Patti & Lauren's Public Showdown

’Tis the season to be squabbling, as stress levels explode between the celebrity mum and her daughter

It's a scene all too familiar for families around Australia – the stressful last-minute Christmas shopping blitz.

And it appears that even Patti Newton, 73, and her daughter Lauren Welsh aren’t immune to some festive frustration, as Woman’s Day’s exclusive pictures show.

The mum-and-daughter duo were seen getting tetchy with each other as they browsed in a Melbourne shopping centre, while seemingly on the hunt for gifts to put under the tree.

“Patti looked exhausted and Lauren was pretty defensive. There was definitely a bit of bickering going on,” says an onlooker. “It seemed like they couldn’t decide on something. They wandered around for hours with her little boy Monty. It was really crowded as well, which can’t have helped – not to mention that Lauren looks about ready to pop!”