Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Party
A Harry Potter party is nothing new, but it’s certainly not old news, either. Even though the series reached it’s inevitable conclusion with Harry and his friends coming full circle as they watched their own children leave for Hogwarts, people are still throwing fantastic Harry Potter-themed parties. The story is just that good.
So, if you’ve decided on Harry Potter as the theme for your next party but don’t know where to begin, this is a good place.
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Decorations & Activities
It's All in the Details
Invitations & Party Favors
DIY Your Own
Party Food
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Click on the links below for a list of supplies needed to create the decorations, activities, and party favors/bags I describe in this post.
Check Out These Party Decorations!
Harry Potter Party Decorations
Super Fun, Totally DIY Harry Potter Party Decorations
This was one of my favorite Halloween parties, especially when it came to the decorations. I admit I went a little overboard, but there are so many great DIY decoration ideas out there that I couldn’t help myself. Below are just a few of the fun decorations a friend and I created for this party. You can find free templates for most of these ideas by clicking on the “Download Templates” button.
Magical Flying Keys
These were very simple to make, although paper wings are more commonly seen on the Pinterest boards I frequent. I used off-white, wired ribbon instead, which worked out nicely. Just wrap some lightweight fishing line line around the key and the ribbon in a figure-8 pattern, and you’re all set. It did take a little trial and error to get the keys to hang properly, but the result was nothing short of magical.
Image credit: Ron Jones
Watch Your Step
If you remember the books (or films), this sign will make perfect sense! I also created signs to deter party-goers from visiting certain rooms, “Lumos” and “Nox” labels for the light switches, and a print out of Moaning Myrtle for the inside of the toilet lid.
Image credit: DetailsPartyDesigns
Harry's Hogwarts Letters
The fireplace is painted on white butcher paper, and the letters are strung on lightweight fishing line. Of course, if you have a real fireplace, you won’t need this, but if not, you can find the fireplace template I used by clicking on the “Download Templates” button above. I even found a Hogwarts stamp and made my own wax seal for each letter. A fun and easy prop!
Image credit: Ron Jones
Welcome to Azkaban Prison
A good-sized box is needed for this one, but the effort to find the right box is totally worth it. Try checking with a local furniture store. They usually have plenty of boxes to spare. The kids loved this photo booth; my son is the happiest prisoner I’ve ever seen! Wouldn’t you agree?
Image credit: Ron Jones
Image credit: DetailsPartyDesigns
Save the House Elves!
My son dressed as Dobby for the party, so we thought it only fair to take up a collection of socks for the “Save the House Elves Fund,” sponsored by S.P.E.W (Society for the Protection of Elvish Welfare). You can download the sign I created by clicking on the “Download Templates” button above.
Image credit: DetailsPartyDesigns
The Chamber of Secrets Has Been Opened!
This was definitely the easiest decoration to DIY. Just go through your lipstick collection, choose a nice red color, and you’re halfway there! We threw in some fake blood to add to the effect.
Image credit: DetailsPartyDesigns
HoneyDukes
A festive tablecloth, stuffed “Hedwig” owl and griffin, some glass candy bowls with labels, and a couple of sparkly black trees come together to create a cute “HoneyDukes” corner.
Image credit: DetailsPartyDesigns
Platform 9 & 3/4
If your venue allows for it, you can have your guests enter the party through Platform 9 3/4. I purchased a brick wall shower curtain, but you could also tape a brick wall photo backdrop to your front door instead. We found this to be a great start to our party!
Image credit: DetailsPartyDesigns
Cool Party Game Supplies!
Harry Potter Party Games and Activities
These Games and Activities are Magical!
There are quite a few ideas out there for Harry Potter-themed party games and activities. We went the more traditional route with Quidditch, Potions Class, and Charms Class. We also helped our Hogwarts students choose their wands and sorted them into houses.
The Wand Chooses the Wizard
I painstakenly hand-crafted a dozen wands so we could start our party off with each Hogwarts student choosing their own wand. In reality, it’s pretty hard to teach a wand to choose its student, so we blindfolded the kids and let them decide which wand “felt right.” You can see the happy results!
Image credit: Ron Jones
Quidditch Practice
These Quidditch goals (2 sets) were designed by a friend using PVC piping and 3-way connectors, hula hoops, and lots of duct tape. The PVC poles sit on top of rebar to make them easy to bury in the ground (and more stable). Add some black spray paint (or whatever color you like), and viola! The kids had a great time practicing their Quidditch skills with their Nimbus 2000’s (inexpensive Halloween decorations we found at our local dollar store) and a half dozen “Quidditch balls” (gold balloons).
