Holiday magic

Costumed evening

The idea is simple – everyone comes in costumes. You can turn this idea around in any way you like: say that the theme is not important, the main thing is that the suit should fit (my friends in such a situation quickly played free, kicked dandelions in the yard and came in wreaths) or set a specific theme for reincarnation.

My friend was throwing an American style party for her birthday. Aside from the stylized clothes she asked guests to wear, the theme of the party was kept alive by the menu, which was awesome homemade burgers and chips.

But another friend of mine decided to arrange a trip to karaoke for her birthday (and no, I do not agree that this is banal!). All invitees had to transform into some kind of musical hero (you could choose at least Beethoven, at least Lady Gaga). It just so happened that both of my friends celebrated their birthdays with different companies, but on the same day. So I became an American Britney Spears. True, everyone confused me with a Japanese schoolgirl.

Every hunter wants to know

In 2012, the theme of my birthday was a rainbow. No, a law against propaganda had not yet been passed, so I invited seven invited friends to choose one color from the rainbow and choose clothes and accessories of this color (although, of course, you could stir up something in the style of Snow White and the seven dwarfs). The idea was to go so beautiful and colorful to nature and take a good picture (I love this business terribly). My girlfriend is a very good photographer and gave me a photo shoot, and bought all sorts of colored accessories and donuts. By the way, I also gave each guest an envelope with colored Skittles (try the rainbow!) and hairpins with a flower of the chosen color.

8 ideas how to celebrate a birthday | Varvara Lyalyagina’s blog “The house you want to come to”
Colorful donuts were also accessories at the party, but not for long.

Rooftop walk

For a long time, it was on my to-do list that I want to climb onto the roofs of St. Petersburg. Somehow, of course, it turned out very stupid that I, a Petersburg girl, had never been there, although it seems to be considered almost the main romantic pastime in our city. Even my parents ran away from their own wedding to sit on the roof wrapped in a blanket. Well, at least that’s what the family story says. In general, at the age of 27, I decided that it was time and found a link on the Internet for a tour and invited my sisters for a walk (one of them with a camera – yes, I really like to be photographed).

8 ideas how to celebrate a birthday | Varvara Lyalyagina’s blog “The house you want to come to”
My sisters and I are on the roofs of St. Petersburg on my birthday. No special photo shoots, we just took a camera and this photo was taken for us by the organizer of the walk.

Culinary workshop

Joint cooking unites, this was proved by corporate team building. In addition, this is a double benefit – you do not need to spend money separately on the event, but separately on feeding a horde of your beloved (and hungry!) Friends. Since, as usual, I lasted until the last minute and started preparing the event at the last moment, all the establishments specially designed for such a business were already occupied (this is on a warm May weekend, no wonder!). But I found a wonderful cafe where we had a master class on making cookies.

8 ideas how to celebrate a birthday | Varvara Lyalyagina’s blog “The house you want to come to”
Girlfriends with pleasure stuck silver balls-eyes to crabs.

White nights party

And finally, the theme of the 2014 party was the White Nights White Party. Of course, everyone cursed me that I again came up with a dress code, but this time absolutely all the invitees observed it (and no wreaths of dandelions). The celebration was in a rooftop bar in the center of St. Petersburg with a beautiful view of St. Isaac’s Cathedral, the evening sun at ten in the evening framed by thirty white and silver balloons. And then we walked along the embankment, admired the drawbridges (every time I fall into such delight, as if I had not looked at them since childhood) and huge rusty barges passing by. Passers-by were talking, guessing whether we had a wedding, or whether we were graduates (white dresses are the secret of eternal fashion) and begged for balloons from us. And we made wishes and released them in the middle of the Champ de Mars.