A CHRISTENING is a special time for any family, but for one Kidderminster clan, their latest baptism had extra excitement.

When Deborah Hartill, 37, was thinking of a date to christen her newly born twins, Elsie-Mae and Nennie-Rae, one date in particular stood out.

“We looked for when to have the christening and October 12 was available,” she said.

“It hit me that the date was the same as my Granddad and Uncle Joe’s 83rd birthday.

“I thought how lovely it would be to have the twins christened on that day, bringing all the twins together.”

Deborah, who also has a twin sister, Teresa, was surprised when she found out she would be having twins as the family occurrence has so far skipped a generation.

She said: “I was completely shocked and stuck for words when I found out I was having twins. I wasn’t expecting it.

“To be able to have three generations of twins, at the same time, in the same family is great and so unique.”

To celebrate the christening of Elsie-Mae and Nennie-Rae and the 83rd birthdays of Harold and Joe Calder, the family held a ceremony at St Mary’s Church followed by a party at the Aggborough Suite of Kidderminster Harriers Football Club.

The party featured entertainment from a magician and a face painter, as well as music, games and a special happy birthday song for the oldest set of twins.

Deborah said: “It was such a fantastic day – it was absolutely brilliant and I couldn’t have wished for a better day.

“There was a lot of laughter and joy and it was out of this world.

“I felt so privileged that my Granddad and Uncle could be part of the twins’ special day and to have all three generations of twins around at the same time is really rare and unlikely to happen again.”