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Now here's a surprise you don't want to get on Christmas morning: Adulterers are increasingly caught on Christmas day, one divorce lawyer says.

Ayesha Vardag told the Telegraph's John Bingham that "Christmas day 'text message bustings' had become an increasingly common feature in divorce cases."

The following scenario usually plays out, Vardag says: The husband either a) leaves the room for a while to call to the mistress and the wife becomes suspicious, alcohol is imbibed and arguments ensue, or b) leaves his cellphone and its catalogue of sexts out for the wife to find.

But why be so sloppy on a day that is widely acknowledged as prime family time?

"I do wonder whether there is an element of people wanting to get caught because it is an easier way of dealing with it than saying that they want to leave," Vardag says.

The digital love trail is how one woman says she caught her fiancé last Christmas.

Lucy Turner told the Mirror she discovered her partner, and father of her son, was involved with another woman when she was gathering her presents on Christmas morning and found a BlackBerry among the other gifts.

"For a moment, I thought it was a present from my fiancé, Alan," she said. "But picking it up and scrolling through the messages, the horror of what I'd found quickly dawned on me."

Yup, you guessed it, there were sexy messages and photos on the phone.

So what's a suspecting spouse to do on Christmas morning? Well, there are a few tell-tale signs to watch for, including the mysterious "disappearing gift," which is the present you accidentally find before Christmas but never shows up under the tree. And if you have to ask yourself where all that nice jewellery that your mate's now wearing came from? Well, that's not a good sign either.

"It is really very sad," Vardag says. "There is a psychological sense of Christmas being the barometer of how a family is doing."

And if you're worried about infidelity on Christmas morning, it's pretty safe to say your family isn't doing too hot.

(Merry Christmas!)

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