Four Christmas gifts to treasure

From left: Denny Thomson and Tammy Maxwell of Walkerburn with daughter Ruby; Eilidh Crawford and Jamie MacFadyen of Pathhead and their daughter Millie; and Antra Rollande and Gary Cooper of Hawick, with their son Lewis.

The beautiful bundles of joy appeared throughout the day, beginning at 2.39am with Thea Margaret Macdonald, whose Jedburgh parents Kirsty and Scott, as well as big sister Gracie, told us is a “wee star”.

Pathhead couple Eilidh Crawford and Jamie McFadyen were next to see their bonny daughter Millie arrive at 7.07am – bang on time, as she was due on December 25.

Jamie, a farm worker at Whitburgh Mains, said: “Millie is the best Christmas present ever. She is absolutely gorgeous.”

Jedburgh's Scott and Kirsty Macdonald with daughter Thea Margaret, who was the first baby to be born in the Borders on Christmas Day

Walkerburn’s Tammy Maxwell then gave birth to daughter Ruby at 5.21pm – a first child for the waitress who works at the village’s George Hotel and labourer boyfriend Denny Thomson.

Ruby had been due onDecember 10, but obviously decided she wanted to be a Christmas baby and hung on for 15 days.

Hawick couple Gary Cooper and Antra Rollande were overjoyed to welcome son Lewis to the world at 7.29pm.

Gary, who is a general manager at an Edinburgh gas and central heating firm, said: “We’re delighted Lewis came along on Christmas Day.

“Antra is from Latvia, and they celebrate a name day as well as a birthday and Christmas, and Lewis will get to celebrate that on May 22, which means he’ll not get left out when it comes to birthday parties.”

Gary summed it up for all the happy parents, when he thanked the staff at ward 17.

He said: “We really appreciate everything the staff at the hospital have done, all their hard work, genuine smiles and professionalism, especially at Christmas time.

“They really do deserve all the plaudits they get.”