I stopped celebrating Christmas when my youngest was 5 – my kids spend holiday with their dad & I don’t miss them at all
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CHRISTMAS Eve is a time when most mums cherish snuggling up with their children in front of a festive film and tub of chocolates. But not mother-of-two Harriet Morris. In her house, the children’s beds are empty, and there are no mince pies for Santa or presents under the tree.
![[Harriet Morris says the best part of divorce is not having her kids for Christmas]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/since-harriet-morris-divorced-10-956916768.jpg?strip=all&w=640)
And rather than feeling bereft or battling with her ex over whose turn it is to have the kids for Christmas, Harriet, 53, relishes being child-free over the festive season. Though her sons Louis and Tom were just eight and five when she got divorced nearly ten years ago, she insisted they should be with their father for the whole holiday.
![[This year Harriet is planning a bike ride in the countryside on December 25]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/harriet-morris-957921950.jpg?strip=all&w=720)
She says: “When I had the boys with me, I used to dread Christmas. “I hated the waste, the forced jollity and the pressure to eat and drink to excess. “It was exhausting and stressful. “The first time I dropped them off at a service station to meet their dad so they could spend Christmas with him, I wept, but with happiness.
![[Harriet during one Christmas spent in Madeira]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/harriet-morris-957921958.jpg?strip=all&w=720)
“I felt so free, able to enjoy a blissful few days to myself.”. Not surprisingly, Harriet’s lack of festive spirit leaves other mothers bemused, and she says: “I’m sure they feel sorry for me. “But I feel sorry for them, being woken up at the crack of dawn by a sticky hand patting their face.
![[Harriet with her sons when she had to celebrate Christmas]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/mel-fallowfield-pictured-past-xmas-955070624_1e77fc.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
“I see women in the supermarket looking harassed, desperate to make sure Christmas is perfect, and I thank my lucky stars that isn’t me. “This year will be my tenth solo Christmas and I can’t wait. “I don’t miss the boys at all. “They’re with me for 46 weeks of the year and I know they’re having a lovely couple of weeks without me.
![[Harriet is much happier now she doesn't have to deal with Christmas]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/since-harriet-morris-divorced-10-956916611.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
