Two turkeys, 34lb of potatoes and a gallon of custard - Christmas dinner for the family with 12 children

At least you don't have to feed the Watson family.

Their Christmas meal will include 34lb of potatoes, 9lb of carrots and 6lb of sprouts to go with their two extra-large turkeys.

For dessert, there are two large Christmas puddings, two cakes, 36 mince pies and a gallon of custard.

And they are not even expecting guests. John Watson, 42, and his 36-year-old wife Jo have nine daughters and three sons aged between one and 18, plus another one on the way.

The total supermarket bill for their festive fare came to almost £500 - and that's not including the Christmas presents.

Mr and Mrs Watson peel the vegetables and prepare the turkeys on Christmas Eve. They start cooking the dinner at 9am on Christmas Day in a giant oven which can hold both turkeys.

The couple will be joined at the dinner table by Natasha, 18, Bradley, 18, Shanice, 15, Maria, 12, Georgia, 11, Caitlin, eight, Brittany, eight, Febrianne, six, Charlie, five, Lillyarna, four, Nerrily-Jade, three and Arnie, 22 months.

Providing, that is, that eight-and-a-halfmonths-pregnant Mrs Watson doesn't give birth ahead of schedule. "The baby is due in January, but with all the excitement, he or she may decide to arrive early," Mrs Watson said.

"Christmas day in our house is fantastic but it does leave John and I exhausted. But it's so lovely to see the look on the kids' faces when they open all their presents. It makes it all worthwhile."

The Watsons start planning for Christmas in July and have to hide all the gifts in the garden shed as there is not enough room in the house.

They began wrapping their 120 parcels - getting through 12 rolls of paper and eight rolls of sellotape - as long ago as October.

And there are too many presents to fit under one tree so the couple have two and a life-size Father Christmas. Their four-bedroom house on the island of Guernsey is fit to bursting - and they have plenty of black bin bags ready for all the rubbish.

Mrs Watson said: "We don't usually go on holiday so we always want to make sure that Christmas is really special. It is sometimes quite hard with all the kids, but we love each of them so much.

"We have to try and get them all the same type of present - particularly the girls as otherwise they get a bit jealous."

Her husband, a haulage driver, said: "We get pretty tired by the end of the day, but once we get past 6pm and the kids are playing with all their new games and toys, we can relax a bit and have some time for Jo and I. We make sure all the little ones are tucked up in bed, then light the fire and chill out on the sofas in the living room.

"The following day we are already planning the next year. There is only one month in which we don't have a birthday, so it does take a lot of time and effort.

"But we absolutely love it - and can't wait for the arrival of our newest addition."