Meet Santa and the Angels

Meeting an Angel the night before Christmas is enough to ruffle anyone's feathers. But when Charlotte Angel met her husband Philip on Christmas Eve she fell in love with his festive surname.

Charlotte from Burntwood says having a festive surname makes this time of year extra special.

"When Philip introduced himself to me I thought 'I've got to have that surname'," says Charlotte, who lives in Sandringham Close and has three children, Karin, six, Dylan, five, and Riley, aged two.

"People make comments on our surname all the time, but especially at Christmas. They always ask if the children are little angels."

Charlotte, aged 26, says Karin, who is a pupil at Holly Grove Primary, always plays an angel in the school play.

Anne Santa from Great Barr says people often don't believe her surname is real.

"I worked as a bar supervisor at the Chamber of Commerce in Birmingham and my name did raise a few questions," says Anne, aged 69. "Whenever I had to order a taxi I would give them my name and they didn't believe me."

Anne gained her unusual surname from an ex-partner and says that after they split up she decided to hang on to it.

"When you use your credit card at Christmas time it gets a few smiles and questions from the staff," says Anne, whose grown-up children Julie and Mark also have the surname Santa.

"For some reason no-one really notices any other time of the year. I love Christmas and this year I'm spending it with my daughter who lives in the north of the country."

Pauline Merry says she believes her surname has made her a happier person.

"You can't be the kind of person to frown a lot when you have my surname," says Pauline, aged 80, of Neve Avenue in Wolverhampton. "I do get asked a lot of questions at this time of the year because it is a word that is on everyone's lips — the line 'have a Merry Christmas' is everywhere."

Pauline says she likes the reactions she gets in shops. "When I'm in the post office or a shop, people always comment on my name and say how appropriate it is for this time of year."

Betty and Dennis Christmas from Hall Green in Birmingham are used to their name getting them a good reaction.

"We are both in our 80s now but we still get mothers calling up asking if their children can speak to Dennis," says Betty, of Baldwins Lane. "They think he is Father Christmas and so he tells them to be good and they will get some nice presents."

Betty says they have had some fun with their name and no-one ever forgets who they are. "People don't have to think twice about our names and they are usually surprised when they hear we are Mr and Mrs Christmas," she says. "We have a son called Max who lives in Solihull and he also thinks it is a lovely name. The only reaction we have ever had has been a good one — it adds an extra bit of sparkle to Christmas."

Barbara Noel, of Canterbury Road, Wolverhampton, says she gets a few comments at Christmas time regarding her surname, which is an old French word.

"My husband was called Marcel and his father was French but I have only ever come across one other person with the same surname," says Barbara, 80, who was a teacher in Wolverhampton and at one time was headteacher at St Luke's Infant School. Whenever Jim Spruce goes on holiday to Cyprus he is known as Mr Christmas Tree.

The 69-year-old from Walsall says: "I use a car hire company in Cyprus and when they saw my licence they said we won't forget you and will call you Mr Christmas Tree.

"My wife Barbara went into hospital recently and they said we had a very seasonal surname."

Jim, who used to be a BT telegraph engineer, says having a name like Spruce can be useful. He said: "When I leave my name with anyone I always clarify by saying 'Spruce, as in the Christmas tree.

"At Christmas we have trees throughout the house.

"Most of them are artificial but we always have a real one — and it has to be a Norwegian spruce."