There has never before been a book series that has defined love, loyalty, bravery, kindness and friendship more than the Harry Potter books, in my opinion. I became mesmerized and enchanted by J.K. Rowlings' words in print, and completely transfixed once they were turned into movies. I'm thrilled that my son is equally obsessed with the book series, and was ecstatic to throw a tween book club party based upon my favorite parts of the books. So, fire up your Nimbus 2000, dust off your school robes and polish your wands because we're going back to school...Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that is!
Hogwarts Or Bust
After entering this party space, one feels as though they've instantly been transported to Hogwarts Castle. Book pages appear to fly across the wall from a book sitting on a vintage trunk, and look positively magical thanks to the addition of gold glitter stars interspersed here and there. A few glue dots secured them all to the wall perfectly.
By far one of the most iconic images of Hogwarts is that of the floating candles in the Great Hall. To achieve a similar look for our party, we strung white taper candles from dowel rods suspended from the ceiling. We used fishing line tightly tied around their wicks to make the candles hover over our dining table. One could almost imagine them lighting up the room once they were lit.
We brought the candles down to the tabletop as well by adding a gold spray-painted silver candelabra, which served as our centerpiece perched on top of the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince book. Various brass candlesticks rented from Coral Lane Specialty Event Rentals were also added to the center of the table to balance out the look.
The Quidditch hoops, created from small embroidery hoops and attached to dowel rods, sat inside glass milk bottles that were painted black and gold, then given a distressed look to appear as if they were antique.
We wanted to have the feeling as though our guests were just stepping into Hogwarts castle fresh off the Hogwarts Express, so luggage, also from Coral Lane Specialty Event Rentals, was piled on either side of our black antique dresser.
A pennant that read "Hogwarts or bust", created from felt and gold confetti stars, was attached to one of the suitcases using glue dots, providing a touch of whimsy. A diamond cut pedestal dish, that was spray-painted black, held bright white hydrangeas and sat atop two Harry Potter books. Perched beside the dish was a decorated owl squirt and gold-flecked mercury glass votive holders. Additional brass candlesticks from Coral Lane Specialty Event Rentals rounded out the look.
Although we didn't have a Sorcerer's Stone to protect, we couldn't resist adding some winged keys to our party. They appeared to flit through the air thanks to their vellum wings, which were attached using a bit of hot glue. The wings were then attached to fishing line and hung from a medium embroidery hoop. You can find the free template for the wings here.
One of my all-time favorite quotes from the book series comes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. In order to reveal all of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on the map, one must speak the password, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good". This quote perfectly sums up the mischievousness of Harry's tween years, and was painted onto Kraft paper then hung on the wall using glue dots.
We created a Harry Potter Party Banner to represent each of the Hogwarts houses. The colors really popped once the banner was hung in front of our black dresser.
Harry Potter's owl, Hedwig, had her own special perch inside a birdcage that we painted gold, and sat atop the dresser.
I would be remiss not to mention the Golden Snitch Piñata, which hung on the opposite side of our dessert dresser over the gorgeous antique trunk and candle holders from Coral Lane Specialty Event Rentals.
The Golden Snitch Piñata flew over another DIY Quidditch hoop, which was created using a medium-sized embroidery hoop. Another diamond cut pedestal dish held more hydrangeas and sat next to an embellished owl squirt and the open book of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. We thought it would be fun to make it look as though the pages were flying out.
The Great Hall
To further the feel of one dining in the Great Hall of Hogwarts Castle, we cut "windows" from lightweight wood and painted them black, then hung them from fishing line on our curtain rod. These windows could also be made out of foam core boards painted black. A gold glitter star garland was woven around them for a magical touch.
Book pages and various Harry Potter hardback books lined our dining table on top of a black table runner.
Gold-flecked mercury glass votives added to the table's decor, along with a few additional dressed up owl squirts. To achieve their antiqued look, they were first painted white. Gold foil leaf was then added with Mod Podge®.
Sit For A Spell
Our table was perfectly set for witches and wizards of all ages. We layered Harry Potter dessert plates on top of black and gold dinner plates to elevate the look of each place setting.
We flanked the plates with premium gold metallic cutlery and Harry Potter lunch napkins. Each place setting received either a Harry Potter wand or Hermione wand.
So that each guest was sure to receive his or her post (AKA mail) while away at school, a personalized owl squirt sat in front of place setting. Names were printed onto Kraft paper then hot glued onto a bamboo skewer.
Combining clear hair gel with gold glitter created Felix Felicis, also known as "Liquid Luck". It was then added to a glass bottle charm and placed within reach for those who were in need of a jolt of extra confidence.
Butterbeer, or in our case cream soda topped with whipped cream and gold star sprinkles, was served in vintage amber glasses that we rented from Coral Lane. Tying a bit of dried raffia onto bamboo skewers using black and gold baker's twine created adorable broomstick drink stirrers.
Honeyduke's Sweets and Such
Another of my favorite Harry Potter quotes comes from The Deathly Hallows, in which Professor Snape professes his love for Lily, Harry Potter's mother, in replying "Always" to Dumbledore's asking of him "After all this time?". I found the acrylic topper on Etsy and it was the perfect addition to our naked cake.
You can't host a Harry Potter themed party without serving Chocolate Frogs. Ours sat atop their witch and wizard's cards.
Golden Snitch Topped Butterbeer Cupcakes looked right at home served inside black candy buckets, which reminded me of cauldrons.
Assorted craft bottles were filled with "potions" and sat atop a gold tray in the center of our antique dresser.
Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans were transferred to mini plastic candy containers.
Harry Potter In Training
Each guest received his or her own mini Hogwarts's house "scarf", which was created from felt, then wrapped around a mini Kraft paper popcorn box.
Tucked inside each of the boxes was a pair of Harry Potter wizard glasses, a printed list of spells wrapped with baker's twine, a lightning bolt tattoo and a bit of their very own Gringott's gold.
I hope you've enjoyed our magical journey to Hogwarts and feel inspired to host your own Harry Potter Tween Book Club Party! Be sure to check out the DIY for the Golden Snitch Piñata, the Harry Potter Party Bunting tutorial and the delicious Golden Snitch Topped Butterbeer Cupcakes!
No muggles were harmed in the making of this party.
Photography: Moments by Maredith
