In case any other Harry Potter fans are going to find this thread I thought I would post about DD's totally over-the-top Harry Potter birthday party. Kids, parents and adult friends all got really into this so we ended up with a huge crowd and tons of fun.
- We did Hogwarts letters as invitations, printed on paper that looked like parchment and rolled into scrolls. Since we were running low on owls DD hand delivered each to her friends.
- we had signs for Track 9 3/4, Broom Parking Only, Welcome First Years, a message board with ads for used textbooks, old copies of the Quibbler, Harry's lost invisibility cloak, etc and each class we were holding
- parents agreed to play various professors and teach the classes we planned. We had McGonagall, Sprout, Flitwick and Snape. Another parent dressed as Sirius Black and my mother ran Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occassions
- as the kids arrived they put on the sorting hat and selected a cup with ice from a tray. The day before we had put food coloring in each cup so when we added a clear beverage (7 Up or birch beer) it turned the color of one of the houses
- Transfiguration was a game of 'Pin the Tail on Dudley'; Charms included placing little capsules that turn into sponge animals in hot water and saying a spell to create the animal of your choice and casting a spell on Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans to try to get the flavor of your choice (the faces as they bit into some of the nastier ones were priceless!); Divination was one of the parents looking in a crystal balls and making wacky predictions; Potions included making snow from a dollar store magic kit and of course combining baking soda and vinegar into a foaming magical mess; Defense Against the Dark Arts took place in a hallway with a strobe light and steaming dry ice. The kids were supposed to shoot silly string at a dementor but the cans emptied too quickly so only a handful got to try it...
- food included pumpkin pasties, dragon wings, Mrs Weasley's meatballs and assorted dips, chips and candies named after creatures in the books. I also made pumpkin juice and used it for a toast in edible chocolate shot glasses. I also bought a frog mold and made chocolate frogs (complete with wizard treading cards) and used Ferrera Roche candies to make golden snitches with wings cut from doilies
- a collection of stuffed owls on a shelf for the owlery, sticks of incense for wands and robes cut from inexpensive black felt added to the Hogwarts feel
This birthday was fun and totally over the top. Afterwards DD thanked me but said it was "a bit overwhelming" and thinks that next year she wants a small get together with just a few close girl friends. Yup... She's growing up!
