Mothers worth £2,500 at Christmas

Hiring professionals to do the work a typical mother is expected to provide over Christmas would cost at least £2,500, research suggests.

Cooking, cleaning, organising and the countless other thankless tasks which are part of a mother's lot are carried out with no remuneration.

But the amount of work women do over the Christmas period, allowing the family to sit back and relax, would cost £2,500 and involve a team of trained specialists, according to Debenhams Personal Finance.

Caring for children, shopping for food and presents, counselling family members, planning meals, sewing, being a chauffeur, decorating the house and putting up the Christmas tree are other jobs women are simply expected to do for free, and that does not even begin to consider the work done around New Year.

The Debenhams report calculated the £2,500 sum after considering the tasks involved over the seven days between December 20 and 26 for a woman who has two children under the age of 14.

Copyright Press Association 2012