Christmas Boobs

Once upon a time, Germany's Christkind darted from house to house with traditional wooden toys for children on Christmas Eve. This year, it will be bringing a very special gift for the grown-ups.

Husbands and parents are surprising their loved ones with a record number of lifts, tucks and implants over the Christmas period. Breast enlargements or "Christmas bells", as they are known among surgeons, are one of the most popular operations.

"I am operating from morning to night," said Albert Hofmann, president of the German Association for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. "People want to be able to stand under the Christmas tree with their new car, new living room cabinet and new breasts."

"Last year we had a family who gave their mother a breast enlargement as her Christmas present. I now have a 22 year-old student who is getting the same as a Christmas present from her parents."

Demand is up to 25 percent higher at Christmas. Liposuction was the most popular operation in Germany, followed by breast alterations. There were 360,000 plastic surgery operations in 2002, compared to just 20,000 in 1990, according to figures from the Association for German Plastic Surgeons.