Harry Potter Party Ideas
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Little Jo loves all things Harry Potter. She has seen the movies more times than she can count, and she is in the middle of reading The Goblet of Fire. It came as no surprise to me that this year when she said she wanted a Harry Potter birthday party. The party was a huge success, and I have so many great Harry Potter party ideas to share with you.
Creating the Great Hall
I set up the Great Hall inside of our living room. To create the floating candle effect, McGeeky hung battery-operated LED taper candles from the ceiling using fishing line and clear push pins. I used different sizes and varied the height. The look was fabulous when the sun set! I covered the large wall in our living room with a stone wall backdrop which really set the scene.
I covered the tables in either Gryffindor red or Ravenclaw blue plastic tablecloths and decorated with lots of different candleabras. Each placesetting had a gold charger that I decorated with printouts of the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw crests. Then I topped it with a disposable plastic plate, making sure to choose a clear one so that the crest would show through.
To make the banners for the wall, I used my Artograph projector to project the Hogwarts crest, Gryffindor crest, and Ravenclaw crest onto foam core. I outlined the images with a pencil and then painted them in. Finally, I trimmed out the edges with some coordinating cording. The lightweight foam core made them very easy to hang.
The Sorting Hat cake
Chica made an amazing cake that looked just like the sorting hat. She covered it with Wilton chocolate fondant that tasted like Tootsie Rolls! I can't even explain how she did it, but Little Jo and I believe there was some magic involved.
Harry Potter party decorations
We went crazy decorating the party space, from small to large elments. Our most outrageous party decoration was the 5' suit of armor statue that Little Jo and I dragged home from a home decor store one night. McGeeky wasn't too thrilled about that purchase, but I think our armored friend looks right at home!
For additional party decorations, I took inspiration from stories in the books. In the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry must capture a particular flying key. I portrayed that story by hanging feathered, vintage-looking keys from the dining room entryway.
Even Dumbledore took a few moments to pop in on the festivities, by way of a Professor Dumbledore cardboard cutout.
I decorated one wall with printouts of educational decrees that I found online.
And another wall was plastered with Harry "Wanted" posters.
Next to the entry way, I had Hedwig the Owl in a cage near a box full of note pads and quills. I made the quills by snipping the ends off of large feathers, pulling the ink tube out of a ball point pen, and inserting it into the feather. A little white or black duct tape to secure them in place, and we had some awesome homemade feather quills.
And of course, we had to include stacks of Harry Pottery books and an iconic pair of Harry Potter glasses.
Nearby, I an old fashioned ink well surrounded by gold coins was a perfect way to represent Gringotts Wizarding Bank.
Honeydukes candy store
A major element of the party was Honeydukes, the kids' favorite stop at the end of the party. I decorated a Candy Shoppe cardboard stand with Honeydukes signs and filled it with lots of Honeydukes-inspired candy.
The Honeydukes signs and candy packaging all came from our Harry Potter Honeydukes printables, which include templates for making custom boxes, labels, and tags. We used these all over the party space!
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We recreated Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans boxes with a template from the Honeydukes printables set, and filled them up with jelly beans.
The Fizzing Whizzbees candies were my favorite addition to the Honeydukes stand. I filled a bee-shaped chocolate mold with melted chocolate with some Pop Rocks mixed in. They gave the chocolate the perfect fizz and were so fun! I put the bees in long plastic pretzel rod bags and topped them with the label from the printables. These made such a cute Harry Potter party favor!
The bee mold I used for the Fizzing Whizzbees is included in the Harry Potter candy mold kit available in our Amazon store, which also includes molds to make an assortment of chocolate Harry Potter themed chocolate lollipops. The kit even includes a bunch of sticks, bags, and twist ties for packaging them. I love all of the Harry Potter chocolates I made with these molds, and so did the kids.
