Sometimes a home is not just four walls, but also a real world where something amazing can happen. Especially when there's a blizzard raging outside or you just don't want to get out into the world of people. And why, if you can stay warm, with a blanket, tasty treats and nonsense that no one but the two of you will understand?

I grew up where winter is not a reason to be sad. It's a reason to bake something with cinnamon, open an old album and remember that people can laugh for no reason. That's probably where my love for simple but real things comes from. I have collected my favorite ideas on how to spend an evening at home, so that it will be remembered better than any restaurant.

Cooking something strange together. For example, pancakes with kefir, dill and honey. Or a pie, where one of you is responsible for the dough, and the other for the “secret” ingredient. Laughter is guaranteed, even if the result is inedible.

Surveys on pieces of paper. Each person writes 10 questions: “What did you dream about when you were 12?”, “Which cartoon would you like to invite to dinner?” - and you take turns drawing them out. These things bring people closer together more than confessions.

Smell hunt. Take 5 items - spices, perfume, soap, coffee - and one sniffs them with his eyes closed. It's amazing how smells trigger memories. I once cried over cinnamon because it smelled like my mother's hands on Christmas.

Pajama photo shoot. Laughter, awkward shots, poses from old magazines. The main thing is not to be serious. The main thing is that your cheeks hurt from smiling.

Reading aloud. Not necessarily classics. I once read old equipment instructions with expression. And it was funnier than any stand-up.

Writing a fairy tale. One begins: “Once upon a time there was a spoon…”, the second continues. My friend came up with a whole universe about the love between a teapot and a cactus. More imagination – more laughter.

Mini-shadow theater. A lamp, palms, and you are already putting on a performance about dragons, geese in love, and dancing fingers. Laughter in the dark is special.

Video messages to yourself in old age. Write down what you want to tell yourself at 70. Or at 40. The main thing is to be honest and a little weird. Then watch it together. Or never watch it again, but remember that you were in this one.

A puzzle of your own photos. Print a couple of them, cut them up, mix them up and try to put them together. Sometimes the face is upside down — and that’s great.

A childhood ritual. Someone ate candy with bread. Someone drank tea with salt. Do it together. Stupidity unites.

Home is not a substitute for adventure. Home is an adventure in itself, if it’s cozy and easy to be yourself. And the most important thing on any date: don’t be afraid to seem funny, awkward, tired or in socks with a hole. Because real moments are not about perfection. They are about warmth. And warmth is love.