When my daughter expressed an interest in Wizards (101 and Waverly Place, that is), I suggested the fantastic world of Harry, Ron and Hermione. Reading together was time well spent and she enjoyed their adventures as much as I. When it came time to celebrate her birthday, she quickly decided on a Harry Potter theme party ... and I pulled together a few ideas to create a fun wizardry experience!
The birthday party was inspired by Hedwig, Harry Potter's Snowy Owl. My daughter loves animals and thinks it would be really neat to have an owl for a pet!
The Snowy Owl, pictured above, was a $.99 sale item in the post-Halloween bin!
Guests received their party invitation via Owl Post. Invitation designed by Jill Means Design, who I discovered on the One Charming Party blog.
Welcome! A Magical Celebration is in Progress!
Decor was minimal. I relied on owls, newspaper print and the Griffendor House colors' burgundy and gold.
The prominent party space was The Great Hall (aka my dining room)!
My goal was to recreate the Hogwarts' Dining Room without tremendous cost. Therefore, I relied on color (burgundy and gold), texture (shiny gold and newpaper fans) and a few props (my collection of HP books and floating gold candles - by far, my favorite decor element!).
When the guests arrived, we did experiments to see if they were a wizard or muggle. Children with fizzy concoctions were wizards. Game inspiration and instructions may be found here.
Our Potions class was complete with Dragon Warrior Eyes, Blood Oozing Skulls and Snake Fangs (all post-Halloween candy), as well as Phoenix Feathers, Truth Serum (vinegar) and Elixir of Life (water).
Once the children were all confirmed Wizards, we sorted them into two houses. Sorting was done by the color of their drink - blue or red. A splash of food coloring was put in their cup beforehand and covered with ice. When water was poured in the cup, the color was revealed. This great idea was discovered here.
Once the children were sorted, we played a fun game of Quidditch! There were neither brooms nor flying; instead, we took a Harry Potter quiz. The team with the most correct answers selected a Seeker to find the Golden Snitch - gold foil wrapped Ferrero Rocher chocolates with wings!
After an exciting Quidditch game, the children made their own tissue pom owls, which was more challenging than I anticipated but they enjoyed the activity. Then, we brought out the camera and had tremendous fun with the photo booth! I purchased a big poster of Ron and Harry in the flying car (Chamber of Secrets), cut a hole in the center and invited everyone to take their photo. Some kids were better actors than others?!!
Completely entertained and immersed in the wizardry world of Harry Potter, we then had cake - a Snowy Owl Cupcake Cake made by Chrissy at We Take the Cupcake. No doubt, it tasted as awesome as it looked! Our family loves Chrissy's frosting and I truly enjoy working with her!
As children left, they received a goodie bag of Honeyduke's Candy - Harry Potter Chocolate Frog and Bertie Botts Every Flavour Jelly Beans.
Have these photos and invitation, decor and entertainment ideas inspired you to host a Harry Potter birthday party? If so, please leave me a comment to let me know. Also, let me know if you have other HP birthday party ideas to share!
Posts
I just saw this post. Thanks for showcasing our invitation design.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, Jill ... the owl invitation was fabulous and really inspired the rest of the decor!
Delete