It's my life: Tric's most memorable Christmas gifts

I’m sure most of us remember that one Christmas when we got ‘The best Christmas present ever’. I’ve been lucky, as over the years I’ve received quite a few which stick out in my memory for all the right reasons, writes Tric Kearney.

If I were to pick one favourite it would be a dolls house made for me by my dad. I was six years old and it was two stories high, almost as tall as myself. The rooms were large and it had a real staircase with space under it, just like in my own home. It also came with furniture and curtains that my mum had made. The sense of wonder I felt when I saw that house on Christmas morning has never faded.

Forty years later it continues to have pride of place in my home. Sadly, my dad didn’t live to see the joy it brought to his grandchildren over many years, nor the rows over who is going to be its next owner. The thing about my doll’s house is, it taught me early in life is that a thoughtful gift is worth so much more than anything else.