In the New Year before, I always worked hard. If the concerts were in other cities, then we flew with his wife Emma. But after the birth of children - Ustini and Frol - a strict tradition appeared - on New Year's Eve we are going to the whole family at home. We have a large country house near the forest. There is where to arrange a fabulous holiday! For children, we come up with real adventures: we ride through the winter forest in a sleigh pulled by horses, or on dog sleds - we are looking for Santa Claus and Snow Maiden. Then we all kindle a bonfire, jump over it, make riddles, tell the tales to the youngest, and in the evening we set up fireworks. Every New Year we meet in the good Russian traditions. You know, in no country in the world, even if it is cold and snowing in winter, you cannot truly meet the New Year the way we do in Russia!
Photo: Vlad LoktevWife Emma Malinina: “We start to decorate the house too early, we put the first tree on November 20, and we only sort it out at the end of January. We usually have three trees - two in the house, one on the street. The biggest one is in the living room next to the piano, since not a single New Year is complete without songs. What can I say, in our family not a single day passes without a piano! We always have breakfast, lunch and dinner all together at a large table, so the second tree is in the dining room. The third, alive, grows in the yard of our house. As soon as we finished the construction, we immediately planted a Christmas tree in the most beautiful place of the site especially for the New Year holidays. Now she has grown so much that you can only reach the top of your head with a ladder. We decorate the Christmas tree and the facade of the house a few days before the New Year with luminous garlands. Once we did it before, because it was covered with snow along with garlands. ”
A set of toys of the first New Year's children,donated by friendsPhoto: Vlad Loktev “Every year we invent a new Christmas decor, discuss the most incredible ideas and fantasies. And since our family is creative, we never repeat. Naturally, you have to buy new Christmas decorations. But we do not throw away the decorations of previous years. Christmas decorations for the first New Year's children and our first New Year's joint with Alexander are especially dear to us. And recently, children have been dismantled toys from my childhood. Fortunately, there is a lot of space in the house, so storage problems do not arise. However, Christmas tree toys never become obsolete - each has its own history, its own “memory”. For example, this year I hung my favorite silver apples, bought about eight years ago, on the curtains in the living room. They are combined with a silver-white Christmas tree. And in the dining room we have a burgundy tree. Candles, garlands, napkins in each of the rooms are matched to the color of the toys. To be honest, I don’t really like the decoration process itself - it’s much more interesting for me to generate a general idea. But Alexander and the children love to hang, hang up toys, change their places - to achieve perfect beauty! ”
1/3Photo: Vlad LoktevPhoto: Vlad LoktevPhoto:Vlad Loktev“Our mothers come to visit us on December 28-29. For the festive dinner, we always cook herring under a fur coat and Olivier salad. This year, the children will try champagne for the first time, since they turned 16 on November 23. (Ustinya and Frol are twins.) Our New Year's gifts are usually heartfelt: scarves, gloves, mittens. Last year, I gave my husband a bracelet for happiness and good luck with a chased gold sun with a small stone. Alexander never takes it off now. Not long ago, Frol was asked what he remembers from his childhood, and he answered: “I believed in Santa Claus for a very long time, I liked it so much that my wishes came true, and how sad it was to find out that he does not exist.” As a child, Frol even drew his wishes in notes so that Santa Claus would not make a mistake and bring something else. It seems to us that a joyful perception of life remains in those adults who had cheerful, heartfelt family holidays in childhood.”
