Harry Potter themed parties are very popular, so why not organize one at your home? The guide you are about to read is simple to follow, the steps are clear and the figures make it more understandable. There are also some extra tips, tricks and ideas, along with a list of the things you will need. Follow it step by step and everything will be smooth as oil. Your guests will have a lot of fun!
Steps
Part 1 of 6: Programming
Step 1. Ask your parents for permission to organize the party
They might like the idea a lot though - it can be fun for everyone and, plus, you have a guide (this article) that tells you everything you need to know.
Step 2. Prepare a guest list
Try to invite people who are passionate about the world of Harry Potter.
Step 3. Make invitations inspired by the world of Harry Potter
- Idea 1: Invite friends to Hogwarts with a letter that looks like the ones seen in the movie; use a handmade envelope, closed with a red wax seal. Write the invitations on white paper with green ink. To antiquing the paper, before writing the invitations, pat the sheets with cold coffee or a mixture of tea, then dry them with an iron on the minimum. Finally, roll up the sheets, close them with red tape or seal them with red sealing wax. To make the invitations even more faithful to the originals, have your parents help you engrave the H for Hogwarts on the sealing wax.
- Idea 2: Print some Hogwarts ties and use them as invitations, or cut them out and mail them as they are in large envelopes, with instructions telling guests to color them in their favorite house color to wear at the party.
- Idea 3 (you'll need a color printer for this): Put the Hogwarts logo in the top right corner of the paper, where you usually put the address in Muggle letters. You can find it on Google Images by searching for "Hogwarts mark". Below you can write your "official" invitation.
- Idea 4: Send your friends a letter, inviting them to Hogwarts, for an G. U. F. O. End party. Instead of writing friends' names, address the letter to their favorite characters. For example, Dear Luna, Dear Harry, etc. Try to make sure you have an equal number of students for each house! Now you can print owl images and stick them on top of the envelopes!
Step 4. Add more details in the invitations
In addition to the place, date and time, here are other things you could add:
- Ask them to wear the costume of their favorite character (Harry, Ginny, Ron, etc.);
- Ask everyone to bring their own magic wand - or you could make it at the party: all you need is a wooden stick, a hot glue gun and some paint;
- Inform them that each will have 20 points for their house to start with. Make sure all guests understand what this means.
Part 2 of 6: Set up
Step 1. Make sure the place where you plan to have the party is neat and clean
Step 2. Make a map of the house
Also include the garden or backyard, if you have one, by giving each place a different name.
For example, the garden could be the land surrounding Hogwarts or the Black Lake. This way you will catch people's interest and you can also play 'Search for the Philosopher's Stone' or games like that
Step 3. Decorate the house
There is really no need to have decorations to organize a nice Harry Potter themed party, but if the party focuses on a particular aspect of the saga, you can manage to organize the environment in a very suggestive way. You can use handmade and "painted" posters to hang around in house colors.
If your parents give you permission, glue stars to the ceiling so that your room looks like the Great Hall
Step 4. Prepare themed gift bags for your guests
Here are some suggestions:
- At the end of the party, organize a treasure hunt. You could create a list of hidden objects that your friends need to find to take home. It can be a great idea to organize in the garden! Here is a list of things you could use:
- 2 chocolate coins;
- 2 Harry Potter collectible cards (or stickers);
- 2 Harry Potter themed pins;
- 1 mini toy dragon.
Step 5. Organize the musical part
Set up a stereo system and create some playlists. Put on some themed music to create the right atmosphere for the party.
Part 3 of 6: Preparing the Food
Step 1. Choose the food for the party
You can of course use any type of food referenced in the books, but also add things that you think would fit the context anyway. Just think of food and drinks that everyone might like and use your creativity to call them Harry Potter. Here are some ideas:
- Honey Pastries: These cakes are particularly suitable for such a party, as Hagrid often serves them to Harry;
- Roast Potatoes (fried, baked, and mashed potatoes are also good): They can be eaten at the start of the party.
- Pumpkin Juice: You can use orange juice or make real pumpkin juice. It would give a nice realistic touch to the party.
- Chocolates: Buy frog-shaped chocolates or make them yourself by purchasing frog-shaped chocolate molds at kitchen supply stores.
- Pudding: Luna says it's impossible to throw a party without pudding. So, pudding is also a must for your party.
- Butterbeer: there are many recipes on the internet, so choose the one you prefer! Many recommend microwaving a small amount of butter with a little caramel syrup for a minute, and finally adding the cream soda (vanilla fizzy drink)!
- Tuttigusti + 1 Jellies: you can use gummy candies, available in many different flavors, and which you can also buy online.
