Last week I shared some of my family’s favorite, easy food ideas for Harry Potter-themed parties. This week, we continue the series on ways to have an affordable and fun Harry Potter party for any occasion with some decoration and craft ideas.
To set the scene for our last party, we purchased pieces of balsa wood from our craft store. With just a bit of acrylic paint and a set of stencils, we assembled a sign post pointing party-goers to Hogwarts, Zonko’s, and the Shrieking Shack.
Floral arrangement “grass stems” spray-painted gold made wonderful small broomsticks, and pumpkin-shaped chalk boards were perfect for labeling food, drinks, and craft tables. Shopping the day
after Halloween snagged us great deals on craft pumpkins, but you can find them priced pretty reasonably at wholesale Halloween stores online any time of year.
In fact, if the party is in fall, these Harry Potter pumpkins made with acrylic paint are a simple craft project for older kids and adults. They can make a fun addition to a front porch display or accompany your Harry Potter collection on a bookshelf.
My favorite item to use for decorating is black mesh ribbon, available in a variety of widths and lengths from craft or fabric stores. It can be draped over anything to create a Hogwarts mood. I sprinkle it liberally with star-shaped confetti for a glittering effect. Both are reusable and very versatile. Here I’ve layered it over a silver plastic tablecloth and added some of our favorite Harry Potter items to create a fun centerpiece.
Small apothecary bottles (often sold in sets of varied shapes and sizes) can be filled with glitter, confetti, or colored water to make excellent props and decorations. Wikia has a list of all the potion ingredients mentioned in the Harry Potter canon, which makes for fun labeling! For a simple craft, let kids choose, fill, and label their bottle. Tie a cord around the neck to make jewelry, Christmas-tree ornaments, you name it.
We also loved making our own wands. I ordered clear, round craft tubes (originally designed to be filled with small items like beads, or used as favors filled with candy.)These would become custom wands. I invited the children to come to “Olivander’s” and choose their wand’s magical core from a selection of items, including Phoenix feathers, dragon scales, and frozen unicorn tears – all re-purposed items from my crafts cupboard or purchased at the arts and crafts store. I displayed the items in an old silver tea set with hand-lettered labels to make everything seem more magical.
Once the kids filled their wands with feathers, beads, and glitter, they wrapped the craft tubes with a variety of washi tapes in earth tones and metallic colors. Everyone had a unique wand to play with and take home!
I can’t wait to hear from you – what magical crafts and decorations have you dreamed up?
Thanks for reading!
kateywrites 