Harry Potter Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Birthday Party

I set the party up so that the kids would feel like they were actually attending Hogwarts. We started with the sorting hat, and put each child into a school. Depending on how many kids attend, and how many activities you have planned, you can split the kids into manageable groups. Three or four kids for each group are perfect. You can make badges for each school, of scarves out of strips of colored fleece, so the kids will know which group they belong to. It's also a good idea to supply each child with a school bag to keep their projects in. A simple shopping bag will do the trick.

Then you send them to classes. Classes like Herbology, Astronomy and Astrology, Potions, and Secret Messages for example. I've described a few of them below. None of the projects are too difficult, and all take about 20 minutes to complete. Set a timer to keep track, and when the bell rings, the kids can rotate to the next class. It's good to have them in different areas of the house or yard. Let them have a few minutes to shift, get settled, and then start the timer again.

At the end of the school, the kids will be HUNGRY. I purposely chose to have the party in the late afternoon so that I could serve them dinner. You can just chose to make it a cake and ice cream party if you wish. Have fun with the food. We made snake sandwich, bat wings, and broom sticks. Of course, the cake was pumpkin spice, in the shape of Hogwarts School, but you can just as easily buy a cake and have it decorated.

After the food was eaten, I took the party over top. We cleared a space on the living room floor, lit a fire in the fireplace, lit candles, turned out the lights, and had a storyteller tell the party goers spooky stories. She is our local children's librarian, and I convinced her to give it a try. She had lots of fun, and the kids loved hearing stories by the fire. It was a great way to end the party.

Instead of a storyteller, you can hire a magician to entertain the kids. Better yet, learn a few slight of hand tricks, teach the kids to make their own magic. Your party will be remembered for years to come.

You will need help to make the Harry Potter Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft School Party work

I asked a few mom friends of mine to act as "teachers" in the Hogwarts School. In exchange, I promised I would help with their parties... whatever they needed. It worked well. I set everything, prepared all the supplies, and instructed the teachers so they would know what to do. (and all I had to do was help wrangle a few parties later in the year).

Older teenage siblings can be paid to help, or your regular babysitter can be brought in to help wrangle kids.

Have all of your supplies ready to go. Make everything fool proof. You don't want to be looking for construction paper or lemons while the kids are waiting. Have those who are helping you run through their lesson plan.

Potions Class is gloopy and messy, perfect for kids. The guests will be making Slime, which is easy to make, and fun to play with.

Supplies needed-
-Borax ( the 20 Mule team stuff you find in the laundry section of the store) - teaspoon
-white glue like Elmers - 1/2 cup
-food coloring (optional) -few drops
- and water -1 1/2 cup (by the way... if you use Tonic Water... the slime will GLOW IN THE DARK!)

A few bowls to mix the ingredients. And plastic baggies or disposable storage containers to take the Slime home. Sharpie marker for labeling.

Mix 1 teaspoon of Borax in 1 cup water, and stir until the Borax is dissolved. In another bowl, mix half a cup of glue with half a cup of water. If you want to change the color from white, add some food coloring. Let the kids chose.

Once the Borax solution has dissolved, and the glue solution is diluted, you pour one solution into the other. Stir immediately. The slime should start to form right away. Mix it up as much as you can, it will get difficult. Pull the slime solution out of the bowl. Some colored water may be left behind.

You can now use with your slime. It will get stiffer as you work with it. Mold it, stretch it, play with it. JUST DON'T EAT IT! Also, be warned that it may leave stains on certain surfaces. Store it in a sealed baggie or container.

Herbology Class is best done outside, or at a table covered with newspaper.

You will need a small pot or two for each party goer, soil to fill the pots,labels and a sharpie marker, and small vegetable seedlings such as bean or pea plants. Maybe some seeds.

For the class, have each child fill a small pot with soil, and plant a vegetable seedling. Don't forget to have them label the pot. Weave a tale about the plants if you want. Make the beans magical. Add a bit of water.

If you want to do more, have the kids plant a second seedling or some seeds.

Ok, so I've mixed Astronomy and Astrology, you can take them back apart, or teach the class how you want to, but this is what I did.

Supplies needed- Star Chart or book, astrology chart, blue or black colored paper, star stickers (glow in the dark ones are great), pens

For this class the kids will make a chart of their astrological sign. Let them look up their astrological sign according to their birthday. Then look up the stars that are associated with the astrological sign. When they found their constellation, they can recreate the star pattern on the colored paper with star stickers. You can have them draw the astrological sign by drawing lines between the stars. For older kids, maybe have them label the stars.

Secret Message Class teaches the kids how to write in Invisible Ink.

Supplies needed- White paper, Lemon juice, paint brush, lit candle or warm stove.

This is a simple project with the added allure for kids of using fire or heat to make it work. Have the kids write a message on the white paper using a paint brush dipped in to lemon juice. They won't be able to see much at this point. When they've written the message, the fun starts. For older kids, hold the paper over the flame, close enough to heat up the paper, but not so close you set it on fire. Letters should begin to appear. If the kids are younger, or you feel unsafe letting them play with fire, you can put the papers into a warm oven, around 250 degrees for a few minutes. Watch until the letters appear.

Added bonus, the heat makes the paper brown and look old.