HOLIDAYS
HOLIDAYS
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince couldn't have come sooner! After the HP producers angered HP fans nationwide by pushing the release date from November 2008 to July 15, 2009, the wait is finally over!
As fans know, this book was just as shocking and heart-wrenching as Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix...for reasons we won't reveal. The book/movie focuses on Dumbledore training Harry to eventually fight He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named (AKA Lord Voldemort), so you know it'll be full of excitement!
Throw a party the weekend before the movie release. Since Harry Potter fans come in all ages, we've included party fun for both adults and kids.
Beware: Spoilers may be hinted at. We are not responsible for spoiling the movie for you if you haven't already read the 6th book.
In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the students learn that Amortentia is the strongest love potion in the universe. It causes a powerful infatuation or obsession in the drinker.
Drink recipe via DrinkMixer.com.
Ingredients
- 1 Oz Absolut® Vodka
- 1 Oz Amaretto Almond Liqueur
- 1 Oz Peach Schnapps
- 1 Oz Orange Juice
- 1 Oz Cranberry Juice
- Many Ice Cubes
Steps
- Pour ingredients into a shaker with ice, shake and serve on the rocks.
Here are a couple of ways to spread the word about your party without having to use owlpost.- Use Celebration.com's Plan Your Party tool to send invitations to your friends. You can even include a picture of the movie poster.
- Send out these Rustic Owl invitations to imitate the way the wizarding world sends out their information.
More Fantastical Parties
Throw a Theme Party!
Plan your party with the best-looking invitations on the web!
Wizarding Rock (Wrock) is rock/pop/hip-hop/techno music inspired by Harry Potter and his magical world. If you're new to the wrock scene, here's a list of bands that you need to know:
Check out a Wizard Rock website, where you can find user playlists for more inspiration.
- Harry and the Potters are an indie group and the pioneers of wizard rock. Their upbeat hits include "Voldemort Can't Stop The Rock," "Save Ginny Weasley" and "Human Hosepipe".
- Draco and the Malfoys are another group that was created to rival Harry and the Potters. Their more angst-y hits include "My Dad Is Rich," "Your Family Is Poor" and "Slytherin Pride."
- The Remus Lupins were inspired by one of the original Mauraders, and everyone's favorite werewolf, Remus. Their hits include "Looking For Trouble," "Loosen Your Tie" and "Remember Cedric" (AKA Cedric Diggery who was killed in the Tri-Wizard Tournament-we hear he turned into a vampire by the name of Edward).
- The Moaning Myrtles are an all-girl group inspired by Moaning Myrtle herself, the ghost who haunts the prefects' bathroom. Their hits include "And Then I Died" and "Prefects are Hot."
- The Parselmouths are an all-girl folk/techno group whose name is inspired by the rare magical ability to speak to snakes. Their hits include "Voldemort Fangirl" and "Ask Me To The Yule Ball."
- Ministry of Magic, a group of five guys who are fans of the Magical entity, work to keep peace in the Wizarding World. Check out their pop hits "Snape vs Snape" and "Accio Love" (Accio being the spell for making things come to you).
Check out a Wizard Rock website, where you can find user playlists for more inspiration.
Included are a tasty array of Muggle and Wizard drinks.
Muggle-Friendly Drinks
- Butterbeer is an absolutely necessary drink for your Harry Potter party because it's the kids' drink of choice whenever they go to the Three Broom Sticks.
- Madam Rosmerta's Finest Oak Matured Mead is one of Dumbledore's drinks of choice. Mead is typically an alcoholic beverage made of honey and water through fermentation. The variation on the alcoholic strength ranges from a mild ale to wine.
Check out this Mead recipe, great for those new to Mead. It can be a little pricey to make, so if you may not have the resources, consider buying mead instead.
Wizard Potions
Elixir to Induce Euphoria
Harry makes this potion in the 6th book to trick Professor Slughorn.
- What it is: A sunshine-yellow potion that creates a sense of great euphoria within the drinker
- What to drink: Honey Lemonade
Felix Felicis
Harry wins a little vial of Felix Felicis in Potions Class from Professor Slughorn for successfully making the Draught of Living Death in class.
- What it is: Known as "lady luck" in liquid form, it makes the drinker very lucky. Side effects include giddiness and recklessness. The potion is dangerous in large quantities.
- What to drink: Apple Cider, with edible gold flakes
Draught of Living Death
- What it is: A clear-as-water drink that causes the drinker to fall into a deep, deep, death-like sleep.
- What to drink: Take shots of a clear alcoholic drink, or sprite!
Polyjuice Potion
One of the most popular potions in the Harry Potter series.
- What it is: The potion helps you assume the body of someone else. It's thick and mud-like and involves the hair of the person you want to assume the body of.
- What to drink: Milkshakes! Since polyjuice potions are all different depending on the person, set up a shake station. Offer the basics along with different fruits and ice cream flavors.
---Basic Recipe: 3 scoops ice cream, ½ cup milk, and ingredients of your choice.
