Oh dear Sandra,
So OH may not be home for Christmas? Where will he be then, and can you not join him? Sorry if you've told us all this before but I've been pre-occupied.
Don't talk to me about passports! I won't go into all the tedious details but three out of the four of us had to get new ones for Tobago, and the only application that was acceptable first time was mine, and my photo gives me an uncanny resemblance to the Wicked Witch of the West.
I had to submit Daughter's no less than four times as none of the honest and decent citizens I asked to countersign the photo were considered of high enough social standing (she had previously been included on my passport) so that I was seriously considering how to cultivate a friendship with the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Himself had problems with his photo because of his height - 6ft 3, and his glasses, which he had to remove. He looks like the sort of creep you wouldn't want to meet on a dark night on his passport.....
If OH has to do it yet again, which I hope not, he should ask the jolly folk at the Post Office to check it first, which we did, and thus prevented further rejections.
You're right; it would be much easier, if a little more expensive, to get one forged for you. They probably have better technology....
Incidentally, I took Daughter's case to my MP who got an acknowledgement from the Passport Agency that yes, they had had been over-zealous with this 15 year old British -born citizen!
Good luck
Noe