Leaky Cauldron and Honeydukes

The plan is to have our kitchen be the food station. One counter will be the Leaky Cauldron, filled with things like pretzels, butterbeer, pumpkin juice, parchment scrolls (sliced tortilla wraps), bat wings, and dragonheart dip. Another counter will be Honeydukes, with Chocolate Frogs, Peppermint Toads, licorice wands, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, etc, etc.

Naturally, I need signs for these. I bought some unfinished plaques from AC Moore for a little over $3 a piece. Some acryllic paint, Google Images for inspiration, and voila:





I still need to do a coat of poly, especially on the Leaky Cauldron sign. Word to the wise - be sure your wood isn't knotty, as it really messes up the paint.

House Scarves

The party will include a Sorting Ceremony, during which the children will be sorted into their houses (and the adults, too, if they want). I wanted the kids to have something to denote which house they're in, and I settled on scarves. At first, I was planning on crocheting them and had my aunt teach me how. But as I started working on them, it became apparent that I'd never have enough time to get them done. My next idea was fleece scarves, and they turned out very well.



I bought blizzard fleece from Joann's in the house colors (red/gold for Gryffindor, green/grey for Slytherin, yellow/black for Hufflepuff, and blue/orange for Ravenclaw--orange being the closest I could find to bronze). I cut the fleece into 11"x12" squares and used three of each color for a scarf. I cut fringe about three inches long on opposite sides and tied the squares together, tying plain knots in the two end squares. Obviously, the kids will be able to take these home as part of their favors.

The File

For most big events (birthdays, holidays, etc), I keep a Word file full of ideas, websites, lists, and so on. Here are some of my lists for this party:


General Ideas

Goodie Bags:
Chocolate Frogs
Peppermint Toads
HP Crayons
(plus scarves, hats, wands, cauldrons)


Food:
Butterbeer (cream soda and butterscotch syrup)
Pumpkin Juice (mango juice)
Jelly Beans
Ice Mice
Treacle Tart
Licorice Wands
Fruit Wands (kabobs)


Décor:
Signs: Broom Parking – Staff and Guests ONLY Others will be swept away!
In Case of Fire – no flying).
Downstairs Door - “Do Not Disturb – House Elves at Work”
Beware – Whomping Willow
Staff Room

Fake Books: Monster Book of Monsters, Standard Book of Spells Grade # by Miranda Goshawk, A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch, A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot, Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling, One Thousand Magical Spores and Fungi by Phyllida Spore, Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them by Newt Scamander, The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble, Break with a Banshee, Gadding with Ghouls, Holidays with Hags, Travels with Trolls, Voyages with Vampires, Wandering with Werewolves, Year with the Yeti by Gilderoy Lockhart, Intermediate Transfiguration by Emeric Switch, Unfogging the Future by Cassandra Vablatsky, Numerology and Gramatica, Ancient Runes Made Easy, Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles by Wilhelm Wigworthy, Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard, Advanced Potion-Making by Libatius Borage, Armando Dippet: Master or Moron?, The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore by Rita Skeeter, Curses and Counter-curses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying, and Much, Much More) by Vindictus Viridian, Flying With the Cannons, Little People, Big Plans by Ragnok the Pigeon-toed, Moste Potente Potions, Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean, Nature’s Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy, Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp, Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches



Activities:

Diagon Alley – Cover playroom door with bricks, Gringott’s to take out money, shops for buying a wand (wooden dowels), cauldrons, witch/wizard hats, robes (XXL Men’s T-shirts)

Sorting Ceremony – Put baby monitor under Sorting Hat

Potions Class – Bottles filled with different colored vinegar (leech juice, basilisk venom, dragon blood, etc), ground unicorn horn (baking soda). Poppy seeds for beetle eyes, golden raisins for shrivel figs, gummy worms for flobberworms, lemonade mix for crystallized dragon tears, Pop Rocks for powdered root of asphodel, lemon peel for boomslang skin, dried cherries for hinkypunk hearts.

Folded fortune tellers – labels to affix fortunes on the inside

Basilisk Stare – pass out cards to kids, kid who gets ‘basilisk’ card is it. Basilisk must blink twice to Petrify their victim (who must fall down and lie still). Kids try to figure out who the basilisk is.

Muggle Quidditch – Hula hoops (hang from tree?), Beaters stand on sidelines and throw soft balls at players (freeze for 10 sec. if they get hit), Seekers have to try to get Snitch behind the hoops

Checklist

Gryffindor Scarves
Slytherin Scarves
Hufflepuff Scarves
Ravenclaw Scarves

Print and Assemble Invites

Wands
Wand Boxes
Crayons

Jars/bowls for Potions
Snitches for Decoration
Candles to Hang from Ceiling

Dumbledore Costume
Molly Weasly Costume
Hagrid Costume
Big Kid Robes
Little Kid Robes
Adam & Daniel’s Robes

Trivia Game
Prize for Trivia
Transfiguration Chalkboard

Make music CDs (one general, one Moaning Myrtle for bathroom)

Basilisk Stare Game (cards)

Signs
Bulletin Board
Book Jackets
Fake Books

Make Labels
Fold Fortune Tellers

Chocolate Frogs
Peppermint Toads
Ice Mice
Treacle Tart

Shopping List

HP Wall Scrolls

Parchment Paper & Envelopes
Wax and H stamp
Owl feathers

Dowels
Wood beads
Crayon Mold
Styrofoam Balls (Snitches)
Snitch Feathers
Candles
Fishing Line

Purple fabric for Dumbledore’s Costume
Dumbledore Beard
Hagrid Beard
Black fabric for Molly’s Robes
Black t-shirts
Witches’ hats

Prize for Trivia Game

Black posterboard, frame(?)

CDs

Posterboards
Wood Plaques

Rolls of paper (white, red, blue, etc)
Gold pen

Labels for printer

Inspiration

I've been a big fan of Harry Potter for the last ten years or so - naturally, I was thrilled when my oldest started to get into the series. We read the first book aloud last summer, the second one early this summer, and we're just finishing up the third book now. I'd been waiting and waiting for the opportunity to plan a Harry Potter party, and Colwyn finally cooperated by asking for a HP party this year!

I generally go overboard with the kids' birthday parties after they reach a certain age (we do really low-key parties the first few years), not because I think it's necessary, but because I just love planning and hosting great parties. This one is going to be extra over-the-top because I'm such a big fan, and because a lot of our (adult) friends are fans, too.

Planning started off by trawling the internet for ideas. I took a lot of inspiration from the birthdays described at this Birthday Party Idea website, as well as from The Hogwarts Celebration and My Harry Potter Party. I've allowed myself two full months to plan and prepare.