Amigurumi here I come.

Every year since my kids were born, I have made them an ornament for the tree. It's fun to decorate with them every year, as it is a trip down memory lane. I can see what crafty thing I was favouring each year. There are needlepoint ornaments, painted wooden shapes that I cut out with my scroll saw, greenware that I painted and then had fired, there are hooked ones from the last couple of years. And one year, I painted a half paper mache ball for each of the kids - my son's had a portrait of Bob Marley on it.

When they leave home and have their own trees to trim they will have a tree full of memories to take with them. In fact, Laura has a tree this year, but is not quite ready to pull her ornaments from the family tree just yet. She has asked for the "overs" instead. They are the ones that we decide not to use if the tree is looking a bit too crowded. They each have a story to tell as well.

I have never understood those people who do a theme tree every year. Those evergreen fashionistas who go with the latest colour scheme and spend too much time and effort reinventing their tree every year. I can't imagine not feeling emotionally vested in every decoration on the tree.

This year, I am going to crochet some little amigurumi gingerbread people. I'm not sure what amigurumi is, but they look pretty cute. I'm not a very experienced crocheter, but the pattern says "easy", so I'll give it a try. (I just finished two very easy hats and they have given me the courage to try these ornaments.) There are snowmen and reindeer patterns as well, so if the gingerbread men go well, I may just get brave and try something a bit more adventurous, You can find all these little patterns on www.lionbrand.com. The patterns are free.

I still have a few other, larger gifts in the making that will eat up most of the remaining days, so something this small should be just the ticket - if I can follow the pattern.

So I'm off to find my brown yarn and a crochet hook. With a little luck, there will be a couple of little cuties to add to the tree before too long. I'll also make a point of finding out what amigurumi means.