Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!

Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to celebrate Madi's birthday!

My daughter wanted a Harry Potter themed birthday party. I love throwing themed parties. She loves all the little details. I honestly think most of her friends don't care, but I love doing it nonetheless. Here are some pics of the decorations and such.

Invitations by Owl (I've blocked out identifying information, those marks aren't on the paper)

Front of the Owl, plus Hogwarts Express ticket to put inside

Final product, complete with "owl" feather

 Balloons decorated as owls and taped to the back of the invite. Drop them on the recipient's porch, ding-dong and ditch!!!

Here are some of the decorations I made for the party. I made everything except where noted.

I used two wooden plaques from the craft store, painted and glued together, then hung from hardware on a lantern hanger.

Another craft plaque, painted and hung.

 Vintage trunks from the attic, a hat box, books, and a stuffed owl in a cage. 

Sorting hat (purchased) and Gryffindor wooden banner I painted.

Plastic craft mask, painted with silver gilding and decorated to look like Bellatrix Lestrange's Death Eater mask (I dressed up as her for the party)

Another shot of the trunks

An old sheet, taped and spray painted to look like bricks. This covers the front door and the kids run through the "wall" into the party.

The front walkway

Book of Monsters I made. I LOVE how the eyes came out, but I cut the furry fabric prematurely and didn't keep a little extra around the edges.

Front entrance table is the potions classroom. I have Polyjuice potion, Amortentia, and Felix Felices. The pitcher was a thrift store find, and looked very potion-y to me :)

We generously gave away invisibility cloaks to our guests.

I must not tell lies, this is one of my favorite touches. It's supposed to remind you of the scene from Order of the Phoenix where Harry writes with Professor Umbridge's "special" quill. I even put her tea cup out, next to the lines Harry had to write.

Paper mache patronus, and a dementor. I used scrap fabric, wooden dowel, and a foam ball to make the dementor. The dementor didn't turn out as good as I'd hoped, but the kids liked it.

Wooden owls I painted. They were pre-cut in the wood aisle at the craft store.

I had a whole area set up as HoneyDukes. I made signs for all the candies - Fever Fudge, Jelly Slugs, etc.

The birthday girl's cake, just like Hagrid used to make.

A Gryffindor banner made from twine and cardstock.

Close-up of the patronus. 

This is a permanent fixture in the laundry room, but it worked nicely with the decor!

 I made my own parchment using cardstock and tea. I brewed a really strong tea, put it in a spray bottle, and sprayed the cardstock. I dried it in the sun, giving it a parchment-like texture and color. I used cinnamon tea, and it had a nice cinnamon scent when I first made it, but it wore off before the party :(  The paper will curl, so place it under something heavy to flatten it out. 

I used one sheet of parchment to write "Ministry of Magic This Way" and stuck it to the toilet tank with an arrow pointing to the toilet bowl. The kids who really know their Potter know that you can flush in to the Ministry and thought it was funny. I also taped a pic of Moaning Myrtle to the mirror in the bathroom.  

Please leave your comments or questions, I'd love to hear from you!