Paladini: Sad Britney hands children back to K-Fed after a 2-day Christmas visit

Lonely: Britney Spears pines for her young sons

Looking sad and lonely, Britney Spears picked up a Thai takeaway after handing her two sons back to ex-husband Kevin Federline.

The troubled pop star had spent a brief two days with her boys over Christmas before dropping them off with the former dancer.

The Toxic singer was showing off a rock chick-inspired peacock hairstyle as she ordered a meal from Thai restaurant Melanee Thai in Hollywood last night.

The strain of her acrimonious break-up and custody battle was showing when she first left the children and headed to a Starbucks coffee shop with a friend.

Perhaps it was a Christmas jumper, but Britney's choice of horizontal striped cardigan did little for her.

Teamed with a large fedora hat and oversized sunglasses, the pop star for once looked as if she wanted to hide from the cameras.

Paparazzi ready: Britney waves to photographers as she leaves the restaurant

However, hours later when she was spotted out and about looking for her dinner, Britney seems more responsive to the paparazzi and waved to them after buying her supper.

It is more usual to see Britney baring as much flesh as possible as she has shown in a series of revealing outfits in which she has partied non-stop.

But Britney has recently discovered her 16-year-old sister Jamie-Lynn is pregnant and has vowed to support her.

Britney Spears looked sad and covered up after returning her sons to their father - she headed straight to Starbucks with a friend afterwards

The 26-year-old however has been locked in her own bitter custody battle over her sons Sean Preston, two, and Jayden James, one, after recently losing primary custody to ex-husband Kevin Federline.

Britney has strict visiting regulations over when she can see her sons and is often accompanied by a court appointed parenting monitor, pictured here in October

Britney has appeared to be struggling with parenthood - she currently has three weekly visits with her sons, including one overnight stay, all supervised by a court-appointed parenting monitor.

Britney wore a stripey Christmas cardie, fedora hat and glasses as she walked along looking sad and crossing her arms in a defensive pose

Spending Christmas with her boys has been a minor victory for Britney, who has struggled to prove to the court that she is a responsible mother after regularly failing to turn up for mandatory drug tests.

Happier times: Britney and Kevin Federline before their acrimonious split and subsequent custody battle which left Britney having her boys for just two days over Christmas