Harry Potter Theme Birthday Party

If your child is a Harry Potter fan, J.K. Rowling's books and the movies they inspired are so creative that they can inspire countless ideas for a party. Harry Potter's popularity seems to keep growing, as fans anticipate the 2010 release of the movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1.

The Harry Potter party I threw for my 6-year old was the most elaborate and entertaining home party I had ever done. With a Harry Potter theme, there is so much material to work with that it's easy to adapt ideas to suit your child's age and needs. Advance preparation is essential. I saved money by using what I already had in the house as much as possible, and making a lot of stuff myself, including printing out items on the computer.

I printed invitations to Hogwarts School using a downloaded Wizards Font, on parchment cards. There are several medieval style or calligraphy style fonts available for free download; I  found several free Harry Potter fonts online.

A purchased Hogwarts banner hung in front of our house. For inside decorations I painted large beige bricks onto brown paper dropcloths (9 by 12 ft sheets) using leftover paint. A bit of darker brown and white paint added to the bricks made them look real. We transformed our main living room into Hogwarts by hanging these sheets up on the walls. Signs for other Hogwarts areas -- Transfiguration, Potions, Owlery, etc. -- were printed using a downloaded Lumos font. There was even a “Beware of Mountain Trolls” sign on the bathroom door. My daughter's drawing of a troll was placed behind the mirror, so you would see it behind you when standing at the sink. Outside, we put stuffed animals (unicorns, dragons, snakes, frogs) into a Playhut for Hagrid’s Hut and Care of Magical Creatures area. An owl puppet borrowed from the library hung from our mailbox for the Owl Post. The funniest sight of all was a toddler car, the kind the kids sit in and push with their feet, dangling in a tree in the front yard. It looked just like the Weasley’s Ford Anglia caught in the Whomping Willow!

My husband, dressed up as Hagrid, greeted the kids upon arrival and took them to “Diagon Alley” which was set up in the office/den. At Gringotts Bank (the closet) they got a small jewelry pouch (wholesale, ordered online) full of gold Galleons (play money) from a vault. The vault was a shoebox painted black hung in the closet. Then they picked up a cauldron (a black gift bag with handles) at the Apothecary, a Book of Spells at Flourish & Blotts (printed on computer), and a wand from Ollivanders (chopsticks that I stained dark brown). If they wanted, they could decorate the wands with a bit of glue and gold glitter on the tip to make the “Lumos” spell. Last stop was Madame Malkins for a wizard's robe (black fabric with tie strings attached).

The kids would carry their cauldron with them throughout the party, adding stuff as they did the activities.

The Sorting Hat Ceremony

In the Common Room we had a Sorting Ceremony. A brown paper bag shaped into the Sorting Hat was placed on each child’s head. My husband was in the next room and announced each guest's House using a baby monitor hidden under the chair. Each kid received a laminated House Crest pin to wear once sorted. Our guests only ended up in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff - no Slytherins in the lot!

Classes at Hogwarts

Each House rotated through 3 classes.

• Transfiguration: The activity was a craft – changing a lollipop into a spider, by gluing on black pom poms, chenille stems, and wiggly eyes.

• Herbology: First, they sprinkled “Flesh Eating Slug Repellent” (baby powder canisters with new Slug Repellent labels) on our garden. They put on headphones to protect their ears before digging for Mandrake roots in a big bin of potting soil. The Mandrake roots were actually pieces of ginger root with funny faces drawn on them with black marker. They planted pumpkin seeds with “Dragon Dung Compost” and taste-tested gillyweed (sushi nori seaweed).
  

• Potions: They poured gillywater (vinegar) into a clear cup, stirred with a black plastic spoon. The spoons had a hidden drop of dried food coloring on them so when they put them in the water, it magically changed color! When they added a scoop of powdered bicorn horn (baking soda), it fizzed up. Then they added essence of murtlap (white glue solution) and tears of phoenix (borax solution). They could also add crushed dragon scales (glitter). This made a colored goop which we called flobberworm mucus. I had small cups with lids so they could keep their potions.

Quidditch Practice and the Forbidden Forest Dragon Egg Hunt

After the classes, we went outside for Quidditch practice. They threw Bludgers (water balloons) at Hagrid, who tried to bat them away with a small bat. Of course, Hagrid took some hits from the Bludgers. Then each student was given a parchment “Marauders Map” for the Dragon Egg Hunt. Before starting the hunt, they had to say “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good,” to get the map to work. There was a trail of clues to follow – Follow the Spiders, Visit the Whomping Willow, Go to the Forbidden Forest. Each clue location had signs and clues leading to the next area. I hid plastic Easter eggs, spray-painted gold, in the “Forbidden Forest” (an outside park near our house). Inside each egg was a small capsule which grows into a sponge creature when placed in warm water.

The feast was served on the patio. Tables were covered with purple tablecloths and gold confetti sprinkles. I used gold plates, cutlery, napkins and goblets. I spray painted gold paint only on the bases of clear plastic wine goblets from a party store, for safety. The kids made a toast to Hogwarts and the birthday girl before digging in. Food was served on silver platters or trays. There were Christmas lights, gold spirals and stars hanging from the patio cover, and music from the Harry Potter movies playing. We ate pizza, fruit, veggie platter, and a Harry Potter cake from our grocery. I also made “pumpkin pasties”(mini-pumpkin pies). All the kids had to say “Lumos” to help light the candles.

Before departing, each child visited Honeydukes to pick up some sweets: Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans (jellybeans in small ziploc bags), Droobles Best Blowing Gum (bubble gum), Ton-Tongue Toffees (caramels), and Chocolate Frogs (made using a candy mold). The chocolate frogs came with a Dumbledore trading card (also computer printed), just like Ron had in the movie. By party’s end, each child had a bunch of keepsakes, including their cauldron bag, jewelry pouch with Galleons, robe, wand, House crest pin, Book of Spells, mandrake root, potted pumpkin seed, spider lollipop, cup of flobberworm mucus, Marauder's map, golden dragon egg, and Honeydukes candy to take home. The kids had so much fun that we kept the decorations up for a week so they could come back to play more “Harry Potter.”

My kids and some of their friends still have their stuff from the Harry Potter party, and still use it to play. It's the party that never ends!

I have now created an entire blog site with details, at potterpartymania.blogspot.com.