Here it is! An epic blog post for an epic party. This one has been coming for a long time.
We only do birthday parties for the kids every other year, and Evelyn’s birthday is the last party of the year. Since it was determined years ago that she would have a Harry Potter party, we all got into it and it became a party for the whole family. Then she invited Caitlyn McRoberts to share the party with her, and it suddenly became that much bigger and better!
I started with introductory emails to all the guests with preliminary details of the party, including a link to the Sorting Hat Quiz to sort them into their houses so I would have time to make the robes.
Then I sent them handmade paper invitations through the Muggle mail.
The day of the party, I barely finished the last robe before racing down to Mike’s school, where we had been setting up for the past few days.
Mike had the perfect “broomsticks,” hula hoops for the goals, and even three types of balls to use for our Quidditch game.
The black tablecloth, colored plates, and plastic plates and flatware all came from the dollar store. I ModgePodged the house crests onto the bottom of the clear plates.
Honeydukes was fun to make. Evelyn and I picked out the sweets listed in the book and found the best match from the candy aisle in the dollar store. We had Ton Tongue Toffee, Bertie’s Every Flavor Beans (ordered from Amazon so each kid could have their own box), Fizzing Whizzbees, Black Pepper Imps, creamy chunks of Nougat, Lemon Drops, Chocolate Frogs (the mold was $5 on Amazon and we added pretzel pieces and fruit gummies to the melted chocolate to add some texture!), Candy Corn, and Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum.
I made character cards and printed Chocolate Frog boxes but just ran out of time to get them all put together.
There were so many free resources online for Harry Potter parties! I was able to print the Standard Book of Spells and Magical Drafts and Potions textbooks for the kids to use.
Mike’s school had previously had a Harry Potter assembly and graciously let us borrow the house banners they had created!
Mike even made an Ollivander’s shop and Beth and Matt, Caitlyn’s parents, made each kid an individualized wand from a long chopstick.
We set up a potions “classroom.”
Once all the kids had arrived, everyone got a picture in their robes with their new wands.
Not pictured is Caroline, who wasn’t feeling the best but was definitely a part of the party.
Here were our birthday girls:
Yes, I did talk Alex into being from Slytherin house, just so all four houses could be adequately represented.
Penny actually had an unusual score on her test: she was an equal mix of all houses! So we decided she was Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons Academy in France. I ran out of time to make her Fleur dress and cape, but it will happen!
The first class was Defense Against the Dark Arts, taught by Professor Lockhart (Mike). All the kids picked up their textbooks from Flourish & Botts and went to their lesson.
After practicing the spells in their textbook, Professor Lockhart demonstrated how to properly execute a Wizard’s Duel. Of course, the birthday girls went first.
Then all the kids had a chance to duel.
Theo was brave enough to duel Hagrid (Matt)!
And he won!
Next, it was time for Potions Class. Tonks (Nicole) was a visiting professor for the class and performed an excellent Gak Potion spell. All the kids were entranced and some even made two doses of the stuff.
Auror Tonks worked so hard to make this class happen for all 14 students. I’m so grateful for her help!
Caroline got in on the fun this time. We were so glad she was able to participate!
After Potions, but “…before we all [became] too befuddled by our excellent feast…,” I (Professor Trelawney) requested, and was granted, a full group photo.
We even had guest appearances from Professor Snape and Bellatrix Lestrange (Aaron and Brittany Nader)!
Next, it was time for a feast to regain our energy. We had Sausage Rolls, oranges, Pumpkin Pasties, Butter Beer, and house color-themed water.
The Butter Beer was by far the favorite.
Once all the kids were adequately nourished and buzzing with energy again, it was time for our Quidditch match. The Birthday Girls were the team captains.
The kids mounted their broomsticks, and they were off!
Oh my gosh, it was so much fun to watch! Bellatrix (Brittany) even held Caroline on her shoulders to join in!
And Charlie caught the Golden Snitch!
Finally, we opened presents and the kids got to “shop” at Honeydukes, filling their gift bags with the candy. What better way to send them home than hyped up on sugar?!
And that, my friends, was our epic Harry Potter Party, and the last party I have to do for a year.
Yes, I slept like the dead that night.