Step 2. Prepare the food for the party
Here are some extra ideas for things you can easily make at home:
- Strawberry Fizzy Drink: Strawberries and a strawberry fizzy drink are enough (if you can't get it, you can always mix strawberry syrup with sparkling water). Cut the strawberries into small pieces and pour them into a glass, then add the strawberry flavored soda and dilute it. To make it a dessert, just add some strawberry ice cream.
- Sparkling Chopsticks: nothing complicated, just use some simple breadsticks! If you want them to shoot "sparks", get those sprinkled with sesame seeds.
- Happy Scones: If you like scones and pizza, you can't help but enjoy this delight.
- Take two scones and cover them with cheese, olive oil, tomato and olives, if you like;
- Heat them in the oven for about 10 minutes;
- Draw on each of the smiley faces with the sauce.
Part 4 of 6: Welcome
Step 1. Consider recreating the Hogwarts Express
To get there you need to go through a brick wall. To do this, set up two tents at the entrance, placing a sign with the words "Platform 9 and 3⁄4". Ask guests to walk through it. Then, make the room they enter look like a compartment. Once you get off the "train" you will have arrived at your destination.
Step 2. Sort the guests according to their "order"
Like at school or university, "acceptance" is the process whereby, at the beginning of the school year, students are "sorted" according to their curriculum. You can do the same thing with your guests, so they can find out which house they belong to.
- Get a witch hat and smudge it a little so that it looks old;
- Then, put the "Sorting Hat" (Italian translation from the Harry Potter movie) on a stool in the Great Hall.
- Ask a member of your family to call the names of your guests aloud.
- Then, assign someone to call the house to which he or she belongs based on the specific characteristics of who was called (decide in advance). Is it a bold and courageous person? Then it belongs to the Gryffindor house. Is it an intelligent and creative person? It belongs to the Ravenclaw house. What if it is a patient and loyal person? Try the Hufflepuff house. If it is a cunning and ambitious person, choose the Slytherin house. Remember, this latter house isn't that bad.
Part 5 of 6: Making the Party Fun
Step 1. Assign points to houses
If a guest does something particularly well, a teacher (an adult) will give the house he or she belongs to 1, 5, 10, 20 or 50 points. But be careful, the points can also be lost. For each game, you assign a score that must be achieved.
Adults can play a part in the party too: you could get your dad to dress up as Snape and your mom as McGrannit - get ready, convincing them might take a lot of effort
Step 2. Start the Banquet ceremony
The "New Year Banquet" begins after acceptance, so yours can take place in the same order as well, or maybe you can choose to postpone it to a later time during the party. Any dish will do, but you can refer to the ideas suggested above.
- Set up a table for each house (it doesn't really matter if you can't get four);
- Decide who will be the head of the table so that they can say a few words before the dishes are served;
- Add anything you think will liven up the banquet;
- Be sure to inform everyone that good behaviors earn points and bad behaviors lose points.
- Give everyone the program.
Step 3. Invent some games inspired by the world of Harry Potter
Here are some ideas:
- Astronomy game: print and cut out an image of each planet. Each Hogwarts student has 10 minutes to find all the hidden planets in the house. Award 10 points to anyone who finds planets and subtract 10 points to anyone who doesn't find them.
- Craft Magic Spells - This game is bound to impress. Before the party, get a Latin dictionary (online or paper) and compile a list of Latin names and verbs to give to the "students" so that they can combine them and create their own magic formulas. Latin is the best language to use, because it is the one used in the Harry Potter books (for example, the Lumos spell, means "light" in Latin). Practice your friends by organizing Magic Duels. Use starlights instead of magic wands, as they shed light.
- Obstacle Course To Get To Dinner: This game is a lot of fun. Create a path around the house to get to dinner. Spells can be used, but only Expelliarmus and Stunning Spell. If you are hit by a Stunning Spell you must remain motionless for 5 seconds. If you are hit by an Expelliarmus, you cannot cast spells for 5 seconds. At least two seconds must pass between one spell and the next. It sounds a little complicated, so practice before dinner, or it might get messy! You must also ask your parents for permission, because they could get very angry if you run around the house pointing your chopsticks at each other, you could break some precious object.
- Harry Potter-style board games - there are so many! You can have fun with friends by getting some and playing them at your party!
- Harry Potter Style Culinary: Cooking can be soooo fun! Give all the kids a list of simple ingredients and stick around to keep them from getting into trouble (they could set the house on fire!). They can make a Harry Potter-inspired dish each, or cook an elaborate dish all together. You can find inspiration in unofficial Harry Potter cookbooks or search the internet. You can get 5 points if Snape finds the food tasty.
- Potions Lesson: Get plenty of fizzy drinks, candy, and berries. Divide the guests into pairs, assigning a "cauldron" (a large pot or a toy cauldron) to each couple. Have a family member dress up as Snape and have them taste every potion. Whoever gets first place for the best potion will receive 10 points, second place will be awarded 5 points and third place 3 points.
