So you're in charge of conjuring up a magical Harry
Potter party, are you? Fear not - we've dug into our bag of tricks
and found some truly wizard-worthy party ideas for you.
Invitations - send them on parchment paper, of course, for what else
would a good wizard use to write down anything of importance? Green
ink is highly popular among wizards, but then, so is vanishing ink.
You can either send formal notes, tucked into envelopes, as Professor
Dumbledore did when informing Harry that he'd been accepted into Hogwarts,
or you can jot your words on a scrap of paper, roll it up, and send
it by owl - or just hand it out, if magical owls are a bit scarce
in your neighborhood.
For costuming, you could always ask guests to come
already dressed as their favorite character. Or provide the materials
and let everyone make their own cape and pointy hat - it's easy, and
it'll keep youngsters (and parents) happily occupied for a while.
Just buy a goodly amount of lightweight black fabric (a lot of craft
stores sell bargain fabric for about a dollar a yard, and you wouldn't
need more than a yard or so per person) and let each guest decorate
their cape using stickers, puffy paint, fabric markers, sequins -
anything mystical and magical will do nicely. For hats, just take
some black construction paper and roll it into a cone, tape it up,
and presto chango poof, you've got a pointy hat! Wands are easy to
make from short lengths of dowels, and can be decorated with all sorts
of things - ribbon, stickers, markers, silk flowers, whatever strikes
your fancy.
But what do you do when you have a houseful of young wizards? Harry
Potter movies are available on DVD, so be sure to buy
or rent a copy and have your own private showing. Serve popcorn if
you like, or pass out Bertie
Bott's Every Flavor Beans - regular jelly beans will do nicely
in a pinch, although for a more authentic touch, you might want to
pick up an assortment of oddly flavored Jelly Bellies or other unusually
flavored candies. Provide magical potions to drink by using various
colors of Kool-Aid such as purple, blue, orange and green.
For party favors, bags of Bertie
Bott's Every Flavor Beans will be a hit, as would gold and silver
chocolate coins from Gringot's, the wizard's bank. (Ordinary foil-wrapped
chocolate coins will suffice, if you can't get the real thing from
Diagon Alley.) Temporary lightening
bolt tattoos are popular among the youngsters who want to be Harry
(and who doesn't?) as are black
plastic glasses like Harry's trademark pair. Small stuffed
owls are always fun, although not quite as useful as the magical sort
that'll carry letters and packages from place to place, and of course,
there's always the books, which are now available in inexpensive paperback editions.
So dust off your best wizardly robes, practice waving your wand about
a bit, and in no time, you'll have everyone amazed by your spellbinding
party-casting abilities.
Related party themes: Wizards of Waverly Place | Wizard of Oz
