Hogwarts Birthday Party: Part 4

The Activities

To have a complete Harry Potter birthday party, simply decorating your home is not enough. You will need some games or activities to keep your little Hogwarts students busy and interested for the duration of your party.

Our party sort of followed Harry Potter's first day of school; from the letter of notification, to Diagon alley, to sorting, to class and then home again.

Because we had so much to do and only 3 hours to do it, I printed a schedule for myself to follow with specific times allocated for each activity. In the end, this was a great help in keeping my party on track and on time!


Diagon Alley

When party guests first arrived at our house, they were greeted and immediately taken to Diagon Alley. This was done by my daughter but it could be done by an adult dressed as Hagrid for more effect!

Their first stop was at Gringott's Wizarding Bank where they were given 3 gold galleons (play coins purchased at the Party Store). My son played the banker since he was already ready to go. A table in my living room covered with a gold table cloth and a small trunk with the gold inside served as the bank. An ornate sign indicated Gringott's.

They were then led to Madam Malkin's Robes for Every Occasion. My kitchen table was laid out with her robe shop on one side and Olivander's wands on the other side. Signs were set on the table to indicate each store with another sign on the wall overhead saying "Diagon Alley".

Once at Madam Malkin's (played by my mom), the guests were measured by Madam Malkin in silly ways - their nose, their head, their hands, legs - and then given a robe which they had to pay 1 Galleon for. She then directed them to choose a wand from the other side of the table which cost another Galleon.

When the children were finished with their purchases, they could sit and watch Harry Potter I until all the guests had arrived and bought their supplies.


Hogwarts Express

I thought it would be fun to simulate the trip on the Hogwarts Express somehow to make the transition from Diagon alley to Hogwarts more believable.

Since there was no way to get a train in my house ;-) I settled for train sounds and imagination. I found several great train sound effects online which I downloaded and burned to a cd. These included a loud whistle, the cars clanging and the training moving.

Once all the guests were ready, I started the whistle sounds and called the kids over to platform 9 3/4. The platform was simply a doorway which went from my kitchen to another room where the door to the basement was. I covered the doorway with a beige plastic tablecloth (that matched my walls) and cut it up the middle so the kids could run through. One by one, the children lined up, gave me their last Galleon, and ran through the "wall" while the train sound effects played from the other side..

Now all the kids had "arrived" at Hogwarts and were standing in front of the basement door (adorned with another Hogwarts poster). Of course, the door was locked and needed an Alohamora spell to open it ;-) We all went downstairs and the kids had a seat at the great hall table.


Sorting Ceremony

As headmistress, I was in charge of sorting the new arrivals into their houses. Each child's name was read from a great scroll to come up and sit on the sorting stool and the sorting hat was placed on their head. Inside the sorting hat, I made a pocket for a cellphone (or walkey talkey could be used) and it was set to speakerphone so everyone could hear. Upstairs, my friend (who played Snape) had the other phone and would read each child's name, a small snippet about them and announce their Hogwarts house. They then received a sticker with their house emblem to stick on their robe and a wizard's hat. Stickers and jewels were laid on the table so the kids could decorate their hats while they waited. As soon as all the kids were sorted and finished decorating their hats, the real fun at Hogwarts could begin!


Snape's Potion Class

Probably the most memorable and (funnest to prepare for) part of this party was Snape's Potion Class. Basically, each student had to create their own potion out of Snape's creepy collection of ingredients and record their potion on paper.

Months before the party, I started collecting various bottles and interesting containers to use for his potion ingredients. Each bottle was labeled accordingly. The ingredients consisted of different candies and powdered ingredients that could pass as the items that Harry would have used in his potion recipes. For example, Powdered sugar could be "Powdered Unicorn Horn". Here is a list of some of the supplies we used:

Fire Seeds = pop rocks
Powdered Dragon Blood = powdered punch mix
Werewolf Fangs = gummy teeth
Volcano Ash = hot chocolate powder
Powdered Boomslang Skin = powdered sugar
Ground Wolfsbane = powdered iced tea
Rats Tails = black licorice laces
Horntail Dragon Eggs = chocolate rocks

Use your imagination and see how many ingredients from the books you can create from edible items like candies or cooking ingredients.

