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I'm throwing a MASSIVE Harry Potter party... I need your ideas!
My littlest siblings are finally reading the Harry Potter books. This summer, my family is throwing a HP party to celebrate. All their friends will be invited, and all my friends are invited, and I'm pretty sure my mom's inviting some people... so we're looking at an enormous party with guests of all ages.
I'm going to do a one-day recreation of the Hogwarts experience: The invitations will be Hogwarts letters. Guests will arrive in the morning at Diagon Alley and purchase their school supplies. They'll go to Hogwarts, be Sorted, and enjoy the Start of Term Feast (a.k.a lunch). Then we'll have a handful of classes, hold a Quidditch match, and end with the Closing Ceremonies (dinner).
I've got a schedule... And now I need your ideas on how to make it AWESOME.
Feel free to go crazy here. My parents have given me full rein over their property and I'm planning on throwing money at this thing.
Any ideas?




Don't forget to decorate your bathroom!!
Bahahaha. Oh my gosh, those are amazing. That Myrtle one would make me jump about three feet.
i've thrown a few big potter parties. yours sounds more awesome because mine were very low-budget, but here's some of the activities:
i also made lots of party prizes such as pygmy puffs, hogwarts house mugs, t-shirts, temporary tattoos, posters... i can send you the print files for some of these things if you're interested.
Oh my gosh, a basilisk pinata... That's amazing. And yes, that's exactly the kind of background game I was looking for! These are AWESOME suggestions -- thanks! :D I'd love the files. Is there a way to send that sort of thing over Imzy or do you need my email?
I'll upload them somewhere and post the link when I get on my real computer later ☺
Perfect. Thanks! :D
http://lysswhit.com/potterprints/potterfiles.zip download link! i apologize if there are any problems with any of the files, i just threw them all in a folder without necessarily checking each one (and some are like 8 years old) so let me know if something happens.
Wait wait wait wait. Have you already planned how you're going to do all of those things?? If so, I need to hear abou tthose. How are you doing shopping at Diagon Alley? How are you holding a Quidditch match? What classes are you doing? I need to know all these things!
Sort of planned. I have document that lists event and decor ideas, needed objects, relevant recipes, etc., but I'm on the lookout for anything that will level up the awesomeness.
Folks will show up and head to the Leaky Cauldron. This will be a small tent where my friend will be serving butterbeer to anyone interested. To get to Diagon Alley from there, you'll have to go through a sheet painted to look like a brick wall.
We're going to set up a bunch of different tables along my parents' narrow side yard and hang lanterns from the trees for ambiance. If I can manage it, we'll have actual booths with plywood walls and set dressing, but the most minimal version will be tables loaded with goodies. The major store will be Ollivander's. I have an idea for wands that will actually shoot "spells" across the lawn, so we'll sell those. (Those wands/spells can be used later for wizard duels during Defense Against the Dark Arts class.) We'll also have Flourish & Blotts, which will sell Marauder's Maps that include a map of the property, schedule of events, items for a scavenger hunt, and a wizard money currency chart.
OH. I forgot: First, we'll have Gringotts. In my fantasies, this involves someone dressed up as a goblin pushing people at top speed around the neighborhood in a shopping cart, because that sounds hilarious. I'll settle for a wagon if I have to. The goblin will take them to the end of the street to visit their "vault" (a.k.a. a chest that contains drawstring pouches full of wizard money) and then will drive them back to Diagon Alley.
Other Diagon shops include Florean Fortescue's (Creamsicles in a cooler), the Apothecary (candy), Eyelops Owl Emporium (balloons with owls drawn on them), Quality Quidditch Supplies (brooms for the afternoon Quidditch match), and Madam Malkin's (capes for people who didn't come in costume).
That's the first hour.
Then we'll have lunch and the Sorting. I'm hoping to have laptops set up so anyone who doesn't know their house can take the actual Pottermore quiz.
There will be six classes, and each person will have time to choose three. They'll include Charms (painting Lumox/Nox light switch covers), Potions (probably making mixed drinks with weird/volatile ingredients), Transfiguration (balloon sculpting and/or origami), Herbology (planting seeds in small pots), History of Magic (HP quiz), and DADA (wizard duels). We'll probably have a Care of Magical Creatures pen in the backyard (where my parents' three dogs will be kept) and an Astronomy class after the party (a.k.a. fire pit and s'mores).
We're playing Quidditch by standard rules (https://www.usquidditch.org/about/rules) and the professors running the classes will be awarding house points throughout the day.
For side games, we'll have a scavenger hunt... but I'm not sure what else and would LOVE ideas. Wanting mostly things people can do on their own time, while they're in the middle of other stuff or if they're not interested in any of the current activities.
Oh, and we'll have a Floo Powder doorway (i.e., painted cardboard box with green fabric flames) that will lead to the Room of Requirement, which will be a quiet room for toddlers needing naps, introverts needing alone time, autistic folks needing less sensory stimulation, etc.
I desperately want to turn this party into a two-day event and have Day 2 be the Triwizard Tourament, but I'm trying to stay reasonable... at least this year.
And yes, I've thrown this party before. Did it twice when I was a kid and I had people talking about it in awestruck tones YEARS later. We're just going... bigger... this time. :D
That got longer than planned. I am VERY EXCITED.
AHHHH now I'm excited too!! And very jealous.
Can I come? haha :) This party sounds legendary!
If you can get yourself to southeastern Idaho (Idaho Falls/Pocatello region), then YES.
Well obviously you must serve delicious butterbeer with lunch. Perferably in steins, though I supposed other glasses or mugs will do.
YES. That recipe looks amazing. And steins would be amazing... I'll bet I could round up a bunch to borrow, or find them at a thrift store.
There are lots of great ideas here! http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/easy-ways-to-throw-an-epic-harry-potter-hallowe#.jeX4Dav95
Hula hoops for Quidditch goalposts! Stealing that. And I LOVE the mobile with Hogwarts letters... Definitely going to put that somewhere.
You could have a Library, or "Headmasters" office in the house or in a quiet section of the back yard where you have poofs and/or chairs for lounging. This could be a place for older kids (of all ages) to relax and read (put up temporary bookshelves loaded with harry potter books - including the supporting books like Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Quidditch Through the Ages, and Tales of Beedle the Bard) You could craft a painted gargoyle to guard the entrance.
Oooo, or have someone reading stories from Beedle the Bard every hour or so for a side activity. The barkeep at the Three Broomsticks would be a good story teller I'm sure.. :)
Your party sounds like it'll be an absolute blast, and I hope you don't mind if I borrow your ideas for when I have kids! <3
That would be awesome! We have a fair number of introverts coming who might get overstimulated by all the activity, and a bunch of kids, so a quiet reading corner would be fabulous.
And I love the idea of reading stories. It would be cool to have someone read sections of The Tale of the Three Brothers, and we can't go to the next part of the story until someone has found the correct Deathly Hallow. LOVE IT.
And yes, take all the ideas you want! I'm going to post a ton of info as the party gets closer so anyone can recreate it. I just tested my idea for wands that shoot actual spells and they work perfectly.
I so want to see how you did that!
I'll post a video as soon as I get some proper wands finished. :D