DIY Harry Potter Birthday Ideas Your Wizard Will Love

I love birthdays! If only my imagination, budget, and schedule could create the birthday parties I envision. Scour the internet and you will find enough ideas for games, decoration, and food to create 20 Harry Potter birthday parties. Some amazing parents spend weeks crafting decorations and hundreds of dollars on food and goodie bags. I wanted a magical birthday party for my son, but I also needed to stay in budget and finish in a reasonable amount of time. I searched online and collected these Awesome DIY Harry Potter Birthday Party Ideas for a birthday party my little wizard loved!

DIY Harry Potter Birthday Party Ideas Your Wizard Will Love

Harry Potter Birthday Invitations

You can print the most elaborate, lovely invitations for your Harry Potter birthday party. Any other month besides December, I might have considered staining and weathering my paper, but I simply went with white. I found this invitation template and adjusted it for my son’s birthday. Here’s a link to my adapted Harry Potter Birthday Invitation Template. I also purchased some inexpensive generic invites so that the info for the party would be easy to find later on, especially if the invitee wanted to keep their Hogwarts letter. I also made wax seals out of playdough, Modge Podge, and a penny but I’d recommend going with this tutorial and finding red molding clay.

Harry Party Birthday Decorations

1. Platform 9 3/4 Entrance. This one is so easy! Just print this Platform 9 3/4 sign from One Creative Mommy and tape to your door.
2. Spiders. Leave a trail of spiders to spook your HP loving guests, just like the one that led away from the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets.
3. Message on the Mirror. Take red lipstick and write “The Chamber of Secrets has been opened…Enemies of the heir beware.”
4. Table Decor. You can buy Harry Potter or generic wizard themed table decor, but it’s pricey. I’ve found that my kids really care the least about what’s on the paper plates at their party. I found a silver table cloth, plates, cups, and napkins to create “The Great Hall.” I intended to hang lovely homemade candles from the ceiling, but simply didn’t have the time. The kids actually loved the little tea light candles surrounding the cake. Items You will Need:
   • Print and hang this free printable The Great Hall sign from Dirt & Sunshine.
   • Table Cloth, Cups, Plates, and Napkins in silver.
   • Pretend Candle Tea lights. If you want to create the hanging candles, here is a cool tutorial.
5. Bathroom Decor. The bathroom is not usually a place to decorate at parties, but this is Harry Potter. If you plan ahead, you can purchase an awesome “Ministry of Magic This Way” vinyl sign or just print one last minute like I did and tape it to your toilet seat cover. It’s also fun to find a photo of Moaning Myrtle and mess with the ghost options in PicMonkey, then print it and tape on the mirror. I loved seeing the kids reactions! Things you will Need:
   • This Ministry of Magic vinyl sign or this printed sign.
   • Tape.
   • This photo of Moaning Myrtle, trimmed to eliminate white.
   • Pic Monkey.
   • Scissors.
6. Activities. The rest of the decor is associated with the activity stations described below.

