Harry Potter and the Wizard School Birthday

Author: Sandra Foyt

25 Apr

The first time that Kayla read a “big” book - all by herself! - she was so excited by her accomplishment, that there was no question about the theme of her 8th birthday party.

It had to be a Harry Potter party.

Unfortunately, finding party ideas for a large crowd wasn’t easy.

I had to improvise, so I just tweaked the previous year’s Pokémon party plans.

Instead of a Pokémon Trainer’s Challenge, partygoers were invited to attend our own Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

8 Year Old Birthday - A Harry Potter Party

Wizard Prep:

Prospective students received hand-delivered invitations - parchment paper scrolls tied with black ribbon. Kayla, carrying a large, plush snowy owl, delivered these personally.

Wands - Every wizard needs a wand. So, upon arrival, the “students” made magical wands. They decorated sticks (previously gathered in our backyard) with hot glue, yarn, chenille, and glitter.)

Sorting Hat - After leaving their wands to “cure”, our wizards-in-training sought out the Sorting Hat. Blindfolded, they pulled out their house selection - displayed on a pin-on badge (made like the Pokémon badges.)

When the prospective students of magic completed the sorting process, we separated them into four groups who rotated through wizard classes that were staffed by our staff of professors (adult and teen volunteers.)

Wizard Subjects:

Herbology - Students had to transplant a “mandrake root” (pansies) into pots, while ignoring the deafening screams (of happy kids) around them.

Potions: Using a wide selection of Kool-Aid, the students created exotic drink concoctions. They were supposed to tell us the potion’s purpose, but they were having too much fun sampling the drinks.

Care of Magical Creatures - Students produced dragon eggs by whipping up a batch of flubber that they put into plastic Easter eggs.

Defense Against The Dark Arts - A game of Simon Says was an excellent tool for learning to listen well to avoid enchantment.

After mastering these subjects, the wizards were ready for the challenges. The House Team with the most points was the winner, but everyone received prizes (goody bags with Giant Pixie Stix bought in bulk at Sam’s Club and other treasures from Oriental Trading Company.)

Wizard Challenges:

Jelly Bean Identification - This was a gruesome challenge, much like Fear Factor’s eating stunt. The kids had to sample a Harry Potter Bertie Bott’s jelly bean and identify the flavor. Some of the flavors were stomach-churning: Earwax, Booger, Sausage, Black Pepper, Vomit, Dirt, Soap, Rotten Egg, Pickle and Earthworm.

Quidditch - I had no idea how to play the game, so I pulled out all of our balls, brooms, plastic bats, lacrosse sticks, hockey sticks, and pop-up goals - pretty much the entire garage - and I let our panel of tween “experts” figure it out. They had a blast! Basically, they played it much like Leah Spivey’s land-bound interpretation of the game.

Spells Challenge - Using their magical wands, the wizards took turns issuing elaborate spells. A panel of teen experts judged these based on creative presentation.

I can’t remember which House Team was declared the official winner. It didn’t really matter since everyone won the coveted Wizard Title and Certificate (follow link for wording suggestion.)

Piñata Time:

As always, this party concluded with the piñata - a dragon one, this time.

Since we had over 40 kids, we set up the piñata outside on the basketball hoop. And the children formed a large semi-circle far from the line of fire. I also held a reserve bag of candy that I used to spread the joy once the piñata was decimated.