Nearly half of Scots prefer to give or receive cash at Christmas than gift cards

animal welfare bosses have launched a search for the owners of a group of festive strays - including a ferret and a chicken. Animals were found roaming wild by the Scottish SPCA over the past few weeks.

Christmas Day thieves ransacked their home. While most Scots were tucking into their turkey dinner the evil robbers raided the family's house in Biggar.

Covid-19 in Scotland over the Christmas period, official figures reveal today.

Arbroath harbour on Christmas Eve. The alarm was raised after the vehicle was seen entering the water at around 7.20pm on Thursday.

Get the stories that matter to you sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter.A baby girl from Paisley was the first born in Scotland on Christmas Day.Aurelia Musialak came into the world at 12.04am within the maternity unit at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.And mum Agata,36,  said: “I could not believe it  and we are all very proud.“It makes it all the more special and I am really happy.”She had to be induced after Auerlia was reluctant to emerge.Aurelia beat a baby boy born at 12.27am

Christmas Day. The 30-year-old was cycling on the A6105 between Chirnside and Duns in the Scottish Borders when a blue Ford Focus collided with him.

vanished in the early hours of Christmas Eve along with her three young children. Iona Whyte is believed to have left an address on Garrison Road, Montrose, Angus, between 2am and 3am on December 24.

MND after giving birth has lost her fight with the disease. Warrior Jennifer Bell, 28, was given just months to live when medics diagnosed her in March 2019.

Christmas, but some areas will see freezing temperatures. Forecast for the UK as a whole says conditions will be “fine and dry with some sunshine for many.

Christmas Eve bell ring on doorsteps in a bid to combat loneliness around the festive period. The movement follows the same idea as Clap For Carers, which saw people pay tribute to key workers at windows and in doorways every Thursday during the first lockdown.

Get the stories that matter to you sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter.University Hospital Wishaw will feature in the BBC Scotland Christmas Celebration programme this year.Sally Magnusson, will, as ever, be presenting the show which will be aired on Christmas Eve.

white Christmas after a weather warning for snow and ice was announced. Wintry showers are expected in the north of the country after the Met Office issued the yellow warning for snow and ice overnight and into Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve in a bid to tackle loneliness. The sweet campaign is asking the nation to create a 'wave of bells across the world' to spread festive cheer amid tough lockdown restrcitions.The idea came from Mary Beggs-Reid, from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, to "end 2020 with a bit of magic, hope and togetherness" in her hometown.

Perth and Kinross will be closed from December 24, it has been announced. Culture Perth and Kinross is temporarily halting public admission to all its archives, libraries, museums and galleries from Christmas Eve until further notice. Two new ‘world-class’ schools to be built in Perth after Scottish Government funding go-ahead Perth Museum and Art Gallery  will be closed to the public slightly earlier, from Tuesday, December 22.

Help to Save bonus payment, each receiving an average of £367 in time for Christmas, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has announced.  Help to Save is the UK Government backed saving scheme that launched in September 2018 to help those on a low income save up to £50 a month in a secure savings account. For every £1 saved, people can earn a bonus of 50 pence, over four years.

gran who spent decades working in the care sector has been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease just days before Christmas. Sandra Craig, from Carmyle in Glasgow's east end, was given the horrific diagnosis on December 4.

Christmas tree. Emmet McCann, 24, who works in the acute medical unit in Paisley’s Royal Alexandra Hospital,turned into the green-eyed monster when he found his ex-partner Louise McDermott, also a nurse, in the company of another man.