Graham turned 6 last month, and he has been begging for a Harry Potter birthday party for a long time. Since most of his friends haven't ventured into Harry Potter territory yet, we decided upon a day of "junior wizard training," and we turned our backyard into a mini-Hogwarts for the occasion. Unfortunately, the day of his party, we were all violently ill with a stomach virus, so we sent some early morning texts to reschedule for the next weekend. Luckily, almost everyone was able to come to the make-up party!
When guests arrived, they passed through Platform 9 3/4 and got right to work on making wands.
At our wandmaking station, I put out chopsticks and beads. When the kids figured out how they wanted their wand, they took their materials over to my mom, who graciously hot-glued everything together. When the wands dried, the kids painted them.
I found some great ideas for Potions experiments here, adapting good ol' Mr. Wizard-style science with magical names and ingredients. We experimented with "fleeing spiders" (pepper acromantula eggs sprinkled in water and "driven away" by basilisk venom, or dish soap if you're a muggle):
We had fun with "dancing milk" (YouTube it), or in this case, Unicorn Milk and Phoenix Tears.
You just can't beat a good ol' baking soda and vinegar (er, Erumpet Horn and Wolfsbane Draught) explosion. It excites the kids Every.Time.
Kids were waiting on cake just to do the "explosion" over and over again. This is a good, cheap rainy day activity you can do at home, party or not. Vinegar and baking soda; what could be simpler?
We had a cauldron of dry ice in the middle of the potions table, and then we enjoyed dumping soap and any remaining liquids into that for a little "bubble, bubble, toil and trouble" sudsing action.
Finally, it was time for some singing of "Happy Birthday" and eating of cake! Look at this amazing owl cake my mom made for Graham! She also made "cauldron cakes"--chocolate cupcakes with chocolate-peanut butter ganache spilling over the sides, and a chocolate licorice handle, and some owl cupcakes with mini Oreo eyes.
Graham is so lucky to have such great grandparents, and I was so grateful not to have to make any cakes!
At the food table, we also had broomstick bags of popcorn and some veggie snacks.
Drinks were over on the Three Broomsticks table. We served Butterbeer (cream soda, butter and rum extracts, and whipped cream), Pumpkin Juice (orange-carrot V8 Splash), and Gillywater (uh, water).
We had some grown-up beverages, as well. As always, I like to stick to the theme, so we chose beers from Magic Hat and Hap & Harry's for the parents.
After fueling up on cake and sugary beverages, the kids were ready to play some Quidditch. Mom and I made these hoops from PVC pipe, QuikKrete, and hula hoops. The broom below is made from a tiki torch and some twigs (inspiration found here). Unfortunately, after I made one, I realized I was not so excited about making nine more, so our Quidditch game was of the loosely-structured, balloon-swatting variety. Oh, and check out these amazing Hogwarts house banners my neighbor hand-stenciled. I was so excited to borrow them.
We also had a little fun with our Transfiguration Booth, trying on robes and ties and props.
Dean was okay with trying on the sorting hat, but only if he could hang onto his cauldron cake. Seriously, he was not letting that thing go.
Upon leaving, all the junior wizards were instructed to grab a cauldron from the Owlery and fill it with their wand and sweets from the Honeydukes sweets table.
We had Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties (Little Debbie pumpkin cakes), Cockroach Clusters (Goo Goo Clusters), Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans (printable box templates here), Acid Pops (rock candy), and Dementor Repellant (chocolate sixlets).
Go home and eat more sugar, kids! (Sorry, parents!)
Happy Birthday to my sweet six-year-old. I hope it was as magical as you are!
Party planning, styling, props, and signage: Smarty Parties
Photography: Stella Dolce Photography
Quidditch Banners: Nashville Dave
Owl cake, owl cupcakes, and chocolate cauldrons: My awesome mom.
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