Lorraine discusses juggling multiple festive gatherings in various homes.
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Lorraine has shared how she stays connected with her family over Christmas(Image: JAMES RUDLAND)
Adults will be able to celebrate three distinct “Christmas Days” this year, with many anticipating their first festive gatherings in November. However, 33% of people admit it’s a “logistical nightmare” to stay connected with all of their friends and family during the holiday season. ‘
According to a new survey of 2,000 people, December celebrations typically begin as early as the 14th, with individuals spending an average of three hours and 16 minutes traveling between visits. In fact, 20% will visit three or more homes in a single day. To stay connected with loved ones they can’t see in person, 68% rely on technology to bridge the gap.
EE, which collaborated with Lorraine Kelly and her daughter Rosie Smith, who are both well-versed in juggling locations over the holiday season, has commissioned the research.
Lorraine, who became a grandmother for the first time last year to granddaughter Billie, discussed what navigating a modern, multi-stop Christmas looks like and how reliable broadband and mobile connectivity supports the flow of their day. “Christmas is all about connecting with family and friends and keeping in touch,” she said.
She added: “I’m lucky enough to live near Rosie, Steve and baby Billie, and we will all be together on Christmas Day, but all doing our own thing for the rest of the holidays. Rosie will be taking Billie to see Steve’s family on Boxing Day and we are heading north to visit my mum, so those video calls with Billie mean the world.”
“When we are the hosts, broadband keeps the house feeling alive, with music on, a festive film streaming and video calls with friends and family in Scotland and all over the world,” Lorraine added. “It’s a vital way to connect with my brother in Singapore, my cousins in Germany and friends in America and Canada.
Whether they are shared in person or on the screen, those moments make everything feel warm and connected. It is crucial to feel that sense of connection with everyone, even those who are not geographically close, for Christmas to truly feel like Christmas. “
In contrast, 20% of respondents will be guests elsewhere, while 27% will be hosting friends and family this year.
According to 53 percent of respondents, a strong broadband or mobile connection is now just as important as a functioning oven for a smooth Christmas.
Broadband is primarily used during the holiday season for streaming of movies and TV shows, checking out other people’s social media accounts, and making video calls to loved ones. Using OnePoll’s data. According to 58% of users on .com, video calls made them feel more intimate with their loved ones even when they were separated.
Continue reading the article below.
Christmas may seem different in every household, but being close to those who matter most to you is what makes it special, according to Kelly Engstrom of EE.
Reliable broadband and mobile connectivity are crucial in helping families share the intimate moments that unite families as plans spread across multiple homes.
We’ve compiled our top festive finds from M&, S, Monsoon, and more to give you some inspiration for your Christmas work party outfits.
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Christmas work party outfits from M&S, Monsoon and more(Image: Mirror)
The party season is upon us now that December is officially approaching. Finding the ideal outfit (or outfits) for a work party can be challenging because Christmas events are popping up all over.
There is so much choice available this year, making it difficult to choose the one that appeals to you, regardless of whether you prefer full glitz or something more subtle.
Sequin tops, dresses, and skirts are all staple pieces that reappear each year, of course. However, feather-trimmed staples and velvet are the trends that are prevailing this year. From blazers to tops, maxi dresses to skirts, velvet is everywhere.
However, according to Google, the top searches include “sequin midi skirt” and “blazer playsuit”, making it clear to see that the classics are still most in demand.
To help you out with the best Christmas partywear, we’ve rounded up a few of our favourite buys from high street brands including M&S, Monsoon and more.
READ MORE: The £26 gold kitten heels from New Look go with any Christmas outfit, while the £800 Jimmy Choos pair is available for just $18.
A sequin midi skirt is perfect for a Christmas party. Dress the skirt down with a cozy knit and boots if your event is more informal. Or dress it up with a matching sequin top, cinched waist shirt, and heels.
We love the cute sequin floral details on this silver midi from Marks & Spencer. Additionally, the metallic silver colour appears a bit more classy than other coloured sequins.
Monsoon Feather Cuff Jacket and Trousers
Available for £110, and trousers for £99.
Feather cuffs are a popular addition to any party look this year, as we mentioned. And this feather trim co-ord from Monsoon is so opulent that we are obsessed with it.
This set is the ideal substitute if you still want to look glam and party-ready without all the sparklers and sequins.
Puff-sleeved Blouse in Phase Eight
Available for £129
You can’t go wrong with “jeans and a nice top,” which is in line with the more subdued looks. The ultimate “nice top” is this chocolate brown puff sleeve blouse from Phase Eight.
