Harry Potter Birthday Party: Welcome to Hogwarts

Photo by Martha ShmarthaEmily, of the blog Martha Shmartha, outdid herself with her son's Harry Potter birthday party, creating a complete Hogwarts experience for the kids.

They were transported to the wizarding school as soon as they arrived, going through the front door that had been transformed into Platform 9 3/4. She made the sign by painting a piece of wood red and Mod Podging letters to it, along with a Hogwarts Crest she found online. The brick wall is a light blue sheet that was cut to fit the doorway. Her husband drew bricks on it and cut a slit for the kids to run through, and Emily spray-painted it red at a distance so it had an uneven look.

Once inside, the kids entered The Great Hall, where balloons with stars on them dangled, mimicking a starry sky in the enchanted ceiling. They put on their robes, which Emily had created for each child, and went to Ollivander's Wand Shop, where they selected and decorated their wands.

Photo by Martha ShmarthaHer husband carved unique patterns into each of the wands ... after all, no two are the same. They also could choose phoenix feathers or dragon scales for the core. Her husband drilled holes into the end of each wand, and the kids stuffed them with feathers and small jewels (dragon feathers), and then Emily sealed the holes with hot glue.  
Photo by Martha Shmartha

Once they had their wands ready, it was time to be sorted into their houses. Emily took a black witch's hat and hot-glued pieces of crumbled up paper bags to it. To make the hat talk, she hung the speaker-end of a baby monitor inside of it, and her husband went to the basement and spoke in the other end.
Photo by Martha Shmartha

After being sorted, it was time for class: Potions! Thank goodness mean Professor Snape wasn't teaching it. Each child got a small ceramic cauldron. The first potion contained an explosive clear liquid (water), jellyfish serum (bubble solution), and fire rocks (dry ice). "The kids were amazed by this," she said.

While they rinsed out the cauldrons between potions, the kids spent the time "stupifying" each other. The next potion was a mixture of water and Iocane Powder (cornstarch). Everybody had fun mixing, then being shocked that their solid turned "runny."  One kid said, "It's like a solid liquid!"
Photo by Martha Shmartha

After class, it was time for a friendly game of Quidditch. Everybody had a broom, made from sticks and brush found on the side of the road.

They used three foam balls, all red -- one large one that was the Quaffle and two smaller ones that were the Bludgers. The kids were separated into two teams, and they had to try to get the Quaffle through one of the hoops, but if they were hit by a Bludger, they had to drop the Quaffle, all while staying on their brooms. The rings were made by spray-painting hula hoops that were nailed to wood and stuck into the ground. Emily also painted a golf ball gold to represent the Golden Snitch and hid it. Each time a team scored, they rotated out the position of the Seeker, and that child was responsible for searching the yard for the Golden Snitch.

Photo by Martha ShmarthaSpeaking of the Golden Snitch, that's the kind of cake her son wanted. She created a Snitch-shaped cake and filled it with Jelly Bellies (i.e., Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans), so when the first piece was cut, the candies spilled out, at the delight of the kids (even the parents thought it was cool). One of the dads said that it was "magical."

So what was Emily's secret to pulling off such an amazing party? 

Photo by Martha Shmartha

"I think the reason this party worked so well was because of all the prep time. We also kept each activity to 15 minutes, so nobody got bored. Everything moved quickly and fluidly because of the preparation," she said.

Can I add that being incredibly talented probably had something to do with it as well? I mean, wow -- very well done, Emily!

Have you ever thrown a Harry Potter party? What were some of your ideas?