Her favourite New Year costume was created with the participation of all family members, which made it even more special. The girl’s mother, who worked as a nurse in the local hospital, brought some medical gauze home from work. This was then washed and heavily starched to create a ballerina-like tutu, which was part of the snowflake look. The girl’s grandmother then sewed it together, carefully attaching a sparkly silver garland from the New Year’s tree to the edges of the tutu. But the most magical part was her father’s construction of a snowflake crown! It was made of the silver lining from his cigarette packets, carefully unfolded and straightened out, then glued onto cardboard and cut and shaped into a delicate crown. A faint smell of tobacco emanated from the crown, but it didn’t bother the girl at all. It was a familiar smell she associated with her father and it was comforting. It was as if the father was with the girl during all the rehearsals and performances! The girl wore the costume with great joy and pride – she knew that nobody else would have exactly the same costume, although there would be many other snowflakes at the New Year’s celebrations at kindergarten.