I printed up a "Potion Sheet" on parchment paper for each child to write the name of their potion, what it did, and the ingredients used. Feather pens were fashioned out of cheap ball point pens with white feathers glued inside the top. The kids got a great kick out of writing with these :)

Once the children arrived in Snape's class, he was quick to lecture them and set them to work (in pairs) creating their own potions out of the dry ingredients. Cheap plastic cups were used to hold the ingredients until they were finished. When time was up, all the kids had a seat on the floor as Snape read their potions out loud and "activated" them with water. Once the water hit the pop rocks (if they used that as an ingredient) the potion would spit and fizzle to the student's delight. The author of the potion was given the choice to drink it and see if it worked.



Snape's Potion Class was such a hit that I've used it for other parties and will be incorporating it in our Halloween party this year, only with creepier and scarier ingredients ;-)




The Great Feast

While Snape was busy entertaining the kids in his class, I was getting the great feast ready. Earlier in the day, I made several platters of foods like cheeses, vegetables, fruits, and pizzas, all beautifully displayed on "silver" platters purchased from the Dollar Store. I fit as many platters on the table as I could so that the effect would be just like Harry's first feast at Hogwarts.

Because the kids were still in Snape's class, I had time to set the table with all the food and fill the cups with Butterbeer (made from ginger ale and warm butterscotch sauce). See Britta's site for more great recipes. Harry Potter plates and napkins were used to set the table and each child received a flashing goblet with their name written in gold ink. (Of course I made up a funny spell to activate the cups and showed the kids how to light them up). They also had a mini cauldron filled with Bertie Botts (jelly bellies) to take home later.

When Snape's class was over and the kids returned to the great hall, it looked like the feast had magically appeared and they all sat down to eat with great enthusiasm.

Following the great feast was birthday cake of course. In keeping with the Harry Potter theme, I made a golden snitch for the cake. The snitch shape was easy since it was just a round double layer cake covered with icing and gold flakes. The wings were a bit harder - I used craft wire covered with gold tissue paper and stuck them in the sides of the cake. The whole creation was presented on a long platter (to support the wings).


Presents & Pinata

After the feast, everyone went upstairs to open presents. that gave my helpers time to clean up the feast and push the tables to the side of the room to make way for the pinata. The chandelier that was hanging in the middle of the room was removed and the pinata hung in its place.

The pinata was also a golden snitch. Again, the body was easy since it is just a circle. For the wings, I used wire clothes hangars bent into the proper shape and covered with gold tissue paper. The body was also covered in gold tissue paper which really made for a cute oversized snitch.

Making a pinata is easy. First start with a balloon in the appropriate shape. We used a perfectly round balloon for the snitch. Tear pieces of newspaper in 1 inch strips. Mix a bowl of "glue" using flour and water. The consistency should be like watery glue. Dip each strip of paper in the glue mixture, lightly scrape off the excess and then place your strip on the balloon, being careful not to layer any one section too thick. Once that layer is dry (usually overnight) you can start a second layer, etc until you reach the desired thickness for your pinata. Be sure to tie a thick string around your pinata in between layers so you have something to hang it up with.

After presents, the kids were lead back downstairs and each had a turn whacking the pinata until it broke open.

Inside the snitch I did not put candies, but instead it was full of names. I printed names like Dumbledore, Harry Potter as well as each child's name so that when the pinata broke, they fluttered to the ground like confetti. The kids had to search the floor for their name and then go back upstairs to claim their prize.


Goodie Bags

To give the kids a way to remember their day at Hogwarts, they were able to keep several items as souvenirs. They were given their robe, their wizard hat, their flashing goblet, their wand, their potion sheet, and their mini cauldron. With all that, additional goodie bags were not really necessary but I figured the pinata had to produce something! So, I made up small bags of trinkets purchased from Dollar stores like Harry potter stickers, a feather, Harry Potter trading cards, a glitter pencil, and candies. When the child found their name in the pinata confetti, they took it to Gringott's where an adult helper was waiting to give them their goodie bag.

By now, the party was drawing to an end and the parents were soon arriving to pick up their children. I think everyone had a great time and now had lots of stories to tell about their day at Hogwarts.

I hope you have been inspired by our party and are able to use some ideas for your party. The key is in the planning. Start as early as possible and make lots of lists. Your party can be as complex or as simple as you like. Children have great imaginations and can fill in the blanks where needed. :)

Remember to take lots of pictures at your party and above all, have fun!