Amortentia
- What it is: In the Half-Blood Prince, the students learn that Amortentia is the strongest love potion in the universe. It causes a powerful infatuation or obsession in the drinker.
- What to make: a love potion. We have a cocktail recipe for a love potion that will knock the socks off your feet.
There are lots of tasty foods in the Wizarding World, which include everything from Mrs. Weasley’s cooking to the holiday feasts in the Hogwarts Dining Hall. Here are a few key things no wizard can do without.
Snacks and Appetizers
- Chocolate frogs, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, and Fudge Flies
Be sure to feed your friends an assortment of Harry Potter's favorite sweet treats, all of which you can easily purchase online. - Crostata with Raspberry Jam
Raspberry jam is Dumbledore's favorite jam flavor. So, in honor of dear Albus Dumbledore, make some crostatas for the party.
---An alternative option to the Crostata with Raspberry Jam is crackers with a layer of peanut butter and raspberry jam.
- Quidditch Player's Pie -- It's a good, hearty pie every Quidditch player needs to eat before a big match!
- Onion Soup -- One of Mrs Weasley's fave things to make for the home.
- Shepherd's Pie -- In honor of the British Muggles.
- Pumpkin Pasties - A classic dish.
- Mrs Weasley's Rock Cakes - A delicious dessert and a signature dish.
- Cauldron Cakes - Most commonly known as a spice cake.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is probably the second darkest Harry Potter movie to come out (the absolute darkest being the next one, Deathly Hallows). Because of the misfortunes in Half-Blood Prince, be sure your party is set to the same mood: dark and chaotic.
Lord Voldemort terrorizes not only the wizarding world, but the muggle world as well. Capture this effect with these ideas:
- Scatter toy snakes around the floor.
- If you dare, draw and hang an image of the Dark Mark for your party space
- Use Halloween decorations and hang Spider Webs around the party area.
- Represent each House of Hogwarts with colored streamers:
- Gryffindor: Red and Gold
- Hufflepuff: Yellow and Black
- Ravenclaw: blue and Bronze
- Slythern: Green and Silver
- Turn on only one or two sources of light in your party space, leaving the rest of the room illuminated by white twinkle lights and candles.
- If you're akin to Gryffindor, create a big poster of the Fat Lady and hang it on the wall.
- Put broomsticks in the corner of the room. Label them as "Firebolts" or "Nimbus 2001"
- Use a fog machine for special effects.
- Hang movie posters.
- Drape tables with black cloth.
- Place candelabras on tables and other surfaces.
- If possible, display your drink/potion concoctions in decanters.
- Serve drinks in jeweled goblets.
This is a great activity for young Harry Potter fanatics.
Preparation
- You'll need:
- Crayons, colored pencils, markers, pens
- Pieces of parchment paper
- Prepare freshly brewed (and very strong) coffee, a baking pan, drying rack, newspapers (or paper towels), candle, and sheets of paper
- Pour coffee into a baking pan
- Take sheets of 8.5"x11" paper and soak them one by one in the pan of coffee. (about 15 minutes)
- Once the piece of paper has turned colors, dry it out on a drying rack. Be sure to put newspapers or paper towels beneath the rack to catch and drips.
- After they've dried, you have parchment-like paper!
- For an extra "old" effect, light a candle and very carefully burn the edges of your piece of paper.
Steps
- Have party guests follow these general directions of what we do know about Hogwarts on the Marauder's Map:
- The lake is to the south of Hogwarts
- The forest is to the west of Hogwarts
- The Whomping Willow should have a secret passageway
- The lake is to the south of Hogwarts
This is a great activity for younger kids, and it's also a blast for anyone who needs a new wand.
Preparation
- Supplies:
- Wooden Dowel Rods - preferably between 7" and 16" in length.
- Beads, glitter, dirt, pebbles, acrylic paint, markers
- Glue
- Electrical Tape, tennis grip tape, leather or pieces of cloth.
Steps
- Take the tennis grip tape, leather, or cloth and wrap it around the bottom of the wand. Tape down the ends with electrical tape.
- Have a blast decorating your wand to your liking.
Here are a few games you can play at your party that are inspired by the Chosen One himself, Harry Potter.
Muggle Quidditch
If you have enough party guests (14 players are needed), consider playing a game of Muggle Quidditch. It's exactly like Wizard Quidditch, but you don't need to fly on broomsticks.
Board Games
Here's a list of board games you can play:
Muggle Quidditch
If you have enough party guests (14 players are needed), consider playing a game of Muggle Quidditch. It's exactly like Wizard Quidditch, but you don't need to fly on broomsticks.
Board Games
Here's a list of board games you can play:
- Scene It? Harry Potter 2nd edition
- Clue Harry Potter
- 20 Q Harry Potter
- Harry Potter Diagon Alley Board Game
- Harry Potter Hogwarts House Cup Board Game
Movie Themed Party
Ideas: Twilight
Activ...
Ideas: Twilight
Activ...
The American Mall
Slumber Party
Slumber Party
Twilight DVD Release
Party
Party
