Harry Potter Birthday Party: Invitations and Costumes

As a family of Harry Potter addicts, it was inevitable that we would throw an epic Hogwarts Party for Katie on her 11th birthday. Her big sisters have been pinning party ideas for over a year. And every time we discussed the party, the plans got more elaborate and grandiose. It was like a massive runaway train... the Hogwarts Express. While Katie's siblings have been talking about this for six months, the real party preparations started about a month ago. The fun part about all of this is that it really was a family affair. And it gave my teenagers a fun and productive way to spend their free time this summer. 

Now that our wildly successful party is in the history books, I have broken down my party posts into several categories: 

Invitations and Costumes

The Guests Arrive

Diagon Alley

Sorting Ceremony

Potions

Divination

Finding the Snitch

Quidditch

Honeydukes and Flu Powder

I will posting about the party over the next few weeks. I am so grateful for all the Pinterest and blog ideas that I found on the Internet to help us get ready for this fun event. I think we had a few original ideas that will add to the Harry Potter party lexicon. I hope that our ideas will also be an inspiration for others. 

Meanwhile, I have all my Harry Potter supplies in a huge box in the attic. I am already planning on holding a Hogwarts Party for each of my grandchildren when they turn 11. Won't that be a fun tradition?!!

About a week before they event, we delivered these simple invitations. I simply printed them on some really pretty paper that I found at an office supply store. We asked all the guests to come dressed in a white shirt and wizard robes (if they had any.) This was so that all the guests would look great in the house ties that I had made for each of them.  We also asked the guests to bring their own brooms. This was for our game of Quidditch. (Only half of the guests brought a broom, however. So we revised our Quidditch rules a little bit.) 

The rest of our family also got in the act by dressing up in appropriate costumes. 

This is Mad-Eye Moody and Harry Potter. 

My husband and I are Hagrid and Madame Hooch. 

Here are Bellatrix LeStrange and Albus Dumbledore. 

Sybil Trelawny and Ginny Weasley also made an appearance. 

Here the birthday girl waits for her guests to arrive. Finally, the moment we had been waiting for was here!