There is something quite special about getting out the decorations and rummaging through them again. Each one takes you to a moment in time, a bit like blip, where you remember who was there, what was said, and who loved it the most.

We have a box of decorations that the children have bought over the years, adding one each year. They still shout out when they see them, still hold them dear, despite being bought at a time when style meant nothing it was all about the sparkle. My boy in particular has some crackers.

Today I rummaged through my mother's decorations and felt that same childlike excitement at my favourite 40 odd year old decorations. They have lost their sparkle but they haven't lost their appeal.

All we need now is a tree and it will begin to look a bit like.........