The rich chocolate color is in high demand for 2025, and paired cigarette pants will do the trick. You’re ready to party with some kitten heels and gold jewelry.
England and Wales have been paired together in the pool stages of the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia, with Tonga and minnows Zimbabwe rounding out Pool F.
The pair famously met at the same stage in the 2015 tournament, with Wales’ victory at Twickenham contributing to hosts England’s early exit.
Ireland and Scotland also share a pool, just as they did at France 2023, where Ireland won 36-14 and Scotland failed to progress to the knockout stages. Uruguay and Portugal, who both impressed as underdogs in France, are also in Pool D.
If the pools play out according to the world rankings, New Zealand and France, leading contenders for the trophy, would also be kept apart from England and Ireland until the final.
Argentina would be the other top-ranked nation on England and Ireland’s side of the knockout draw in that hypothetical situation.
Despite their current wretched run of form, with just two wins in 22 Tests over the past two years, Wales have a great chance of progressing as Pool F runners-up at the very least, with Tonga, the lowest-ranked team in band three of the draw, and Zimbabwe, making their first appearance at the tournament since 1991, also in their group.
Pool F’s runners-up will face a last-16 knockout tie against the runners-up of Pool C, containing Argentina, Fiji, Canada and Spain.
Hosts Australia have been drawn together with trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027, with the full fixture list to be revealed in February.
Holders South Africa have drawn Italy, Georgia and Romania in their pool, while France are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
The tournament has expanded to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in France in 2023, with a last-16 knockout round included for the first time.
While the winner of Pool F, which contains England and Wales, may be kept apart from some of the Test game’s biggest beasts, they will have to face the runner-up from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the last 16.
Despite the ceasefire, which put an end to Israel’s genocidal war on the island, the Islamic University of Gaza has made a significant step toward reopening.
For the first time in two years, the university resumed in-person classes on Saturday, which limited students’ attempts at online learning due to displacement, power outages, and the destruction of university facilities.
After two years of forced academic interruptions due to a conflict that has ruined the enclave’s educational infrastructure, the gradual return to in-person learning takes place inside buildings that have been damaged by air strikes and partially destroyed.
“Today is a historic day. Despite the tragedy and cruelty caused by the genocide, Asaad Yousef Asaad, president of the Islamic University, declared.
“Palestinians, as everyone knows, love education and life,” he continued.
According to the president, a sizable number of students from the medical and health sciences departments retreated to their classrooms on Saturday.
He continued, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, a gradual plan is being developed to bring the university’s functions back to full.
4, 000 students overall received their degrees during the war via distance learning, and for the first time since October 2023, the university is now accepting new students in person.
The Gaza Government Media Office reports that over the past two years or so, some 165 educational facilities have been destroyed by Israeli strikes, and another 392 have experienced partial damage.
Eagle Mujinga walks a tightrope in DRC’s dangerous mines to meet the world’s demand for cobalt. Eagle Mujinga defends workers’ welfare.
Workers at the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) Shabara cobalt mine are led by Eagle Mujinga. The DRC contributes to the global supply chain that fuels renewable energy and electric vehicles. It is the world’s largest producer of cobalt. Miners in the DRC are exposed to risky working conditions and only make a few dollars per day to supply the multibillion-dollar industry.
When miners accuse foreign buyers of underweighing and undervaluing the cobalt they extract, there is an ape caught in the middle. Can Mujinga manage demands from miners while maintaining contact with foreigners once he becomes a miner himself?
Republican nominee Matt Van Epps, who defeated Democratic state Representative Aftyn Behn, won Tuesday’s special US House election in Tennessee thanks to US President Donald Trump.
Mark Green, a former representative, resigned in July, taking the seat that Van Epps has vacated.
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The Republicans’ 219-213 House majority would have been even more narrowed if they had gotten upset by a Democratic upset.
What should I know:
What were the special election results in Tennessee in the end?
Middle Tennessee’s election was won by Van Epps. After Republican leaders made a late push to woo their voters, the Associated Press called the election.
Van Epps received 53.9 percent of the votes, while Behn received 45 percent, according to the AP.
In a statement, Van Epps stated that “this race was bigger than just one campaign.” It marked a turning point for Tennessee, the country, and the country’s direction, according to the author.
He added that cost-of-living issues would be one of his top priorities as a result of the greater attention given to those issues in races this year, including the governors’ races in Virginia and New Jersey and the New York City mayoral race.
