How to Throw an Epic Harry Potter-Inspired Birthday Party

When you’re a kid, birthdays are magical. Friends and family come together to celebrate, there’s lots of yummy food, plenty of cake and gifts to boot. What better way to make a birthday even more enchanting than to give it a Harry Potter theme.

We chatted with Maria Diaco, of The Haut Maven, on how she turned her son’s request for a Harry Potter birthday party into so much more. On a recent Instagram post, Maria shared,

“When my 7-year-old finishes a Harry Potter book on his own instead of playing video games or being glued to a phone/iPad I am ecstatic. And these sorts of creative endeavors to help celebrate each year forward for them are my way of showing them what fun can come from your imagination.”

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A post shared by Maria Elizabeth (@mariamolino) on Oct 14, 2019 at 6:51pm PDT

Keep reading for tips on how to throw your own Harry Potter party, plus some amazing photos from Maria.

Harry Potter Party Foods

From cauldron cakes and chocolate frogs to pumpkin pasties and every flavor jelly beans, there’s no shortage of food in the wizarding world. Recreating some of these magical treats is as easy as a flick of the wand, er, mixing spoon. Here are some of our homemade favorites:

Harry’s 11th birthday cake: Take a page out of Hagrid’s book by icing a bright pink cake with “HAPPEE BIRTHDAE” in green lettering.
Treacle tart: Inspired by Harry’s favorite dessert, this lemon tart is a great option if your little wizard isn’t fond of cake.
Slytherin’s serpent sandwich: This snake-shaped sub sandwich is definitely preferable to the Chamber of Secrets’ hidden basilisk.

The magic doesn’t end there. Check out more Harry Potter-inspired recipes.

harry potter snack shelf

Since we don’t have house elves to help pull off a party, semi-homemade or store-bought treats are a great way to cut down on prep time.

Honeydukes display: Emulate the shelves at Honeydukes sweet shop by rounding up Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, Exploding Bon Bons and Acid Pops.
Flying brooms: Take pretzel sticks to new heights by tying green shoestring licorice pieces around one end with a piece of black shoestring licorice.
Aragog cupcakes: Turn store-bought chocolate cupcakes into Hagrid’s giant spider by rolling them in chocolate sprinkles, sticking on mini M&Ms for eyes and black licorice pieces as legs.

Harry Potter Party Drinks

two children in harry potter outfits waiting in line for butter beer floats

Don’t leave your little witches and wizards parched! Stir up a cauldron or two of pumpkin juice, gillywater or any of these other beverages:

Butterbeer: Is it even a Harry Potter party without some butterbeer? Maria topped cream soda with homemade whipped cream in an adorable butterbeer stand.
Polyjuice potion: Though it won’t actually change your appearance, this witchy punch will still be a hit.
Gigglewater: Wrap an ordinary water bottle with a themed label for the laughter-inducing beverage.

Want more options? Here are some more magical kid-friendly beverages.

Harry Potter Decorations

Harry Potter Decorations demoentors

Whether you hang up a few Azkaban Wanted posters or recreate the entire Yule Ball, there are a ton of options for turning your home into Hogwarts (or Hogsmeade, or Diagon Alley or the Burrow!).

Dementor swarm: Repurpose a grim reaper Halloween decoration or costume into a haunting dementor, like Maria did. Just make sure there’s plenty of chocolate around to ward off its effects.
The Great Hall: Transform your dining room table (or a few kiddie tables) into the Great Hall by draping it in a black tablecloth, setting it with plastic goblets and hanging floating candles.
Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom: Yes, even your bathroom can be Harry Potter-fied. Wrap a few faux snakes around your bathroom sink to indicate the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, hang a picture of Moaning Myrtle and write “The Chamber of Secrets has been opened, enemies of the heir beware” on the mirror with red lipstick or chalk markers.
Snape’s potions: Rather than serving your beverages in punch bowls, turn to a cauldron straight from Snape’s classroom.

Harry Potter Goodies

Harry Potter Goodies owls

Let your guests bring a little party magic home with some goodies. While you probably can’t gift a complete set of Harry Potter books to each kid, these goodie ideas will still do the trick:

Hogwarts’ Owlery: Inspired by Maria’s goodies, gift each attendee their very own Hedwig, Pigwidgeon or Errol with these mini plush owls. You can even tie a small thank you note to their wings!
Magical goodie bags: Fill a classic goodie bag with some uniquely Harry Potter treats. This set includes glasses, temporary tattoos, broom-shaped pens and a wand for each kiddo.
Honeydukes gumdrops: Go homemade by gifting our Quick & Easy Gumdrops. Add a Dumbledore touch by wrapping the candy in these moon and star bags.

Harry Potter Party Extras

man dressed like hagrrid from harry potter

Take your Potter party to the next level with some spellbinding touches. In addition to encouraging guests to dress up as their favorite character or other Potter gear, here’s how to make your home feel like Hogwarts:

Hogwarts letters: Send your very own Hogwarts letters as party invites. You can either pick up a set of envelopes, string, seals and glue dots or write or print your own.
Sorting hat cupcakes: Sort partygoers into Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, in the most delicious way. Color the icing filling of these coconut cupcakes with red, green, yellow and blue food dye. When each kid takes a bite they will be “sorted” into their corresponding house.
A Potter playlist: You can’t book The Weird Sisters for your party but you can play the iconic Harry Potter movies’ scores. We compiled all eight movie scores here, so all you have to do is press play!

Make a Harry Potter party all your own by utilizing some of our favorite Harry Potter-inspired kitchen gear or making your little one’s favorite wizarding treats.

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