumsnet is filled with posts from women my age who are dreading having to deal with the mother-in-law this Christmas. Unsurprisingly, to me, a US study found that both men and women have more conflict with the mother-in-law than with their own mums. Mum-of-22 Sue Radford reveals she buys 300 Christmas gifts just for her kids & they include PS5 & Ugg boots I don’t feel an ounce of guilt that my mother-in-law doesn’t get to see her grandchildren on the big day. She’ll see them at some point over the festive period, when we’ll go and stay for a couple of days. During that time, I’ll insist on taking long walks to get rid of those Christmas excesses — when in fact it’s to dodge seeing her. And she will spend Christmas itself with my husband’s brother, his lovely wife Chrissy and their daughters — so it isn’t as though she’ll be alone. I remember the very first Christmas in 1997 after Brian and I started dating. We didn’t spend it together because we had only been seeing each other for six months. But I was horrified when he rang me on Christmas Day to say Rene had prepared roast beef and not a traditional turkey . It’s the one time of year that I’m a stickler for convention and this seemed very wrong. Christmas is all about family and I wish I could see my grandsons Rene I immediately knew that I didn’t want to spend a single Christmas with his family. They don’t really do presents either — most years, they would all give each other Lottery scratch cards — and while I’m not materialistic, I spend hours trawling the shops for the perfect gift for my loved ones. My mother-in-law has only ever bought me one present — a pot of anti-wrinkle cream. This year, I’m bracing myself for hair dye, because she recently asked why I have more grey hairs than Chrissy, her other daughter-in-law, despite being ten years younger. So you can understand why I feel a twinge of terror at the thought of spending Christmas with Rene at the helm. I’ve been with Brian, who works in marketing, for 26 years and festivities aside, my mother-in-law and I are yet to see eye-to-eye on anything. “Highlights” of her behaviour include asking if she could wear black to our wedding and then telling me she didn’t gain a daughter, but lost a son. She has a photo album titled My Family and while my husband and sons, who are 18 and 14, feature, I’m nowhere to be seen. She has even carefully selected wedding photos where I’m missing. For me, Christmas is a special time, not an occasion I want ruined. And Rene has a unique ability to make me feel the size of a gnat. On Christmas morning, we open stockings at my parents’ house in Dorset and have a lovely smoked salmon breakfast, and lots of chocolate, before slowly opening presents. Late afternoon, we’ll have turkey and all the trimmings — including my mother’s bread sauce, best in the world — at my sister’s house. This is followed by quizzes and party games. Brian is lovely about me wanting to be at my parents’. He gets on brilliantly with his in-laws. But eight years ago, Rene, who is a widow, was set to be alone at Christmas. Brian’s brother was away and even I acknowledged that we should go to her house, six hours from ours in London. I even prepared the meal, but the level of interference was off the scale, with petty remarks about timings and how rapidly the water was boiling for the Brussels. Her lips pursed at the taste of the chicken — “too dry” — and stayed that way up until she had eaten her last scrap of Christmas pudding with brandy butter. She made snide comments about what I’d gifted my boys, then aged ten and six. Their noisiness brought nothing but sighs. I felt like I couldn’t do anything right, most of my efforts were followed by a “Chrissy wouldn’t do it like that”. I told Brian never again. It doesn’t cause rows — he loves my family. Despite everything, my boys love Granny. She’s wonderful with them and I make sure they see plenty of her. But I worry about karma. I tried hard to do things in a way Mel would appreciate, but it’s never enough Rene If the boys marry, they could assume their partners get to choose where to spend Christmas, as that’s their normal. I suspect it will be with their wives’ mums and it will serve me right. But in the meantime, I’ll enjoy my mother-in-law-free Christmas Day. And I wish all the luck in the world to the women who aren’t as lucky as I am. Rene, 81, says: “Christmas is all about family and I wish I could see my grandsons. The one Christmas I did spend with them was magical. “Mel doesn’t think I thought it was special, but it was. Read more on the Scottish Sun SCOT MY FIRST RODEO! Popular music festival coming to three Scots cities for first time CHILL OUT Scots to be gripped by grim -10C freeze as weather map reveals temperature plunge “I tried hard to do things in a way Mel would appreciate, but it’s never enough. “And the only reason I bought her anti-wrinkle cream is because I saw it in her bathroom, so thought she’d like it.”
Alexis Mac Allister and substitute Cody Gakpo got the goals as Liverpool beat Champions League holders Real Madrid 2-0 at Anfield to make it five wins from as many games in the league phase for Arne Slot’s men. The Reds took the lead when Mac Allister played a one-two with Conor Bradley and slotted past Thibaut Courtois seven minutes into the second half. Real had the chance to equalise with a penalty just past the hour, but Kylian Mbappe saw his strike saved by Caoimhin Kelleher. 🛑🛑🛑 — Liverpool FC (@LFC) There was then an unsuccessful spot-kick from the hosts as Mohamed Salah missed from 12 yards, before Gakpo popped up with a 76th-minute header from Andy Robertson’s cross as the Merseysiders recorded a first win over Real in 15 years and gained some revenge for their defeats in the 2018 and 2022 finals. While Liverpool top the table, Carlo Ancelotti’s Real are down in 24th place – the final play-offs berth – with just six points from their five matches. Aston Villa are outside the top eight on goal difference after a 0-0 draw with Juventus in which Morgan Rogers had a stoppage-time finish for the hosts ruled out for a foul, with Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez having earlier made a fantastic save to deny Francisco Conceicao. Celtic, lying 20th, drew 1-1 at home with Club Brugge thanks to a curling Daizen Maeda strike that cancelled out a remarkable own goal by Cameron Carter-Vickers, who passed back without looking to send the ball into the net. Borussia Dortmund moved into the top eight with 3-0 win at Dinamo Zagreb, where Jamie Gittens, Ramy Bensebaini and Serhou Guirassy got on the scoresheet. A point apiece on matchday five in the Champions League. || — Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) Monaco dropped to eighth after suffering their first loss of the league phase, 3-2 at home to Benfica. Despite having Wilfried Singo sent off just prior to the hour mark, the French side took the lead for a second time via Soungoutou Magassa in the 67th minute, only for late goals from Arthur Cabral and Zeki Amdouni to give Benfica all three points. Lille, in 12th, have the same amount of points as Monaco and Villa thanks to a 2-1 win at Bologna, with Ngal’Ayel Mukau notching a brace. PSV Eindhoven, now 18th, produced a dramatic late turnaround to beat 10-man Shakhtar Donetsk 3-2 at home. The visitors led 2-0 through Danylo Sikan and Oleksandr Zubkov before having Pedrinho sent off in the 69th minute, and PSV then hit back with three goals in the closing stages, Malik Tilman scoring in the 87th and 90th and Ricardo Pepi then notching the winner in the fifth minute of stoppage time. Red Star Belgrade registered their first win of the league phase by thrashing Stuttgart 5-1, as did Sturm Graz, beating Girona 1-0.Marcus Johnson and Bowling Green take down New Mexico State 61-60