Anyone who knows me personally can tell you that I’m a theme party fanatic! I love getting dressed up and creating an atmosphere that people will have fun in and remember. I was absolutely thrilled when I found out my friend (and Potter Fan), Shannon was pregnant. Not only is she the first in my immediate friend group to have a little wizard on her hands but, she was totally on board when I suggested having a Harry Potter themed baby shower! With this in mind, I set out to create a few Easy and Unique Harry Potter Party Ideas. Let’s start with the invitations and work our way through the whole party!

For any party, invitations set the tone so, you could imagine the excitement upon finding these London to Hogwarts train ticket invites on Etsy! Once they were customized to my details, they were printed at Staples. To save on costs, I printed them on a large piece of paper and cut them out. Kraft envelopes and a handwritten ‘Owl Post – Deliver to:__________’ made up the packaging.

To continue with the train theme, I had a faux brick wall displayed on my front door to represent Platform 9 3/4. I found a Brick Wall Party Backdrop online but, due to my limited timeline ended up making one using a red plastic tablecloth and masking tape. It turned out great, was super easy,  and is an essential for any HP party!

Next up is the interior. Since I keep the walls in my house fairly sparse I couldn’t resist purchasing a Stone Wall Room Roll. It added an extra Hogwarts feel that couldn’t have been accomplished any other way. Not expecting much, the quality of the back drop ended up being a pleasant surprise. Set up and takedown was easy (used green painters tape), and its now safely stored away for my next party!

I created the Hogwarts House banners by printing out the corresponding patterns and crests and taping them to a string. The banner was inexpensive to create and definitely beat purchasing them here.

My favourite addition to the party was the ‘Owl Post Deliveries.’ I used an open vintage suitcase as the drop off for gifts and cards. I printed out a few Hogwarts themed flyers and themed newspaper covers that were wrapped in old newspaper bundles to display inside. I wrapped up gifts using Kraft paper and twine and attached an Owl Post Parcel Declaration Form. As an activity for the shower we decorated baby onesies. To display the markers and onesies neatly, I also put them in the suitcase.

When it came to food, I kept it relatively simple. For starters, I decorated a chocolate cake with pink and green icing to resemble the birthday cake Hagrid gifts Harry at the beginning of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. I customized it with the name of the baby, Lincoln. We also used the hashtag #YoureAWizardLincoln to document the party.

For other themed snacks, I hot glued pieces of white paper to Ferrero Rocher chocolates to resemble snitches. I also bought Jelly Beans and Sour Gummy Worms to resemble Bertie Bott’s and Jelly Slugs. A friend of mine kindly brought homemade Liquroice Wands as well! They were made by dipping red and black liquorice in white and milk chocolate and covering them in sprinkles! What I loved most about the themed food was that everything was affordable and easy to put together. Having the food taken care of made it a lot easier to focus on other elements of the party!

My vision was to have the snacks table resemble the Hogwarts dining hall. To achieve the look, I purchased battery operated tea lights from the dollar store and hung them using clear string and tape.  I also added a bit of my stone backdrop behind and mounted a mini broom. To create the ‘BABY’ garland I printed off the letters using this text generator and painted them using the Hogwarts house colours.

Continuing on, one of my other favourite party decorations was the Fat Lady! She is a portrait that guards the Gryffindor Corridor and will only let students pass through if they’ve given her the correct password. I hung her portrait up on our bedroom door and wrote the wifi username and password below because everyone always asks when they come over! I definetly plan on keeping it up for awhile.

One thing I had forgotten was to get a wand for my costume! Thankfully, the night before the party I came across a pair of chopsticks in my utensil drawer. I ended up using hot glue to create the design and painting over it with brown acrylic paint. I can honestly say, my adult friends were obsessed with the idea! I caught a few of them (more than once) casting spells on one another. Specifically, Wingardium Leviosa!

When I first started party planning I knew I had to include a photo booth which, is how the idea of using ‘Wanted’ posters came to be. I printed 40 black and white posters and hung them on my bookshelf in my living room. Black Foam Board with letters printed using a font generator created a quick and simple photo prop!

It was so special to have guests dress in character and snap a photo or two. It really added to the experience and was something unique!

And that, my muggle friends is how you throw one magical Harry Potter Party! Overall, everything was simple, affordable and unique. I’m already getting excited for our next party! Comment below your best themed party ideas!

“I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.”