As we were unrolling a large plastic corporate banner, I leaned in pulling it up close to me and closed my eyes for a few seconds.   My colleague looked at me with his face scrunched up and said ” did you just……sniff that?”

And I answered, “yes….why, yes. I did. And it smells like new dolls at Christmas.” I explained that when I was a little girl, the dolls I got at Christmas were made out of some plasticky material that had a particular smell to them when they were new. I’ve stumbled across that scent over the years but not as often as you would think.

Sniffing a new shower curtain liner, I explained to my husband about the new dolls at Christmas smell. And unrolling a banner with a colleague decades younger than me, I again explained the new dolls at Christmas smell. And don’t go telling me about toxic fumes, or chemical things; the smell transports me back to a special time of flannel nighties and excitement to see that Santa came.

My wish for you this holiday season is for you to catch a sniff of your “new dolls at Christmas” memories that take you back to a time of delight, maybe with your big brother and little sister by the Christmas tree from years ago.

Happy Christmas from dreamingofsquirrels.