Harry Potter Birthday Activities

1. Wands at Ollivanders. There are numerous clever and fun ideas for crafting wands at your party. I decided to create an Ollivander’s “store” with different styles of wands to be purchased, then customized. The wands were pretzel rods and customization came from caramel apple wrap and melted chocolate. To set up Ollivanders, I used:
   • This Ollivanders free printable sign from Dirt & Sunshine.
   • Print, cut, and display this Harry Potter quote from Tattered and Inked.
   • Print, cut, and display these wand descriptions from Tattered and Inked next to your pretzel rods.
   • Pretzel Rods.
   • Caramel Apple Wraps cut into strips.
   • Candy Melts in brown and black.
   • Sprinkles (optional).
   • Parchment Paper to protect the table.
   • To make: Select your wand type, stretch your caramel, wrap it around the wand to create character, then dip in chocolate color of choice. Add sprinkles, if desired, and let dry.
2. Visit the Sorting Hat. I purchased a fun Sorting Hat to help determine each child’s house. If your guests are old enough to have patience with everyone taking an online sorting quiz, you can easily find your favorite. I decided to use this fun Harry Potter Oragami Sorting Hat from One She Two She. People kept getting sorted into the columns that told them to try again or that they were squibs, so we eventually just told them they belonged to the house closest to the opened slot. This was quick and allowed everyone to gather around and see the results –  just like they do at Hogwarts. To create a Sorting Hat Station, you will need:
   • Print, cut, and hang these House Banners.
   • A Sorting Hat.
   • 1 to 3 printed and folded Harry Potter Oragami Sorting Hats.
   • Table.
   • Two Chairs.
3. Visit Madam Malkin’s. I found fun Harry Potter glasses to give to each guest and bought some Halloween make-up for $1 at the Dollar Tree to draw scars. This was a fun and easy station! You’ll Need:
   • This free printable Madam Malkin’s sign from Dirt & Sunshine.
   • These Harry Potter glasses.
   • Face Paint Crayon in black.
4. Play the Harry Potter Would You Rather Game. This is another awesome free printable from One She Two She. I printed out one copy, cut them out, and had the guests sit in a circle. I then asked them each a question in turn and other guests could help explain terms for HP novices. This was fun, brought tons of laughs, and didn’t ask anything embarrassing or uncomfortable. You’ll Need:
   • A large area to sit in a circle.
   • The Harry Potter Would You Rather Game. Print out or save a tree and ask questions from a laptop or tablet.
5. Play a Mini Quidditch Game. I found this fun Mini Quidditch Game at Farm to Fete. Putting it together was rather easy and fun. I will say that this size of ring is too challenging for younger kids. If I did this game in the future, I would choose larger sized rings, and/or lower the poles and maybe even select larger cups or buckets. This game was a huge hit, despite the challenges, and kids lined up for multiple turns! If you can manage it, I would recommend creating two for a larger party. For each Quidditch goal, you’ll need:
   • This free printable Quidditch Field Sign from Dirt & Sunshine.
   • 3 Embroidery Hoops.
   • 3 Dowel Rods, trimmed to preferred size.
   • 3 Plastic Bottles, spray painted gold
   • Pack of Ping Pong Balls (We used practice plastic golf balls because that was all that was available locally).
   • Pack of Solo Cups.
   • Permanent Marker to write point values on cups.
   • Gold Spray Paint.
   • Drill.
   • Sand or Beans to fill bottles and make them heavy.
   • Visit Farm to Fete for full instructions.

Harry Potter Birthday Foods

People spend outrageous amounts of money and time on Harry Potter foods at parties and I admire their dedication. While foods are cool, they don’t really keep kids engaged that long. We narrowed our food down to homemade Butterbeer, cake, edible wands, and fun party favors.

1. Butterbeer. My husband found this delicious Butterbeer recipe at Babble. The homemade sauce is worth it – make extra to top on ice cream post party! Definitely mix the sauce and ice cream together first, then add ginger ale for a better taste than straight club soda.
2. Cake. I have spent so many years attempting to make elaborate cakes. This year, I went with a Harry Potter edible cake topper and my son loved it.
3. A Visit to Honeydukes. I searched for Harry Potter treat bags and party favors and they seemed way overpriced. I found this adorable Harry Potter Chocolate Molds Kit and knew it was just what I needed. The kit comes with 5 Molds, 100 Sticks, 100 Bags, and 50 Ties. The chocolates were super easy to make and set in a fast amount of time. My son enjoyed helping me make them as well. At the end of the party, each guest visited Honeydukes and selected a treat bag to bring home. To make your own Honeydukes, you’ll need:
   • Cut out the sign from this Honeydukes printable, courtesy of Jonesing 2 Create.
   • String or ribbon to hang the sign.
   • Harry Potter Chocolate Molds Kit.
   • Candy Melts in green, blue, white, red, and brown (or whichever colors you prefer).
   • Print this Honeydukes label on white or clear labels.

There are so many amazing things you can do to create your own unique Harry Potter Birthday party. I am learning that my kids don’t need the fanciest, most expensive, or most elaborate decorations or food to have a fun, memorable birthday. I suggest picking a few things that matter the most for your party and letting the rest be flexible extras if there is time or money left over.

What is your favorite Harry Potter book, food, character, or party idea?

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