“WE miss you, we love you so much and we can’t wait for you to come home.”

That is the message from dozens of families across the south who are sending Christmas love to their husbands, daddies, sons and partners who are serving on the frontline in Afghanistan.

For baby Livvi it will be her first ever Christmas and she will be spending it without her daddy Matt Swales.

But her mum Hannah is determined her husband will not miss out.

The 27-year-old from Locks Heath emails her husband a photograph of their ten-month-old baby every day without fail so he does not miss a moment and can see her change and grow – albeit while serving on the frontline in Helmand Province.

The first-time parents, who have been married two years, will delay their Christmas Day until Matt gets home for leave in three weeks’ time so they can both watch Livvi open her presents and Santa stockings together.

Hannah, said: “It is Livvi’s first Christmas and she is without her daddy and of course she is missing him lots. Rather than counting down for Christmas Day, we are counting down the days on our advent calendar until we get to see Matt in three weeks’ time.

“Livvi will have a couple of presents to open but it will be quite a low key Christmas so we can have our Christmas with Matt mid-January.

“It is tough but we are lucky because we do get to speak to him a lot. Family and friends have been amazing.

“Hopefully he will be able to phone us on Christmas Day but it depends how busy it is because I am sure a lot |of people will want to phone home.

“For him, it is just another day.

“We have sent him parcels to open Christmas Day but there is only so much you can send in the post.”

Even though 28-year-old Matt is thousands of miles away little Livvi is surrounded by photographs of her dad even saying “Dadda” for the first time despite him being away.

Hannah, said: “Even though he isn’t with us, there is no danger she will forget her daddy’s face. She is surrounded by photos of him and she babbles away on the phone. She even started cuddling his photo in a frame but kept bumping her little head on the glass so I got a photo printed on a cushion which she snuggles up to, so he is always with us.

“She is a complete daddy’s girl.”