Image credit: Ron Jones
The Sorting Hat Speaks
My friend designed her own sorting hat, but you can find them on Amazon or at other retailers, especially during Halloween. With a little research, you should be able to find a house sorting quiz online that you can use to determine who gets sorted where. Here’s the one we used. After the kids were sorted, they received their official house badges (included with the template download).
Image credit: Ron Jones
Potions Class
What’s a Harry Potter party without a potions class? These old bottles received new makeovers with labels we found online and a spray adhesive. Here’s a tip: if you want to add dry ice to your plastic cauldron, be sure to place a glass bowl inside and put the dry ice in that.
Our potions class activity involved some cool science experiments I found online (check out my Harry Potter Pinterest page for ideas). The most memorable “potion” was simply a mixture of dish soap and baking soda, along with some glitter, food coloring, and a few other inert ingredients. We added the baking soda last…you can see the effect below. The kids loved it! In fact, most of them continued to add more baking soda just to see how much of a fluffy mess they could make.
Another “pro tip:” if you do the baking soda potion (a.k.a. Veritaserum potion, also available as a free download), have the kids mix their ingredients over a cookie sheet. It makes clean-up a breeze!
Image credit: DetailsPartyDesigns
Image credit: Ron Jones
Image credit: DetailsPartyDesigns
Charms Class
Charms class was held downstairs at the same time as Potions class upstairs. The younger kids enjoyed this class, while the older ones had fun mixing potions. All you need for this activity are balloons, wands, and the phrase: “Wingardium Leviosa!” Your young witches and wizards simply use their wands to keep the balloons in the air while chanting the magic words.
Image credit: Ron Jones
Must-Have's for the Snack Table!
Harry Potter Party Food
Harry Potter Food - From a Full Dinner Party to Themed Snacks
My friend, Jennifer, had always wanted to throw a Harry Potter dinner party, so we went all out on the menu for this fun Halloween event. If you don’t have a copy of the Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook, you should pick one up. The recipes are awesome! If that’s not enough for you, though, you can find a full gamut of unique and tasty Harry Potter recipes on Pinterest (just search “Harry Potter recipes” or visit my Pinterest page).
A Hogwarts Celebration!
If you’re hosting a Harry Potter dinner party, there are so many tasty dishes out there, you just can’t go wrong regardless of what you choose. However, before you start cooking, be sure to set the stage properly. Two 6-foot tables covered in black tablecloths were set with “gold” plates, bowls, and silverware (plastic, of course). We found the dinnerware at Party City and the Hogwarts napkins on Amazon. Jennifer even hung bats and battery operated candles from their very high ceiling!
For our menu, we prepared French onion soup, buttered peas, glazed carrots, Apple Blossom Glazed Pork Loin, mashed potatoes, biscuits, pumpkin juice, and butterbeer, all of which can be found in the Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook. Below are some additional ideas that might tempt your taste buds…
Image credit: DetailsPartyDesigns
Pumpkin Juice (for the Kiddos)
Butterbeer is a staple for most Harry Potter parties, but we added pumpkin juice to the menu as well. We weren’t sure which drink our crew of picky eaters would prefer, but it turned out to be the pumpkin juice. Even the adults enjoyed this tasty drink!
Image credit: yourtango.com
Harry Potter Drink Recipes (for the Adults)
Butterbeer is great and all, but sometimes you want something a little stronger, especially after a hard day of party planning. Our party included a “MimOsa, Not MimosA” drink station for the moms and dads that was a big hit. We posted several alcoholic beverage recipe cards above the bar to give our guests ideas for their Harry Potter-themed drinks.
Image credit: DetailsPartyDesigns
House Elf Beef and Dumpling Stew
If you’re uncertain about hosting a dinner party because of the time involved in preparing the food, try searching for simpler recipes. Soups and other crock pot meals are much easier to deal with when you’re short on time. This house elf recipe looks so good, I may have to make it for dinner one night just for the fun of it!
Image credit: thestarvingchefblog.com
Butterbeer Here, Butterbeer There!
