Britain's oldest mum of quads surprises Santa by showing him her four miracles

20 December 2023 , 19:13

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Tracey Britten, 55, is the oldest mother to give birth to four babies in the UK

Britain's oldest mum of quads managed to turn the tables on Santa when she took her four to his grotto on a pre-holiday visit.

Father Christmas is usually the one handing out surprise and delight but when Tracey Britten, 55, presented her four miracle five-year-olds he was the one who was truly amazed. Francesca, Frederica, Grace and George were so keen to meet Santa before they flew to the Canaries for Christmas that they wrote him a letter.

Tracey, said: “I took them to meet Santa, there was a grotto in the local pub car park. It’s the first time they’ve met him and it was magical. We got in and Santa said: ‘I’ve never seen triplets!’ and I said: ‘There’s four of them!’. I think he must have thought he’d had too much sherry. We had an early Christmas and on Sunday morning we opened all the presents and had a roast in the ­afternoon. I didn’t even put a tree up because it was pointless.”

Having such a big family is not cheap. The kids’ main gifts of two dolls houses and tablets cost Tracey about £2,000. The all-inclusive family trip to Costa Teguise, Lanzarote, was another £6,000.

Tracey is also taking her brood off to the Canary Islands

The youngsters weighed as little as 1lb 15oz when they were born

George, Grace and identical siblings Francesca and Frederica, who weighed as little as 1lb 15oz at birth in October 2018, are in for one more surprise. Tracey managed to squeeze their stockings for Christmas into her suitcase. But after jetting to the sunshine spot, where temperatures are likely to reach 20C at Christmas, Tracey, of London, said: “It’s all worth it to see the kids happy. We wouldn’t change a thing. We only wanted one child and were blessed with four. It’s a miracle.”

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Tracey’s older daughter from a previous marriage, Sara Lee, 37, her partner and three children are due to join the quads in Lanzarote on December 23. Tracey said: “We’re just going to relax. Having quads, I’m not sure if I’m blessed or it’s a punishment. But I never thought I’d be going on holiday with four children when I was in my 50s. I thought I’d be retired and living in Spain, not popping over for a holiday.”

In 2018, the then 50-year-old grandmother defied a million-to-one odds by giving birth to four babies. For 10 years, Tracey and husband Stephen, 44, tried conceiving naturally, before travelling to Cyprus in April 2018 for IVF treatment at a cost of £7,000. After one round, Tracey got pregnant and the couple were told there were four babies. She was encouraged to abort two of to save the other two. But Tracey, a mum of seven and grandma of 10, said it was “the best and bravest decision of my life” to hold her nerve and ignore their advice.

Dan Warburton