And what trip to Honeydukes would be complete without grabbing some chocolate frogs? I made these with the chocolate frog mold that's also included in our Harry Potter candy mold kit, then boxed them up in the Chocolate Frog Boxes from our Honeydukes printables. I tucked in some of the printable Wizard Trading Cards that I had customized with the kids' photos, and it was the perfect party favor.
I tucked all the goodies into the Honeydukes candy stand, and decorated it with the diamond-shaped Honeydukes logos. I used more logos on some plain brown lunch bags to create sacks for the kids to hold all of the treats.
As a final touch, I printed out some of our Honeydukes play receipts and tucked them inside each bag, with a little note thanking the kids for coming to the party.
Sorting the guests into houses
To get the party started, we first sorted the kids into houses. Each guest wore the sorting hat, which decided whether they were placed in Ravenclaw or Gryffindor.
Equipping the wizards with wands
Once the kids were sorted, they were off to Ollivander's Wand Shop, where they made their own wands. This was a really fun party activity for the kids! Take a look at our DIY magic wizard wand tutorial for more details on how to make your own, and where to get the supplies.
Hosting a Quidditch tournament
After the lesson, we let the kids unwind with a fun game of Quidditch. We made the goals from smaller hula hoops attached to inexpensive tomato stakes.
We used the quaffle that Little Jo bought when we visited The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and we provided some ordinary straw brooms for the kids to "ride".
The rules may have evolved throughout the game, but the kids definitely had a blast with it.
Attending wizarding classes
After that, it was time to attend classes! First was the Care of Magical Creatures taught by Hagrid. A hand-painted sign led the way to the nearby barn.
A caveman beard and pink umbrella transformed a friend into a Hagrid lookalike, and he cheerfully led the kids to the field to learn about animals. The kids really enjoyed Hagrid's quick intro to animal care with one of the horses out at our barn.
Next up, it was off to the dungeons for Potions with Snape. I decorated a corner of our basement by hanging black plastic sheeting along the walls, creating a perfectly dark and creepy space. Then Professor Snape (a.k.a. McGeeky) showed the kids a few simple tricks.
For one such trick, I used our potion bottle labels to decorate bottles, then filled them with tonic water. Snape turned on a black light and the kids marveled at how the magic potions glowed.
A great addition to Snape's area is the potion making kit we created to look like it came straight from Mr. Mulpepper's Apothecary. This really helps set the scene, and also makes for a unique birthday gift for the guest of honor. Check out our post about how to make your own potion kit, complete with all the trimmings.
The final lesson of the day took the kids out of the dungeons and into the light for Herbology with Professor Sprout.
Class took place on our sun porch, where there are plenty of plants for inspiration. Professor Sprout told the kids about the healing properties of aloe, then helped them plant the Venus Fly Traps that they got to take home.
Harry Potter food ideas
All of that activity caused some ravenous appetites! Heaping platters of food were served for dinner in the Great Hall.
And of course we made our homemade Butterbeer recipe and served it at our version of The Three Broomsticks!
Party favors
It was really fun to come up with Harry Pottery themed party favors. Besides the bags full of candy that the kids got to "shop" for from the Honeydukes stand, they also each got a pair of Harry Potter glasses. My seamstress aunt also made them some simple black robes to wear and keep, and they got to keep the wands they made during the party, as well.
I couldn't resist one last favor, though, so I used a Hogwart's Crest cut file to stencil the crest image onto T-shirts for the kids.
In all it was a wondeful party, and I am so pleased with the good time everyone had at such an elaborate event! I want to give a special thank you to everyone who worked so hard to help me with this part, and make it a forever memory for Little Jo.
31 comments so far:
Wow... there are some great ideas here. Maybe can use some for my 10 yr old's b'day. Thanks
Unbelievable party!! What great decorations and games. Wish we could have been guests! The kids must have had a blast! Thanks for sharing.
This is fantastic! I wish I would use these for my daughter, but she may be too old at 11. Hummmm... maybe I can convince her - however, we don't have a horse or the open yard space, but this is wonderful - you are SO creative!
