Who out there LOVES Harry Potter? Me, I definitely do! So when I got my daughter (who was 10 years old at the time) Harry Potter books for Christmas I only dreamed she would fall in love with them like I did. Well, dreams come true people. By the first day back to school, after the Christmas Holiday, she had read five of the seven books. That was literally all she wanted to do. Coming to the eat at the dinner table was a burden to her because we have a no distractions rule at the table (no books, toys or phones). What kid would rather read than Eat!?! Seriously! Needless to say, she loved them! So, planning a Harry Potter Birthday Party for her was a given!
This Party theme became even more exciting when I realized she was turning 11 years old. That is the age Harry was his first year at Hogwarts!
With the help of some awesome cousins of mine we put together a really fun party. Here are all the details:
Two weeks before the party we delivered her friends personalized Hogwarts letters. She dressed in her cape and when her friends answered the door she said, “Special Delivery from Hogwarts School of Magic”.
I saw several kiddos jump up and down when they got their letter. Each letter contained the when and where.
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Of course we started off in London at King's Cross Station (mentioned in the letter as our address) where we pass through Platform 9 3/4. This was made from an ivory twin sized sheet stamped with a rectangle sponge with red paint. Once it is completely dry, cut from the bottom center of the sheet up 3/4 of the way to the top a perfectly straight line. That will allow it to lay flush and the slit unseen until they pass through it. The tickets were found here. The suitcases are often found at local thrift stores but can also be purchased here as well as the bird cage and the stuffed owl.
We couldn't have a party without one of Harry's loyal friends, Dobby the Free Elf. I made this costume out of tan felt for the ears glued to a knee-high nylon cape. The little outfit was made from a piece of muslin cloth. I made it into a flour sack then cut wholes for the legs and head and tied a knot in the shoulder. He loved it! He was trying snap his fingers and wave every wand he found during the party.
HORCRUX HUNT
During the party we did several fun activities one of them was a Horcrux Hunt.
The kids each had a silent hunt for the seven Horcrux's.
- Tom Riddle's Diary
- Marvolo Gaunt's Ring
- Salazar Slytherin's Locket
- Helga Hufflepuff's Cup
- Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem (tiara)
- Nagini
- Harry Potter (his glasses)
The winner of the hunt got a vile of Felix Felicis Liquid Luck (Small jar with a cork filled with gold water and gold glitter). I sealed it closed for a keepsake, with glue. The kids were excited and really secretive and competitive. As they found an item most of them marked off their paper after they left the area so they wouldn't give anything away. I know that the pictures on the Horcrux's and the items I used were not exactly accurate but I wanted to make it fun and easier for others who use the printables not the actual replicas, to have fun with the game.
POTIONS CLASS
These are the recipes and potion labels I used. I will let you in on the actual ingredients.
Unicorn tears- Baby Oil
Basilisk Venom- Colored water
Black Lake Pearls- Marbles
Eruption Potion- 2 liter bottle of Coca-Cola
Moon Stones- Mentos original flavor
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Cursed Diamond- Dry Ice broken into smaller pieces
Extracted Mandrake Root- Root Beer Flavoring
Crushed Diamonds- White Sugar
Horklump Juice- Water
I also added Gold Dust- Gold glitter here and there but didn't make a label for it.
You may have guessed some of the recipes by the actual ingredients. Invisibility Serum is water and baby oil with marbles to mix it as it is tipped upside down. It makes it look kinda like a lava lamp. The dry ice was added for fun. We let the water and oil separate then dropped in the dry ice. The bubbles made by the dry ice only made it through the oil and not into the water. The kids thought this was awesome! I had no idea it would do that but it was pretty cool. We also made homemade rootbeer. The kids loved that! The taste and the fog bubbling out of the caldron was the best! The last one was the 2 liter bottle with the mentos dropped in. This is recommended for outside. Here you can see what happens.
CHARMS CLASS
I made 26 wands for this party! When I tallied up the number of Wizards we had invited I was a little nervous about the time it would take to make all the wands but it wasn't bad at all. You can use wooden dowels about a 1/4 inch width. Cut it down to the size you would like. I do have a printable attached that lists wand sizes, type of wood and the core of the wand. I measured each wand and matched it to a wand fact slip. After measuring the wands and cutting them to size I covered the handle with hot glue. It is possible to do it neatly and create patterns and designs, but I really liked the random swirl design. I spray painted half of the wands brown and half black. After the main color was dry I painted grey, gold, brown and black on the accents on the handle of the wands to make them look different. I did all my painting in this small HOMERIGHT Spray Shelter!
My awesome cousin taught our charms class. She was Professor McGonagall. She assisted with the students in picking their wands, teaching them basic spells and they found out their Petronus when chanting at the Dementor with a confident “Expecto Petronum”. It was awesome! As soon as each student cast out the Dementor, a Petronus animal name fluttered from the sky. My children ended up with White Tiger, Polar Bear and Black Stallion.
EVERY FLAVOR BEANS
Nothing like Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans! After the classes were done we sat in a circle and each pulled one jelly belly from a small burlap sack. Then we took turns eating our jelly bean. As you know some are good and most are bad, nasty, absolutely terrible tasting. I had to eat earthworm, black pepper and vomit. Yep! It is really does taste like it. Our rule was that you have to chew the bean five times before spitting it out. It was hilarious and super gross and fun! It is a game you love to hate and hate to love, but you will! The kids each got a small bag of Jelly beans to take home!
DECORATIONS & TREATS
Mandrake Cupcakes were the best. I modeled the cute little guys out of fondant, I used wilton black pearls for eyes and little pieces of green plant.
The little pots were a perfect touch and held the chocolate cupcake covered in crushed oreos.
We had golden snitches out of Gold Ferror Roche Chocolates and white feathers held together with hot glue. The chocolate frogs were a huge hit. Collecting cards and eating a delicious frog is always a hit.
I used these molds for the frogs. You can find the templates for the frog boxes here.
The walls were covered with the large stone bricks. These were made by stamping pieces of cardboard onto plastic table cloths. Knights like this can be found on amazon. I found the proclamations and framed them to hang on the wall.
- 4-serving meals starting at $3.77 per serving (up to 25% cheaper than HelloFresh).
- Incredible variety with 10+ weekly meal options, delivered directly to you.
- Easy to prepare meals ready in 30-minutes or less.
The HOGWARTS SIGN is one of the printables at the end of the post. All of the candle sticks were found thrift stores. You seriously are getting some good stuff for your Potter Party!
GET YOUR SUPER AWESOME HARRY POTTER PRINTABLES HERE!
Potions Class Recipes and labels
What would YOU add to your Harry Potter party?!