Long overdue, we finally had a Harry Potter Party!
We only did activities that went along with the first book,
that way, we can party again for each of the other books!
This was an ALL DAY event.
I'm talking from breakfast till dinner, nonstop fun.
So it goes without saying that this post is photo heavy -
but I won't apologize for that, because I can't get enough of these happy faces!
Another thing about this party, which I wanted to mention,
was that I only spent 1 1/2 days putting it together,
and spent very little money on supplies...because it wasn't a birthday party.
Those of you who know me, know that I spend a month planning,
and probably too much money on those ;)
Anyways, fun doesn't have to be expensive, as you will see
Most of the crafts/games/activities could be easily "upgraded" for a less casual event.
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We started our day out with bread for breakfast,
reminiscent of the poor meals Harry would get while living with the Dursleys.
But, our kids got fresh baked bread with butter or peanut butter and fruit,
so don't feel too bad for them ;)
After breakfast, the kids got their letters from Hogwarts!!
So, we headed to Diagon Alley, where else could we get what we needed?
First stop, Gringott's!
The kids took turns pushing each other in the "cart" or banana box
to get to their "vault" - they each got a small bag of galleons
(ok, maybe they were left over gold coins from Caleb's candy bag,
but today they were galleons!)
Marigold almost didn't fit - She's growing up!
Then it was time to head to Olivander's
We crafted our own wands from scratch :)
Start with a length of dowel. You can use chopsticks for a pointier edge -
I don't want kids losing eyes, so we went for the blunt option.
Next, just heat up your glue gun, and add some bulk to the handle area with the glue
(the pic below is of Ashlynn holding hers while the glue dries)
There is literally no wrong way to do it...it's almost magic how great it turns out!
This craft cost less than $1 for all 3 since I had all but the dowel at home
Next, we used Q-tips (only because I didn't want to clean brushes) to paint on the color.
We had black, metallic brown and gold paint.
The kids helped with the painting,
and were very exact about how they wanted them to look
We began our other crafts while
I let the handles dry by setting them upright in glasses
We made a very simple quill craft,
mostly because we already had all of the supplies, meaning it was FREE
The kids want to make more of these for next school year :)
Then we had to have telescopes!
Look at Ashlynn's "excited eyes" that's how you know it's a good craft
Again, a FREE craft, using paper tubes, cups, and lots of duct tape
Although paint would've looked nicer, I didn't want them to have to wait for it to dry.
They decorated them with star stickers and markers
The handles of our wands were finally dry, so we painted the tips
Lastly, we also needed a pet to take with us, so we got our origami on
Marigold and Caleb chose owls, but Ashlynn wanted a pink kitty
The wands were completely dry, and just in time!
Once our "shopping" was over, we got our tickets
and headed to platform 9 3/4
sorry about the darkness in these shots
They all ran through the portal...or red plastic tablecloth made to look like a brick wall
I used white chalk and a brown sharpie...the kids acted like it was a masterpiece
Once "on board" they chose Car number 6,
and sat back for their long ride to Hogwarts...
Really, it was movie time in the schoolroom - The Sorcerer's Stone is one long show!
Meanwhile, I got the snack trolley ready-
Drooble's best blowing gum
Dumbledore's Lemon Drops
Bertie Bott's every flavor beans
Chocolate frogs (*which I made, and put into DIY boxes)
Cauldron cake (microwave lava cake)
Ron's sandwiches (cheese, not corned beef, since I remembered they wouldn't like it)
Licorice wands
Glasses for "pumpkin juice"
"Anything off the trolley, dears?"
"We'll take the lot!"
*Here's how I do chocolate frogs -
because it's fast, easy, and doesn't require a candy mold.
I bought the gummy frogs at Giant here in PA,
and Winco sells them in UT, at least they did when we did this before
Once the chocolate hardens, I clean up the edges, and they're done!
You can find free box printables many places online
When the movie ended, we had arrived at Hogwarts-
Time to be sorted!
I made scratch off cards, with various houses on them.
Each kids choose their card, and revealed their house!
Once they knew where they belonged, they colored their house tie bookmark.
Ashlynn and Marigold got Gryffindor!
Caleb got Hufflepuff!
Then we went outside for Quidditch lessons!
And their prize for running around?
Why, a golden snitch, of course!
I made these in less than 5 minutes
They're Ferrero Roche, which conveniently came in a three pack
Take off the sticker, slap on some wings, and you're done!
Next up, a dragon egg hunt!
They're just easter eggs wrapped in foil
Clearly, you could do some amazing things to the eggs to make them more dragon-like,
but the I knew kids were just going to tear them open anyways, so, foil it was!
I let the kids decide where to hide them for the sibling who was seeking -
They had such a good time! I love watching them try to be tricky!
Inside each egg was a small coloring page of a baby dragon,
because again, it made this game FREE, although stickers or a figurine would be cool too!
On to more games, with wizards' chess, which was actually just chess
They played happily for nearly half and hour
This next game was my favorite.
I was thinking of how to bring in the flying key part of the book,
but since our ceilings are really high, I didn't want to hang them up.
Instead, I came up with the idea to make an "old maid" style card game.
There are many matching sets, and
the "old maid" is the key with the hurt wing, like in the book
I did laminate them, but since I own a laminator, this was FREE too!
The kids are excited that it is a game they can play over and over.
The last game of all was a Hot and Cold game of
Find the Sorcerer's Stone
Another FREE Game
We had a feast in the "great hall" for dinner...
sadly, my kids wouldn't eat most of the foods mentioned in the book
as having being eaten at mealtimes, so I just let them choose some things.
Oh, and we had plastic goblets, because we're so fancy!
We talked about our favorite activities from the busy day,
and they each got a tiny gold trophy, because they "won the House Cup"
by cooperating, playing well, and having a great attitude the whole time.
And there you have it! A cheap, day long Harry Potter Extravaganza :)
I'm looking forward to our next one when Caleb finishes The Chamber of Secrets!
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