My goodness! This looks absolutely FANTASTIC!!! There has been a massive amount of work by everyone! Well done!!
Absolutely CLEVER and BEYOND amazing! I wish this idea was around a decade ago when my now grown son was into HP. LOVE the candle idea. GENIUS!
You have done am amazing job ! My son would love this! I'm doing my son a harry potter themed room and have got lots of ideas from this. Can I ask though we're did you get the suit of armour from I've looked everywhere but can't find one :(
Louisa, the suit of armor came from a store called Garden Ridge.
Wow, wow..wow. I think this is the best HP party I have seen. (Must have cost you a small fortune.) My daughter is 16 and would LOVE this party lol. You're never too old for Harry. Even this Mum would be there with bells on if invited. What a wonderful Mum you are :D a party that will always be remembered.
where in the WORLD did those quiddich goal posts come from?!?! i have been trying to find some for ages but they aren't anywhere. Did you make them? if so, how? sorry, im a huge potternerd and i cant live without quidditch. normally i have to get my sister to run around the house so i can pretend to be a seeker and catch her. yeah. its really sad. please reply asap
Jess, we made the quidditch goals by attaching small hula hoops to inexpensive wooden stakes. Hope that helps!
How did you get the candles on the ceilings to hold onto the clear thread - and hang in the air? Or maybe a better way to put this is how did you attach the clear thread to the candles?
Laura, we just used clear tape to attach fishing line to the candles, then attached the other end of the line to the ceiling with push pins.
Such a good idea! I would love this party!!!
I totally love this party idea, I am currently slipping the link to my sister to bring this idea up to my dad for my sweet 16 party upcoming.
Great party! I'm doing one fore my son this fall. Could you tell me where you found the Fizzing Wizzbees Candy label? I've looked everywhere for a template and cannot find one. Thanks!
Karen, the Fizzing Whizzbees label is part of a our Honeydukes printables collection, which you can purchase for instant download further up on this page.
We had a Harry Potter party for my daughter's 17th birthday, which was pretty cool, but not this cool. Hope I get to throw another one for my grandbabies someday.
Simply fabulous! I am soooo inspired and in awe!
This party is amazing! Congratulations!
This is awesome! I'm currently working on making my nearly 19 year old daughter a Very Potter Christmas, and I've been struggling with what all that should include. You have seriously given me some very good ideas and resources that I fully intend to use. Thank you so much!
Jamie, what a great idea to give it a Christmas spin!
where did you get the stone wall backdrop? I need that for my halloween party!
Brittany, you can find stone wall backdrops on Amazon.
You do realize that there are other houses besides Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, right? My friend is in Hufflepuff and is sad that there wasn’t a hufflepuff table
Sydney, we would have loved to include all four houses, but didn't have room. My daughter picked her two favorites!
Hello! Can you link me to where I can purchase the honeydukes candy shop? Thank you!
Teri, you can find the cardboard candy shop stand here on Amazon.
Sooooo inspiring you Rock, really!!!!! Can I just add a technical question for the candle sky? how did you light on all the candles?
I could pin them on my ceiling 3 days before the D-day to save time, but how will I light them all on with the sheet of paper around it and while floating????
Thanks! The candles we used did not have paper around them, they were just LED tapers. We turned them on as we hung them up but we did it that morning. LEDs will last awhile so you might get away with doing it a few days ahead of time. I would try putting new batteries in one of your candles, turning it on and then seeing how long it lasts. Good luck with your party!
Hi! How did the sorting hat work out? Did you have to keep trying until you got either of the houses your daughter picked? I’m thinking of getting one for my sons birthday but don’t know how to make it an even number of kids per house. Don’t want 10 slytherin and 4 Gryffindor! Thanks!
Katie, the hat we used actually didn't say anything. We just played a recording that had an even number of houses on it and let the kids come up in whatever order they wanted, so that it ended up random.