Transform Your House Into Hogwarts for a Harry Potter Party
The Chamber of Secrets has been opened and I’m sharing all of the details from my Harry Potter Party with you! Jump on your Nimbus 2000 and fly on over to my Wizarding World to celebrate the most magical birthday party ever!
How to Throw a Magical Harry Potter Birthday Party
Since my birthday falls near Halloween, I always end up having a Halloween themed birthday party. This year, I decided to take advantage of some of the mystical decorations we already had, but transform our house into Hogwarts and throw a Harry Potter themed party that everyone (even muggles) could enjoy! I loved the Harry Potter books and movies, so I thought it would a really fun way to celebrate. I put together all of the details to throw your own party, complete with party supplies, party decorations & hosting tips!
Harry Potter Hogwarts Acceptance Letter Invitations
Instead of sending out a generic “come to my party” text message, I opted to make invitations that I could send out that look like Hogwarts acceptance letters.
If you want to send out paper invitations the old fashioned way, I found these super fun Marauder’s Map templates on etsy. Etsy has a ton of great ideas and options for digital downloads too. If you search Pinterest there are also options for free printables!
Harry Potter Party Decorations
Platform 9 3/4 Entrance
The best way to start your party is to have your guests enter your home the same way they’d enter Platform 9 3/4! It was super easy to transform our front door into the magical brick wall from the train station. All you need is a plastic brick wall backdrop and Hogwarts Express 9 3/4 Platform poster. I found both of them on Amazon prime. The plastic brick wall backdrop is 30 feet wide, so you can also use the excess as a photo backdrop on a wall.
To set it up, I recommend using thumb tacks or gaffers tape. Depending on your surface, you’ll either want to pin or tape the items in place.
First, hang the brick wall backdrop from your door jam or the ceiling you want to use. If you’re not using a front door, I recommend using a hallway and taping/pinning the backdrop to the ceiling. Then, trim the backdrop where it hits the ground. Set aside the remaining backdrop for another area. Then, tape or pin the side in place. This will keep the brick wall in place when people walk through it. Then, using scissors, cut a slit through the center of the brick wall from the floor to the ceiling (make sure to leave a few inches at the top).
Finally, tape or tack the Hogwarts poster to the top of the door jam or wall. When your guests arrive, they can “walk through the platform” and into your party!
Aragog Spider Corner
Transform a corner of your party into the Forbidden Forrest and scare your guests with Aragog’s lair! For those who may have “obliviated” the scenes, Aragog is the giant spider raised by Hagrid who first appears in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
To create the scene, I hung black cloth from the corner of the ceiling and added a giant creepy cloth spider. Another great option is to use a spiderweb fireplace mantle drape and add a spooky spider.
Daily Prophet Walls
To transform our bar area into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, I printed out a bunch of daily prophet covers and plastered them on the walls. It’s definitely a money saving option for adding decorations to the party.
I googled “daily prophet” and then saved 5 cover different versions. I printed each of them out and then took them to a local shop to make copies. That way I didn’t have to waste a bunch of printer ink! I made 20 copies of each cover and then used scotch tape to arrange them on the walls. I mixed them up and hung them at different angles to make it look scattered.
Life Size Harry Potter Character Cut Outs
The life size character cutouts were definitely a highlight of the party! A friend of mine bought them for me and they made the entire party come to life.
There are a ton of character cutouts available on Amazon Prime. We had a trio of Harry, Ron & Hermione that were in the kitchen. Dumbledore in the great hall (bar area). Dobby by the fireplace. And Professor Snape lurking outside by the fire pit.
Moaning Myrtle Bathroom
My absolute FAVORITE part of the party decor was the Moaning Myrtle scene we set up in the bathroom. Moaning Myrtle is a Hogwarts ghost that haunts the girls’ bathrooms. She was killed by a Basilisk when the Chamber of Secrets was opened for the first time. One of my favorite scenes from Harry Potter is during the Triwizard Tournament. In order to solve the second task, the champions have to solve the mystery behind their golden eggs. Harry takes the egg into the bath, where Myrtle gives him hints to solve the riddle.
To set the scene, I blew up a bunch of blue balloons and filled the shower with them. If you have bath tub, just fill the entire bath with balloons and leave the shower curtain open. To light up the scene, I used a bunch of LED ice cubes in the bottom of the shower. I found a photo of Moaning Myrtle and printed it out, then cut her out and taped her on the wall behind the bubbles.
The best part of the scene was that we had Moaning Myrtle sound effects playing the bathroom all night.
Our bathroom fan has a built in bluetooth speaker that we used. But you can use any bluetooth speaker and set it up in a corner.
The tricky part was finding Moaning Myrtle audio to play. I found this Moaning Myrtle audio loop on YouTube. In order to play it on my speaker, I used a YouTube to MP3 converter. Basically it converts any YouTube video to an MP3 file so you can play it on iTunes and then repeat the audio.
As a finishing touch, I added a “This Way to the Ministry of Magic” decal to the toilet seat. Just for a funny surprise when people used the bathroom.
Great Hall Floating Candles
One of the most iconic scenes at Hogwarts is The Great Hall. It’s the main gathering area of the school and where everyone eats and meets! I always love the holiday scenes in Harry Potter because they sound so magical.
To recreate The Great Hall, I wanted to add floating candles to light up the room.
Here’s everything you’ll need to create magical floating candles
- LED Taper Candles (I used small and large ones)
- Fishing Line
- Thumb Tacks
- Batteries (be sure to check the sizes needed for the candles you order)
To create the scene, you’ll want to grab a ladder! I cut a piece of fishing line that was about 1 foot long. Then, unscrewed the top of the candle. You should be able to tie the fishing line onto the base of the candle and then screw the fake flame back on. This hides the string and allows you to hang them from the ceiling. You can tie a knot at the end of the fishing line and tack the hanging candle in place on the ceiling. I used a few different sized candles and spread them out to provide mood lighting.
If you have extra candles, I recommend using the small ones that come with suction cups on mirrors or windows. I added them throughout the house to add mood lighting.
Flying Fireplace Hogwarts Acceptance Letters
The envelope scene we created in our living room was definitely the biggest project we took on for the party. But it was also the biggest show stopper.
In order to recreate the scene where Harry’s Hogwarts acceptance letters fly through the Dursley’s fireplace, you’ll need the following items:
To create DIY Harry Potter’s Hogwarts acceptance letters, you’ll start by printing his address on the envelopes. After a ton of digging, I found the free font downloads here. For “Dear Mr Potter”, you’ll use THIS FONT. For the remainder of the text you’ll use THIS FONT.
Open Microsoft Word or whichever word processing program you use. Before starting, make sure your page is set up for the correct size envelope. If you’re not sure how to do this, create the document and bring it into your local print shop. You can copy and paste the text & update the fonts before printing.
The text on the envelope should read:
MR. H POTTER,
The Cupboard under the Stairs,
4 Privet Drive,
Little Whinging,
SURREY
To make the acceptance letters look even more authentic, I used red wax & a Hogwarts Wax Seal Stamp to close the envelopes. It’s pretty easy to do and everything you need comes in the kit I linked. You’ll put 2 red wax beads in the metal spoon. Then, hold it over the lit tea light candle until it’s melted, then, pour the wax on the envelope (at the point where the envelope closes) and then, press down on the wax with the seal. Hold for a few seconds and remove!
To make the envelopes look like they were magically flying out of the fireplace, I used twinkle lights. I strung the lights from the fireplace onto our chandelier. Then, taped the letters on. Depending on the size of your room, you could string the lights onto the ceiling or another high location. Once the party starts, you can turn the twinkle lights on for a magically lit up effect.
Have You Seen This Wizard Photo Booth
I love giving my friends photo options at my parties! I ordered this “Have You Seen This Witch” selfie frame and passed it around the party. It was a fun way to get everyone interacting and taking pictures!
To stabilize it, I recommend taping it to a piece of poster board or cardboard before cutting it out. To cut it out, I used an X-AXTO knife & a ruler.
DIY Hanging Dementor
Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them… Get too near a Dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you! Except at a party! Because adding a hanging dementor to your decor will be one of your guest’s favorite memories!
By far one of my favorite Harry Potter Party ideas. Scare your friends with this easy life sized hanging dementor, hovering over the party waiting for a kiss!
To make a DIY Dementor for your party:
First order this Kid’s Dementor Costume from Amazon.
When you get your order, save the packaging that comes in the box. I used the paper and air filled plastic to stuff the dementor. If it doesn’t come with any stuffing, you can use paper bags or fill a garbage bag with air and tie it off.
To create the hanging dementor, I started with a simple plastic clothes hanger. Wrap the hanger with packing materials and tape it in place. Then, hang the costume on the hanger. If you need more or less packing material to fill out the costume, you can take the costume on and off.
To create the dementor hands, I started with a long wooden stick. I had some s’mores sticks like these and they worked perfectly. For the fingers, I used smaller bamboo skewers cut in half.
To make the fingers, I took ripped up pieces of paper towels and wrapped them around the skewers to form knuckles/joints. Then, wrapped the skewers and paper towels in black gaffers tape. I made 8 fingers, 4 fingers per hand. Then, using the black gaffers tape, connected the hands to the long s’more sticks. Once the arms were built, I taped them to the sides of the coat hanger (basically where the shoulders would be).
For the head, I wrapped the hook of the coat hanger with packing materials and then placed the mask on top. To hold it in place, I used black gaffers tap on the back to connect the mask to the body of the costume.
To hang the dementor, I used the same fishing line from the floating candles. I cut small holes in the costume near the coat hanger and tied the fishing line to through the costume & the hanger. Then, hung the entire dementor to the ceiling.
Headwig Centerpiece
No Harry Potter party would be complete without Harry’s pet owl Hedwig! I created a centerpiece for our coffee table using a small stuffed snowy owl and decorative bird cage. To finish the coffee table decor, I added some cheesecloth, fake bones, flowers & candles.
Harry Potter Party Food & Drinks
Honeydukes Candy Jars
Recreate the sweet scene of Honeydukes with some fun candy jars! Instead of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans and Fizzing Whizzbees, fill the jars with your favorite candies and let your party guests snack on sweets all night long!
Chocolate Frogs
I had so much fun making my own chocolate frogs for the party! I bought these chocolate frog molds and filled them with chocolate and nutella!
To make them, pour a bag of chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 second intervals and stir until they’re melted. Then, spoon a small amount of chocolate into each fog mold, lightly coating the mold. Pop the mold into the freezer for about 5 minutes. Then, scoop a dollop of Nutella in and freeze for another 5 minutes. Finally, coat the bottom of the frog with another layer of melted chocolate to seal. Freeze for another 5 minutes before removing from the mold.
I bought one mold and made a few batches. In between batches and before the party, I kept them in the freezer so they wouldn’t melt. I found these plastic silver serving platters to serve the chocolate frogs and other food on.
Ferrero Rocher Golden Snitches
How cute are these golden snitches!? I ordered a box of Ferrero Rocher candies to make these fun candies. For the wings, I printed these wings out and cut them out with scissors. To put the wings on, you can remove the small sticker on top of the candies and tape the wings on with the same sticker.
Pumpkin Pasties
I remember reading about Pumpkin Pasties, when Harry ordered them on Hogwarts Express. To make an authentic pasty, you follow this recipe. I bought mini pumpkin pie bites at my local grocery store.
Sorting Hat Cupckes
For a fun surprise, turn normal cupcakes into sorting hats for your friends!
To make these cupcakes, I made regular Funfetti cupcakes. After they cooled, I used a small teaspoon to scoop out a piece of the cupcake. Then, fill the hole with a few colored M&Ms. I organized the M&Ms by color first and made sure that there was an equal distribution of cupcakes filled with house colors. Each Hogwarts house has a different color, so when your guests bite in, they’ll learn which house they were “sorted” into!
- Gryffindor: Red M&Ms
- Ravenclaw: Blue M&Ms
- Slytherin: Green M&Ms
- Hufflepuff: Yellow M&Ms
Holiday Feast Foods
In typical Hogwarts fashion, I set up a ton of over the top party snacks. To set the scene, I made a few cheese boards & charcuterie platters. I cut up a bunch of baguettes and put crackers out for the dips. Poured chips & snacks into small black cauldrons. Then used our leftover halloween decorations to decorate the table with plastic snakes, bones & candles!
Butterbeer & Butterbeer Shots
When I visited the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, I fell in love with Butterbeer! I knew I had to recreate the drink for my party and luckily it was super easy to make! Since my party was for the 21+ crowd, I took a cue from the “potions class” and made mine alcoholic.
I made Butterbeer Shots and poured them in small glass vials. The shots are 75% spiced rum and 25% butterscotch schnapps. The easiest way to make it:
- Pour about 3/4 of a shot of Spiced Rum into a shot glass
- Add a splash of Butterscotch Schnapps
- Pour about half of a shot into each vial
For a mixed drink, offer your guests cream soda. You can pour the shot into a glass and dilute it with some cream soda.
Magical Margaritas
One of my favorite things to do for any party is create a signature cocktail. Margaritas are a really easy drink to make in bulk. Not to mention most people love a good margarita! Whip up a batch of my magical margaritas and pour them into a large dispenser to make it easier for your guests to grab a drink on demand. I also found these really fun skeleton glasses for everyone to use! My easy bulk margarita recipe:
- 2 cups of tequila
- 1 cup of triple sec
- 3/4 cup of fresh lime juice
- 3 cups of ice
- lime wedges for garnish
Finishing Touches for a Magical Party
Scented Nimbus 2000s
I’m literally obsessed with Cinnamon Brooms! I grabbed a few of them and put them around the party. Not only did it make the house smell amazing, but they look like Quidditch broomsticks! You can even pick up some witches brooms to send home with all the witches and wizards who attended!
Candles
I’m a major candle collector. I love the mood they create in a dimly lit room. To create a kind of spooky, magical vibe in our house, I put a ton of candles around the house. Not only do they recreate the Harry Potter world really well, they add light to your party without being too bright or harsh. Flameless candles are also a great option, that way you can reuse them and not worry about starting any fires!
Cheese Cloth
If you checked out my Chic Halloween Decor blog post, you’ll know I use creepy black cloth, also known as cheese cloth, all over the house! it’s super easy to use indoors or outdoors. I use it for table runners, my coffee table decor, bookshelves, hanging on mirrors, doorways and much more! It adds a really cool, spooky look to any room!
Music
Music is KEY for any party theme. To set the mood for our Harry Potter Party, I played the Harry Potter Film Music collection. FYI if you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can play it for free! To play the soundtrack throughout the house and in our backyard, we use Chromecast Audio. Tony got these awesome outdoor speakers that look like rocks, they’re hidden in our backyard so we can play music when people are outside!
Shop Harry Potter Decorations & party favors
What to Wear to Your Harry Potter Party