CHRISTMAS has always been a special time in the Gordon household - but this year there are three more reasons to celebrate.

Triplets Adam, Callum and Emily have made the festive season a real family affair as they celebrate their first Christmas.

It is seven months since the triplets were born, doubling the size of the Gordon family overnight.

Lorraine, aged 30, and 34-year-old husband Ian, had a daughter, Megan, aged five, when they discovered Lorraine was pregnant with triplets.

And the family have been busy preparing for a special Christmas Day.

Extended family will gather at their Moorside Avenue home in Bolton and Lorraine will cook turkey with all the trimmings for 12.

"I love Christmas and I'm really looking forward to it this year," she said.

And each of the children has their own Christmas outfit for the day.

Megan will be wearing a pink fairy costume and the babies have been given festive sleepsuits.

Emily has cut her first tooth and is starting to crawl, Callum rolls everywhere and is rarely still, and Adam enjoys sitting and surveying the scene around him.

"It's going to be a hectic Christmas this year," said Lorraine.

"They all have very different personalities and it's lovely to see their little characters emerging."

The boys are healthy eaters and, along with Emily, will enjoy a mashed version of the Christmas dinner the rest of the family will be tucking into.

"I make home-cooked food and they love it," said Lorraine.

Ian's parents, Pat and Albert, have bought special Christmas tree decorations for the babies to mark their first Christmas and presents have been bought in threes.