Simply Having A Magical Birthdaytime

This past weekend was my birthday and I've basically been celebrating for a few weeks, in the most magical ways possible. On the 3rd, we had a Hufflepuff/Ugly Sweater party, where everyone ate, drank, popped Christmas crackers, and then did a mini escape room that I set up in the "Hogwarts greenhouses". 

I turned 45 this year, so I wanted to go all out, but in a smaller way than we did on my 40th, where I made everyone dress in 80s gear and we rented out a hall. I surrounded myself with all my besties and had a great time. 

Why yes, my witch hat does have mistletoe on it :) 

I think I picked the absolute worst times to take candid pics of everyone. LOL!

This year, our Harry Potter went very 'Puff-centric, so I leaned way into it.

I always use this time to showcase my non-branded Potter art and crafts from great artists.

It's not a party if there isn't a scavenger hunt of some kind

'

This shot is 100% to show off my mini Puff tree and this awesome barrel fireplace I made 
myself from insulation foam and 37 different shades of craft paint.

Obligatory food shot - not one of my best spreads

The story behind the escape room is that pixies broke loose (hence the scavenger hunt) and escaped Hogwarts, making off with all the tree ornaments (there weren't any on my tree, just garland and flowers). Guests had to visit the greenhouse and follow the clues in order to find the ornaments, which were their takeaways.

My escape room set-up

A pot of carnivorous plants and a biting boomerang

I loved these ugly holiday sweater ornaments.

Everyone finished, with a little help, and took home a sweet ornament, which is a tradition for my birthday parties, since my birthday is so close to Christmas. 

On my actual birthday, I helped set up (and later, take down) and then attended Yule Ball for PDXpelliarmus, the Portland chapter of Fandom Forward, of which I'm a Head of House. You probably know that if you saw my post in July. Yule Ball is our biggest fundraiser of the year. We drink and eat and dance and buy all the raffle tickets in hopes of winning some of the coolest wizard stuff you've ever seen. 

It's good to be a Very Magical Person.

Shepherd's Pie and roast beef tart + my two boozy beverages:
Felix Felicis on the left and Butterbeer on the right

Just a few of our raffle items - everything is donated by the magical artist community

Two very happy wizards

So much dancing. And floating candles!

Some of our new friends.

Yes, we're still trying to be safe while in crowds. 

We had a great time and made a lot of money for our charity. This year it was The Q Center, which has resources for LGBTQIA+ people who need it, no matter what their needs are or their age. As a non-profit firmly based in the Harry Potter fandom, we have an obligation to combat the harm that She Who Must Not Be Named has done to the trans community, and the queer community in general. We do that by giving back to charities she would fight against and making our events all-inclusive and welcoming to all. You can see more photos and videos of the ball on my Instagram, or PDX HPA's Instagram.

Thank you for spending a bit of time helping me celebrate my birthday. I hope you enjoyed it and you're having a wonderful December so far. Tell me about your plans for the holidays or the new year or just this weekend.

How To Explore A New Destination On Your Own

 When you are going to a new destination on your own, it’s often one of the most exciting experiences you can have. There are a lot of different ways to approach it, and how you do so will depend a lot on what you are hoping to get out of the experience. If what you want above all is to explore the destination freely and fully, then there are a few main ways that you might want to approach this in particular. Here is some advice on how to explore a new destination on your own much more effectively and enjoyably.

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Research First

It’s always a good idea to first carry out some research before you actually head to the new destination. The more you know going in, the better - partly because you will know how to keep safe and partly because you can gain some tips about the specific place before you go. So be sure to carry out some research if you are keen on making the most of a new place. You’ll be likely to pick up some ideas that you might not otherwise, and you will probably feel generally a lot better about the whole experience. It’s also going to mean that you get a lot more done, because you are able to then draw up an itinerary and really make the most of your time.

Get A Car

One of the very best ways to explore any area is to get a car and drive yourself around. This affords you a certain freedom that you are not going to have in any other way, and it means that you can truly go wherever you want easily and freely. Of course, you’ll need to source a car first, which is not always easy, but as long as you are aware of the options you’ll find you can do it soon enough. You might visit Edmunds and find a used car, hire a car, or even transport your own, depending on where you are traveling. In any case, this is certainly the best way to get around most places.

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Speak To Locals

Your very best source of information is always the locals of an area. They know everything there is to know about how to explore the place, and so you are going to find it’s hugely important that you are speaking to them as often as possible about what to do and where to go. They’ll have a lot of tips that you simply won’t find elsewhere, certainly not online, so that’s something that you are definitely going to want to make the most of. You might be surprised at how friendly most people are in most parts of the world, and it’s certainly something that you can think about if you want to ensure you are exploring properly.

With those tips in mind, you should now be able to explore any destination on your own with ease, and as safely as possible as well.

Gift a Foreign Language This Year

We are big fans of giving and getting experiences for the holidays. Not only do we not need anymore stuff, experiences generally let us spend more time together. It's like giving memories. We've given tours, escape rooms, and more over the years. With so much about on-time delivery questionable right now, giving an experience is also easy to print and put into a card or send by email. 

I got excited last year about going on bigger trips this year, including going to France, so I gifted ourselves a lifetime subscription to a language service, that way we could learn French this year and then other languages for future travel. If you have other recipients who love to see the world and want to feel as much as a local as they can, then gifting them a language is useful, fun, and easy to pack. 

Which language-learning services do I recommend? Keep reading!

I have always had good luck with Pimsleur. I like that the lessons build on one another and get progressively more complex. You learn words and then phrases which can be really useful when you're in a new city. I know much of the world speaks English, but it's nice to know the local language when you can, because it shows that you're trying. I've used both Spanish and French Pimsleur lessons and I highly recommend them for ease of learning wherever you are and the use of repetition so you recall things more easily. 

You can learn to speak a new language, with an authentic accent, in 30 days from just $14.95. 

If your gift recipient (or you, I'm not gonna judge.) might need a little extra help with learning something new, Babbel offers live online classes, podcasts, games, videos, and short lessons. It gives them a whole arsenal of tools in which to soak up the most knowledge. Babbel Online has a tiered learning system, so wherever you are in your vocabulary expertise, you can find the class that's perfect for your level. 

Unlimited access to the app and online classes start at just $6.95/month when you purchase a whole year, or pay a little more if you would rather pay twice a year, quarterly, or monthly.

It can be difficult to figure out what to get for everyone on your list, especially people who seem like they already have everything. Well, knowledge is always a great gift, plus these lessons can be fun and something the whole family can engage in. Happy gift-giving!

Do you have a favorite language learning app, service, or game?

Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links that may result in my compensation should you make a purchase through those links. This allows me to keep bringing you useful content and I thank you in advance.