The at-home-party has become an endangered species. Everyone around here has parties at the Bounce and Play Zone, or a pizza joint. Yawn. Where's the creativity? The childlike fun? The magic and wonder?
Thankfully, Snappy agrees with me. (For now. This could be a different story as she approaches tween-hood...) She wanted to have a Harry Potter party for her 7th birthday. I took her idea and ran with it.
I have to admit, I probably had just as much fun planning this party as the kids had attending it. As a stay-at-home mom, I have to seek out opportunities to flex my own creative muscles. I scoured the Internet for ideas, came up with a few of my own and put them all together.
First, I mailed out invitations on parchment paper, with the Hogwarts crest on it:
"We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in honor of Snappy's birthday. Term begins on Saturday, May 21, from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at our house. Please RSVP by owl no later than May 18th. Send owl to [email address] or dial [phone number] on your nearest muggle phone."
Upon arrival, the kids checked their class schedule.
Then we had the sorting ceremony, with a hat I made out of some brown packing paper. If you squint, it kind of looks like the real sorting hat! They put on the hat, then reached into a bag and pulled out a badge of their house crest. (Nothing fancy, I just printed them on cardstock, "laminated" them with clear contact paper, and attached them to the kids' shirts with a safety pin. Still, the kids were impressed!) Snappy was sorted into Gryffindor, Noodle was Ravenclaw. No one was in Slytherin.
Then it was on to Ollivander's Wand Shop where the kids decorated their own magic wands. I got some pre-cut wooden dowels at Michaels, then painted them brown with gold tips beforehand. Then I gave the kids sparkly pipe cleaners and an assortment of stickers (stars, hearts, letters, flowers, animals, etc.) to decorate their wands with.
After getting their wands, we went to Charms class. We learned "wingardium leviosa," and practiced by using our wands to keep balloons from hitting the floor. Then we learned the "immobulus" charm, and played a game of freeze dance. (I turned on music, the kids danced until I turned off the music and yelled "immobulus!" Then they had to freeze in position until the charm was removed and the music started up again.) Our "Immobulus" Dancing game was so popular, the kids begged to play it again at the end of the party.
The next class was Care of Magical Creatures. I had prepared five stations in the backyard. At station 1, they learned about owls. They wrote their names on a piece of parchment, and left them with Snappy's stuffed Hedwig owl. At station 2, they learned about Acromantulas from a giant construction-paper spider atop our sandbox. They learned that the best way to save yourself from the giant spiders is to RUN. So they ran to station 3, where they practiced speaking in parseltongue. When they all said "open" in parseltongue (hesha hasa), the car door magically unlocked, revealing a toy snake on the front seat directing them to the next station. At station 4, they learned that the best way to de-gnome a garden is to spin them around until they get dizzy, then toss them as far as you can. They practiced on a bowl full of potatoes (on which I had drawn silly faces with a Sharpie). And lastly, at station 5, they practiced bowing to a Hippogriff.
Next, we came inside for Potions Class. The kids discovered that their parchments that they left with Hedwig had been delivered to the kitchen table, and now served as placecards for seating. Then I brought out 12 plastic cups on a tray. Each cup had a different colored drop of food coloring on the bottom. I covered that up with ice so the kids couldn't see it. Then I pulled a couple 2-liters of Sprite from the fridge that were labeled "Magic Potion" and poured them into the cups. The soda in each cup turned a different color. We had a couple of younger kids at the party (ages 4 and 5) and they were mesmerized! The 6- and 7-year-olds, however, figured it out. Still, it was a fun effect.
While everyone was at the table with their drinks, we served the cake too. Snappy insisted on having a "snitch" cake. Let me tell you, that request kept me up at night trying to think of how I could pull it off! Here's what I came up with.
With a Harry Potter cake on the side.
When everyone finished eating, I brought out plain brown paper lunch sacks, stickers and markers, and asked the kids to decorate their own bag. This was fun to see how creative they were -- one girl drew a pretty good Hippogriff! Then they took their bags and their wands out back for Defense Against the Dark Arts Class. They had to fight a dragon! (Well, it was a dragon pinata, but still...) When they defeated the dragon, they put the candy in their bags. Voila! Goodie bags complete.
I'm quite proud of the candy we had in the pinata. I bought regular candy, but repackaged it or taped new labels on them to make them "Harry Potter" candies -- treats they actually mention in the books, like Sugar Quills, Fizzing Whizbees, Droobles bubble gum and Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. I also added a bunch of gold-wrapped Rolos -- leprechaun gold.Snappy was walking on air for the next week! The party was fun and creative, and unlike any she -- or any of her friends -- had been to. Plus, I pulled this party off for less than $75, including food, treats, games and favors. Try to get THAT deal at the Bouncy Zone! Yes, it took some time and planning. But it was so much fun to pull this off! And it created some awesome memories for my kids. Which is worth all the time in the world.
Of course, it also helps that my kids only get a party every-other year, starting at age 5. Not sure I could muster this amount of energy for all three kids every single year!