- Crosswords. You can find thousands of Harry Potter-style crosswords online, but making them yourself will be a lot more fun. If you think this is too difficult, you can search the internet for other word-based games. The children will organize themselves into groups and try to solve crosswords by exchanging them. The words should be related to the world of Harry Potter.
Step 4. Recite your favorite phrases from the Harry Potter books together
Is very funny! But don't do it indoors, if it's a nice day, or your dad might think you're up to something.
Using the book "Fantastic Beasts: Where to Find Them", each group must draw a table and write the name of a magical creature in each box. Have an adult flip through the book at random and call the creatures. The first one who has all creatures named, wins. Instead of saying 'bingo', yell "Hagrid!"
Step 5. Play Quidditch
Have each guest bring a broom (or make one available) and play it outside the home. Remember, there are two Beaters, a Seeker, a Goalkeeper, and three Hunters. Online you can find many variations of the game.
Try organizing a themed treasure hunt
Step 6. Plan a quiet time
Everyone needs to relax a little after doing fun activities, and that's fine. Don't worry, no one will find it boring - you might be watching one of the Harry Potter movies. If you have all the movies, choose the one that the majority prefer.
Step 7. Create spells and potions
- It begins with the Wingardium Leviosa among the spells. Use wands and balloons. The last balloon to fall will earn 10 points for the relative house. The first loses 5. The next, try to turn the buttons into pins. Make your "students" close their eyes. Come up with a spell for them to utter and swap them. Hide the buttons. If they manage to "transform" them, they win 5 points.
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Potions. Avoid simply waving your magic wands. Brew five types of potion: Felix Felicis (Liquid Luck), Tartaring Potion, Veritaserum, Silence and Polyjuice Potion.
- Felix Felicis: Pour four drops of yellow food coloring into a cup with ice, then add a colorless drink of your choice (Sprite, for example). Take a sip and… tada… you got super lucky;
- Tartlet Potion: Pour four drops of blue food coloring into a cup with ice, then add the soda. Take a sip… now you can't stop talking;
- Veritaserum: Use soft drink only. Ask someone to ask questions; a sip of this potion will always give you the truth.
- Silence: Pour four drops of red food coloring into a cup with ice, then add the soda. Take a sip … now you can't talk anymore.
- Polyjuice Potion: Same as the silence potion, but with the green dye.
Hold a Harry Potter Party Step 21 Step 8. Organize a Triwizard Tournament
If you have a pool, you could use it to set up obstacles and challenges. If you need to build a maze, you may want to get some bouncy walls to place properly in the garden.
There is no need to overdo the preparation, arrange a stripped down version
Part 6 of 6: Sleepover
Hold a Harry Potter Party Step 22 Step 1. If guests are going to be spending the night at your house, plan something else
Here are some ideas you might consider:
- During the night: the night is the most important part of the sleepover, that's why pajamas are used! You can turn your room into a dorm. You could decorate it in Gryffindor colors (red and gold), sort and arrange sleeping bags on the floor.
- Breakfast: the next morning you will have breakfast all together. If so, think of something Harry Potter-style for breakfast too: decorate the dining room like Dumbledore's office and serve up some scones for breakfast while you talk about your favorite Quidditch team with your dad (Dumbledore).
Advice
- If you have a CD player, play the Hogwarts soundtrack as the guests / students arrive. Put different Harry Potter-themed songs depending on the situation. Some suitable bands are Swish and Flick and Harry and the Potters.
- Host a Harry Potter trivia contest.
- Why not organize the Yule Ball? Ask guests to get dressed up, girls could do each other's makeup. Turn on the music and dance the night away! Scroll through a mixture of fast songs, slow songs and even pieces from the Harry Potter movie to create a fantastic Yule Ball.
- Organize a Duel where you take cards from a deck. And on each card there is a spell or symbol of death. Spells win their own card and that of the opponent. In the end, whoever has the most cards wins.
Warnings
- If the wizards refuse to leave the party, threaten them with curses. They won't tell you they're invalid, it's a Harry Potter themed party. If you don't know any spells, google "Harry Potter curses".
- Be careful, some Harry Potter fans might criticize the party or sleepover! If you decide to put Gryffindor banners all over the place, the Hufflepuffs, Slytherins and Ravenclaws might have something to say! To avoid conflicts, divide the different parts of the house into houses. If you're hosting a sleepover, create sections of the room where each group can sleep in their own house.
- Don't use anything dangerous. Someone could get hurt.
- In Quidditch outside, make sure the batters don't hit too hard! Just a tap and the player leaves the Quaffle.
