Harry Potter Party

On May 11, my baby boy turned SIX! Time sure has FLOWN !
Hours old

6 Years Old


This year, we have been reading Harry Potter. I've read the first three books to him, and he has gotten pretty excited about it. So, naturally, he wanted to have a Harry Potter birthday party.
As his birthday gift (besides the party of course) I made him a Harry Potter costume.

You can't tell from the picture, but it is reversible, has the Gryffindor emblem embroidered on it, and has pockets to store his wand. I was pretty proud of how it turned out.

For the party, we sent out invitations that were basically an acceptance letter to Hogwarts. I found the wording online - here's what it said:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Headmaster Albus Dumbledore Order of Merlin First Class, Grand Sorcerer and Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump International Confederation of Wizards Dear Child's Name, We are pleased to announce that you have been accepted into the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for an elective spring session and feast being held in honor of Head Boy Z’s, 6th birthday. Classes will begin at the stroke of 2:00 o'clock in the afternoon on Saturday, May 15th. Please take the Hogwarts Express train to our address, currently disguised as a muggle home at address. There you will find the magical door visible only to Hogwarts students, friends and families. The password is Flibbertigibbet. The last class will end at approximately 4:00 o’clock, so make sure to set your remote broom starter for that time. Capes and robes are optional. Be sure to bring your thinking caps! Please respond by owl no later than May 12th so that we can prepare for your arrival. Send the owl to email address. If your owl is in the shop, you may use your muggle phone to call phone number.

Lots of the kids were very excited about the password and had practiced it so they could say it to get in. Of course, we had the Fat Lady guarding the door. (I found the picture online, printed it out, and put it in a frame)

For the party, we decided to have individual "classes" like they do at Hogwarts. First of all, we started with "History of Hogwarts" as the kids arrived. I had the first movie playing on our laptop. (I wanted to keep them in the front room, not in the family room where the TV is)

I was dressed as Professor McGonagle (I'm a nerd, I know)

I gave them a little introduction, and then "sorted" them into the houses. There were no Slytherin, of course, and I gave out the rest randomly.

I gave each kid a "wand" and then we headed outside for "Herbology" class.
I started preparing for this class a couple weeks ago when my kids and I planted cups of grass. (They thought that was great fun!)

Each "student" got a cup of grass, scissors, and a marker. They were instructed that for this "magic" grass, they needed to give it a "haircut" and decorate the cup. They were all pretty serious about it.


Then we went back in for "Transfiguration" class. I gave each of them "magic clay" (homemade playdoh) and told them they needed to turn it into an animal. (There were quite a few snakes)

We then had "Care of Magical Creatures" class. This one was a bit of a reach, I must admit, but I thought I was pretty clever. I found a pin the tail on the donkey game for only $1 at Walmart. What I told them was that it was a "Magical, Invisible Donkey" that disappeared when it's tail fell off. That was why they needed to practice putting it back on while blindfolded. Good, right?

The next class was my favorite. Potions!
I found the official Harry Potter Wiki where I found a list of all the potions ingredients used in the books and movies. So, I went through those and found things in my house that I thought would make good substitutes. I also found some nifty looking bottles and jars at Goodwill to put them in.

I gave them each a "cauldron" (plastic cup) and we made a potion together. Dragon's blood (water with food coloring) + Boomslang Skin (pop rocks) + bicorn horn power (baking soda) + Bouncing Spider Juice (lemon juice). It was nice and fizzy.

Then, I turned them loose and let them make their own potions. Some of them got pretty interesting! A couple of kids were brave enough to taste them! It was good, messy fun!
Then it was time for Defense Against the Dark Arts. I tried to build up the suspense a little bit. I told them they would be battling against a very fierce, dangerous dragon, and the only way to defeat it was to hit it with a branch from a Whomping Willow.
Okay, so it was a Dragon Pinata and a stick. But I thought it was fun.

Yippee for candy!

Then it was time for cake

The cake was actually pretty easy to make. I used round cakes in a few different sizes. One was cooked in a bowl, and the top of the cake and Hagrids hut were cooked in my Pampered Chef prep bowls. I used canned frosting, and the towers are made of ice cream cones. I was surprised that all the kids wanted the "pointy" parts and fought over who got them.


The birthday boy with a messy face

Of course there were lots of fun gifts to open

And then they had time to go outside and PLAY!


It really was a great party and I think that everyone had a great time! But, it was A LOT of work and I was EXHAUSTED by the time it was over!
I COULD NOT have been able to pull it off if it wasn't for my wonderful in-laws who came to help, as well as my fabulous husband. Thank you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZANDER!