Occasions

Some folks baulk at the perceived commercialisation of Mother’s Day and prefer to pay tribute to their mums with a simple card. So if you’re stuck for ideas as to what to write in your card, you can take inspiration from these famous mother-related quotes – or simply plagiarise them and tell your mum you thought of them yourself…

The second part of our Mother's Day film festival is all about celebrating some of the best movie mums to have graced the silver screen. From the kind and generous to the delightfully eccentric, these marvelous mothers went above and beyond for their children.

Being a mother is challenging enough in itself, so spare a thought this Mother's Day for the following super mums, who through history have had to cope with a variety of unusual circumstances.

We all know that February 14th is Valentine's Day, but what you might be unaware of is that the origins of the event as we know it are largely unknown. So to help you make up your own mind about the true origins of Valentine's Day we've compiled the various legends right here, in one convenient place.

The exchange of Christmas gifts can be fraught with difficulties. How do you behave when someone gives you a present you don’t want? Should you buy a little something for your boss or your child’s teacher? How much should you spend? To help you to avoid the common pitfalls, we’ve come up with a selection of Christmas gift etiquette top tips.

If money was no object, what would you buy your loved ones this Christmas? And what would you want Santa to leave in your Christmas stocking if you could have anything in the world? We’ve searched high and low to find you the world’s most extravagant Christmas presents - and there’s a (not so) little something for everyone.

The ubiquitous Christmas card was first produced on a commercial level in 1843 by one Sir Henry Cole, spawning an industry that would go on to become one of the cornerstones of modern Christmas tradition. Incredibly, one of the great man’s cards, that he sent to his Grandmother has gone on to become the most valuable of all time - sold at auction in 2001 for £20,000. If you think that’s an amazing story, read on because here we have assembled some of the most remarkable Christmas card stories ever.

For couples entering into marriage, memories of their wedding will be cherished for a lifetime, but some people go to extreme lengths to ensure that they never forget their special day. Here we bring you a selection of some of the wackiest ways of tying the knot that we’ve ever seen.