Turn those Muggles into sorcerers at your Harry Potter party and
you'll have a magical time! Teach a few spells, whip up some potions and
watch the fun appear right before your eyes. It's time for a visit to
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Invitations
Create a Wizard Scroll invitation to send to your party guests. Write
the party details on parchment paper using gold or black ink. Burn the
edges of the paper to make it look old, or tear the edges and brush
them with brown ink to antique them. Roll up the paper and tie it with
gold ribbon. Enclose three gold Galleons (gold coin candy) in the
envelope and sprinkle in some glitter.
Costumes
Tell the guests to come dressed as Harry or another favorite character
from the series. You can also suggest they come dressed as witches
and wizards of their own creation. When they arrive, provide them
with long black robes and a black pointed hat. Draw a lightning bolt on
their foreheads using yellow face paint.
Decorations
Use your Balloon Time Helium Balloon Kit to fill the room with silver or
gold helium balloons. Draw lightning bolts on one side, and write a
quote from a Harry Potter book on the other side, such as "I say there
are spots that don't come off..." or "The truth is generally preferable to
lies...," then let them float around the room like Snitches.
Draw a giant map of Harry's world, including the Dursley home, King's
Cross where Harry catches the Hogwarts Express and Hagrid's hut.
Tape the map to the wall.
Turn the party room into Harry Potter's world. Put up signs marking
various locales, including the Leaky Cauldron Pub, Diagon Alley and
the Apothecary. Don't forget to include signs for the four Hogwarts
houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin.
Set out items from the book, such as an owl, broom, cape, wand,
cauldron, telescope, stuffed cat and rubber toad. Include copies of the
books or movies.
Make book covers with the following titles and stack them around the
room: "The Standard Book of Spells, "A History of Magic," "One
Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi," "Magical Drafts and Potions" and
"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."
Create ghosts that float around the room, like Nearly Headless Nick
and Peeves. Inflate white balloons with helium and drape them with
lightweight white fabric, crepe paper or tissue paper sheets.
Fill a tiny caldron (or bowl) with gold Galleons and use it as a
centerpiece.
Games & Activities
Play a few games that are popular with Harry and the students at
Hogwarts.
- Not Quite Quidditch. Blow up balloons to use as Quaffles. Prop
up a Hula Hoop at each end of the yard. Divide the players into
two teams and give each player a broom or a stick to "ride." The
teams must kick the Quaffles through a hoop. The "keepers"
must try to keep the Quaffles from going through their teams'
hoops. A team gets a point each time it kicks the Quaffle
through the other team's hoop. Play for a set amount of time
and award a prize to the team with the most points when time is
up.
- Wizard's Thinking Hat. Have the kids make wizard hats by
rolling cardstock paper into a cone shape. Tape the edges to
make a hat. Then have one player wear a Thinking Hat and sit
on a stool in the middle of the room. Ask the player a question
about the Harry Potter stories, such as "What are the names of
the Dursley family?," "Who is Voldemort?," "Where did Harry live
at the Dursley house?" and "How old was Harry when he first
went to Hogwarts?" If a player can answer the question, he or
she gets a point and can try to answer another question. If not,
the player leaves the stool and another player gets a chance to
answer questions. The player with the most points wins a prize.
- Mirror Messages. Give each guest a pencil, paper and a small
mirror. Have them each write a secret message to another
guest. However, they must write the messages backward! When
all the messages are written, have the guests exchange
messages and then read them with their mirrors.
- Professor Flitwick's Magic Potion. Collect ingredients for
making cookies, pudding or any treat. Don't tell the guests what
you're planning to make. Write the recipe as if it were for a
magical potion, renaming the ingredients for fun. For example,
you might call flour "cloud dust," milk "ghost's blood" and an egg
"dragon snot." Have the kids make the potion following the
magical recipe. Then let them decorate their magic cookies.
Refreshments
Serve the guests refreshing magical potions:
- Disappearing Sandwiches (make your favorite sandwich and cut
them into strips)
- Witches Caldron (a pot filled with a favorite drink)
- Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans (jellybeans)
- Drooble's Best Blowing Gum (bubblegum)
- Chocolate Frogs (chocolate turtles)
- Pumpkin Pasties (individual pumpkin pies)
- Licorice Wands (licorice)
Favors, Prizes, and Gifts
Send the witches and wizards home with Potter prizes, such as:
- Harry Potter books and movies
- Harry Potter glasses
- Book of magic tricks
- Wizard wands
- Stuffed owls
Penny Warner has more than 25 years of experience as an author
and party planner. She has published more than 50 books, including 16
specific to parties. Additionally, Warner writes a weekly newspaper
column on family life, penned a column for Sesame Street Parents
magazine and has appeared on several regional and national TV morning
programs. Her latest book, HOW TO HOST A KILLER PARTY, debuted in
February 2010 from NAL/Penguin.
Balloon Time is the leading brand of consumer helium balloon kits
in North America. Balloon Time kits feature a helium-filled tank, latex
or foil balloons and ribbon, and are available at national retail
chains, party goods and grocery stores nationwide.