Butterbeer recipes abound on the internet, and not just in liquid form. Butterbeer cupcakes, cookies, fudge, and even pancakes have become popular as a result of the Harry Potter stories. I even found a recipe for butterbeer jello shots with butterscotch schnapps! Check out the butterbeer recipe ideas on the right...
Image credit: overstuffedlife.com
Image credit: sensiblysara.com
Image credit: cookiedoughandovenmitt.com
Hogwarts House Sorting Cupcakes
This is such a great way to sort guests into houses! Not only is it totally random, but they get a tasty treat in the process. Check out the link below for the recipe.
Image credit: sugarbeanbakers.blogspot.com
Party Favor Bags & Goodies!
Harry Potter Party Invitations and Favors
One-of-a-Kind Harry Potter Party Invitations and Favors
I have this habit of biting off more than I can chew for my Halloween parties…imagine that! Many times I find myself focusing too much of my time on decorations, food, and activities, and no time at all on invitations and party favors. As a result, my Halloween party invitations tend to be digital in nature. Of course, that doesn’t mean there aren’t tons of great ideas for physical invites! Check out the fun invitation and party favor ideas I found online below…
Invitation by Owl
Although I didn’t use this idea to invite our guests, I did purchase foil balloons and decorate them in advance of the party to look like owls. Each child received “owl mail,” which included Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans and chocolate frogs.
Pro tip: If you want to have your own owl balloons, I recommend purchasing the foil ones rather than latex. You’ll avoid latex allergy issues and also be able to draw the owls onto the balloons in advance (if you use latex balloons, you’ll have to decorate them the day of the party).
Image credit: onecreativemommy.com
Digital Harry Potter Party Invitation
This invitation was definitely an afterthought, but it turned out quite nice. I found all of the various graphic components online and pieced them together using PowerPoint. Add a Harry Potter font (free at Dafont.com) and copy the Hogwarts letter text (from the books and film), and you have an easy, yet thematic invitation you can email to friends and family. Pro tip: If you use PowerPoint to design your invitations, you can export a single slide in JPEG format so it can be inserted into emails as an image.
Image credit: DetailsPartyDesigns
Hogwarts Letter and Train Ticket
All you have to do is Google (or search on Pinterest) “Harry Potter Invitation” to find tons of free (and paid) printables that recreate the famous Hogwarts letter Harry received from Professor McGonagall. Add a train ticket and roll both up in scroll fashion or place them in an envelope sealed with a wax Hogwarts crest, and you’ve got an invitation that will make your guests feel like true witches and wizards!
Image credit: mypoppet.com
An Invite from Harry Potter Himself
These are adorable! Unfortunately, the website linked below only has the image, and I wasn’t able to find a tutorial or printables. However, I don’t think it would be too hard to come up with the basic “pillow box” envelope design (here’s a link that might help) and add the Harry embellishments. You could even put a tasty treat inside the envelope and attach a scroll invite like you see in the photo.
Image credit: alexandriajournalcraft
Handmade Wands
Don’t worry! These handcrafted wands are easier to make than you think. They’re simply chop sticks covered with hot glue and slathered in acrylic paint. I added charms, stones, and beads for embellishment. Each one turned out different; there’s no easy way that I know of to make them all alike. Because I used a hot glue gun to make these, I don’t recommend using this as a craft project for your party. It takes a few minutes for the glue to cool down, and then you have to add 2 – 3 coats of paint…not really a quick craft for kids.
Image credit: DetailsPartyDesigns
Edible Golden Snitches
Ferrero Rocher makes the perfect favor for a Harry Potter party! They wrap their chocolates in metallic gold paper, which just screams “golden snitch!” Simply add paper wings, and give these away to your guests as tasty party favors.
Image credit: bitesizedbiggie.com
"Mandrake" Party Favors
I love this idea! I really wish I’d come across it in time for our party! We could have added Herbology Class to our activity roster. TheSuburbanMom found these small owl planters on Amazon and purchased succulents at her local home improvement store. Let the kids add potting soil to the owl planters, and then help them transfer the succulents. Water the baby “mandrakes,” and they’re ready to go home with guests as living party favors!
Image credit: thesuburbanmom.com
Easy DIY Harry Potter Party Favor Bags
These are the simplest party favor bags I could possibly make. I could have added Harry’s glasses as well (see example below), but I was more focused on the favors we would be adding later.
Image credit: DetailsPartyDesigns
Image credit: sarahblooms.com
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