Republican nominee for the House of Representatives, Matt Van Epps, delivers his victory speech [Brett Carlsen/Getty Images via AFP]
Republicans typically enjoy a seat in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District. Trump increased that margin to 22 points in 2024 after winning by 15 points in 2020. However, unexpected outcomes can occur during special elections, as revealed by recent polls.
Trump congratulated Van Epps and called it “another fantastic night for the Republican Party” in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday night.
What caused this special election to take place?
After Green, who had previously won the seat in 2018, resigned in July as a result of his decision to retire, Tennessee decided to hold the special election.
He had won the district’s re-election by 21 points to lead the district.
The seat he vacated belongs in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, a sizable portion of Nashville’s downtown area that extends from the Kentucky border to Alabama. After the state’s Republican-controlled legislature redefined congressional boundaries in 2022, the district’s political climate shifted more significantly.
Nearly all of Nashville was grouped under one firmly Democratic district prior to that redistricting.
The seventh district was then divided into three distinct districts by the city’s leaders, who combined Nashville’s heavily Republican suburban and rural counties.
By dispersing the city’s overwhelmingly Democratic, urban voters, who are disproportionately younger, Black, and more progressive, across a number of districts, the new map diluted Nashville’s Democratic voting bloc.
Large suburban and rural areas that consistently vote Republican, made up of older, whiter, and more conservative voters, were then combined with each other’s parts of the city.
Seats like the 7th Congressional District’s Democratic bloc were significantly more likely to elect Republican candidates because of this redrawing, which dispersed the Democratic bloc in Nashville’s Republican-leaning districts.
However, national Republican groups had to intervene this time to save the seat.
Aftyn Behn’s supporters watch the results of the US 7th Congressional District’s special election on December 2, 2025. [George Walker IV/AP Photo]
What were some of the factors that led to Van Epps’ victory?
Van Epps’ 8.9-point victory is notable in contrast to the district’s previous Republican victories.
The significant investment from national Republican groups, who viewed the race as closer than expected, is credited as a key factor in shaping the outcome, according to analysts.
According to Al Jazeera’s Patty Culhane, who is based in Washington, DC, “It is undoubtedly going to concern the Republicans,” so much so that a poll suggested Behn might actually win.
Trump’s personal Political Action Committee (PAC), which she claims traveled to a rally with the candidate for more than $1 million, said the candidate. The president also called the rally at a campaign rally.
The super PAC, which supports Trump, has been funding campaigns for the first time since the election of last year.
Van Epps firmly supported Trump in his victory speech, stating that “running with Trump is how you win.”
He praised the president for his unwavering support, which he said propelled us to victory and charted this movement. “President Trump was in complete agreement with us.” That was crucial. I’ll support him in Congress.
One of his main goals, he added, was to stop rising living costs, which is a theme that is becoming apparent in a lot of campaigns this year.
Democrats recently had impressive victories in key races, including the New York mayoral contest, and they hoped a strong showing in Tennessee would help the party prepare for the midterm elections in November.
Behn stated in the Tuesday evening press release that “the momentum has been on our side.” “We are losing less in other areas than we should be,” the statement reads.
Aftyn Behn addresses supporters at a watch party after the party’s special election ended on December 2, 2025.
What did Matt Van Epps run on, and who is he?
Van Epps, a West Point graduate, a decorated helicopter pilot, and a lieutenant colonel who served in the Tennessee Army National Guard, are described on his campaign website.
His public service includes positions in the governor’s office’s office and the state government of Tennessee, where he served as the department’s commissioner of general services’ deputy chief operating officer.
Van Epps describes himself as a strong fiscal conservative who supports tax cuts, Medicaid changes, and supports the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. As part of Trump’s agenda, the bill passed in July increases immigration funds, cuts welfare programs, and increases tax cuts.
Additionally, he supports a “secure border”.
Matt will work with President Trump to finish the wall, give Border Patrol more authority, and put an end to the woke left’s open-border agenda to keep our borders safe. They will restore law and order, safeguard American families, and prioritize our country’s security, according to his website.
He has endorsed Israel on issues of foreign policy and Israel’s genocidal war against Gaza, saying he will “ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself.”
Congressman-elect Matt Van Epps, welcome to the @HouseGOP! 🇺🇸 pic. twitter.com/HUw5T3qlxU
Analysts claim that the outcome is still a “big warning sign for Republicans” despite his victory.
According to Al Jazeera’s Culhane, “This will give Democrats a little bit of energy,” and it will serve as a referendum on Donald Trump.
