Accio Fun Times!
Welcome to Hogwarts, and enjoy a magical Harry Potter Party!
In a family with a love for all things literary, film, theatre, and music, a Harry Potter party was a foregone conclusion for a birthday at some point. In my history of trying to make my sons’ birthdays as magical as possible, we’ve turned our home into Disneyland, The Mushroom Kingdom, the Marvel Universe, and the Greatest Show on Earth, among others. I had already done a Chamber of Secrets Halloween once, and by my eldest’s ninth birthday, it was time for HP to visit again.
Now, I didn’t go QUITE as crazy as I have in the past, and I leaned a bit more on purchases than pure DIY, but its all still within the Crafty Universe, amirite?? Sometimes Muggle moms needs their sanity while creating magic! I will share a link to my Harry Potter party finds below for your own visit to Diagon Alley! 🙂
First off, you obviously need a magical entrance, and to let the guests know what they are in for! (I also love this rustic broom, which has been repurposed for a many a Halloween theme and found a new spot for this party!)
Magical Party Decorations
The floating candle trick is SUPER EASY – all you need is some fishing line and packaging tape! (But maybe check the tape you use, since mine did end up peeling off patches of ceiling paint. 🙁 Oops!)
…..I am also just noticing my wall hangings are askew. Sigh. But the Harry Potter and Hedwig stuffies are super adorable!!
More Halloween decorations come to help with our School of Witchcraft and Wizardry theme, but this Mirror of Erised is too cool! This was also a gift for his room, hence the higher price tag than plain old party supplies. And this thing is SOLID!
I did manage a little DIY – I made this shirt, and a green glitter vinyl Dark Mark shirt, one for my mom and one for my husband, who is Slytherin all the way! Since we can never stop my mom from cooking or cleaning when she comes over, we often refer to her as our house elf. For party time, we had to remind her that she was free!!
Magical Party Food and Treats
Anything off the trolley, dears? We put together a simple, easy treat table display with black plastic table covers and paper streamers in the Hogwarts colors for each house. An array of vases, pots, and a Halloween cauldron along with small cake stands and some printed candy displays completed the effect, alongside the star of the show birthday cake and cupcakes with Harry Potter themed cupcake toppers.
Outside of the CARS birthday cake I made for H a few years prior to this, I don’t really go in for my own cake making. At least, not for fancy or themed cakes. However, it was super easy to get a perfectly themed Harry Potter cake for this party the old-fashioned way – I bought it at the grocery store bakery department! I just told them what I wanted, sent them a picture, and BAM! Instant Harry Potter HAPPEE BIRTHDAE cake.
I don’t recall exactly what we did for a meal, but I believe we kept it fairly simple, mostly grazing for snacks with chips and dips and crudités. We kept the theme going though!! Check out Professor Sprout’s Garden and our magically delicious beverage options! You can find plenty of themed printable labels on Etsy, or make your own!
Check out some great freebies you can get for your birthday!
One of the best parts of the party was the photo backdrop with photo props! Everyone, adult and child alike, go into the fun! I put these photo props I purchased on Amazon in a black plastic cauldron and hung the Marauder’s Map and backdrop items on the only plain wall available in our kitchen.
What fun ideas did we miss? What would you add for your own Harry Potter party?
Click here for links to my Amazon List of Harry Potter party decorations & Gift Ideas so you can shop for your own Harry Potter party!
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I so enjoyed seeing all you did for your party! I bet those floating candles are awesome at night! My boyfriend has a granddaughter who is a Potterhead and I always look for HP stuff for her when shopping–on clearance of course! My next project is to make travel trunks with an owl, broom, and spell books (with little wooden boxes) to make Christmas ornaments; they would be great favor boxes, too! Found a Dumbledore quote to put inside!
That sounds fantastic! I love the idea of the Christmas ornaments, but the favor boxes would be awesome at a Potter party or wedding! Hope you’ll share your creativity with my on social, I’d love to see it!