Harry Potter Themed Birthday Party Ideas

Tips for Planning the Most Magical Party!

When my now four year old daughter, Vivian, requested a Twilight themed birthday party, I unfortunately had to deny her! I could just foresee the look on the parents faces when they showed up to a teenage vampire inspired party! I can't help but think her love for young fantasy fiction movies is a little strange, but also pretty hysterical. I won't get into the details of why she even knows about either series, but I'm so glad she was equally excited about going with the more age appropriate Harry Potter theme. Thanks to her obsession with all things Hogwarts, we were able to put together one magical event!

One of my girls' favorite parts of their parties is the cake. I always dread the days leading up to when I have to make one (I despise cake making!), but I always love seeing the end result.

This Harry Potter inspired cake was one of the more difficult ones I've done...making the collar stand up with the weight of all the fondant was no easy task!

The wand, glasses and golden snitch are all non-edible items purchased on Amazon. I printed the sign on manila paper using a Harry Potter font I downloaded from dafont.com and ripped and burned the edges to give it an aged look.

As for the food, I of course had to come up with clever names to match the theme. Let me tell you...that's a chore! After a lot of thought, I managed to come up with a pretty well rounded variety. The food cards were made using a template I found on Etsy.

Voldemort's Dementors - a mix of blackberries and blueberries

Gryffindor Grapes - green and red grapes with the stems removed

Ginny's Spellbinding Strawberries - cut up strawberries

Professor Sprout's Veggie Garden - cauliflower, brocolli, cherry tomatoes and carrots with ranch dip

Dobby's Chips - a variety of chips (we had Doritos, Sour Cream & Onion Lays and BBQ Lays)

Huffle Puffs - Cheetos Puffs

Hagrid's Dragon Eggs - deviled eggs

Golden Snitches - Ferrero Rocher chocolates with paper wings attached

Snape's Slytherin Snakes - gummy worms

Butter Beer - A&W Creme Soda with marshmallow fluff and caramel drizzle

Wizard Water - bottled water

Hermione's Magical Potion - Capri Suns

Harry's Magic Wands - Veggie Straws

Dumbledore's Sorting Hats - Bugles

Also not pictured were Draco's Broomsticks (string cheese segments with pretzel sticks for the handle) and Muggle Meatballs (grape jelly meatballs in a crockpot).

What's a party without cookies?! Last year, I came across the most amazing cookie artist...yes, she's an artist. I mean one look at these amazing little pieces of art and you almost don't even one to eat them they are so incredible! Half Pint Cookies nailed my theme request again and produced the most adorable set of Ron's Riddikulus Cookies I could have ever dreamed of. And...they taste amazing too! If you are near the Franklin, Indiana area, make sure you look her up!

My favorite part of each party I plan is the decorations and favors. As I've said before, I tend to go overboard...but I don't hear the little guests complaining! Below are the details for the Harry Potter favors and decor.

In addition to the favors and decorations, I always include a small table for the younger kids. For this one, I was able to find Harry Potter fabric from Joann Fabrics to use as a table cloth. I placed a few Harry Potter books my girls had on the table, along with a few decor items I had in my home. The sorting hat was purchased from Amazon.

As for the favor table, I placed a variety of theme-appropriate items in different size glass jars and arranged them with home decor I already had. I found a lot of the items on Amazon, and the sticker sheets were purchased at Target. The thank you sign was made in Photoshop, printed and framed.

I also like to decorate our dining table to go along with whatever the theme is each time. I again used a lot of decor I already had, but I also added some "potion" bottles. These were just different sized glass bottles that I put water and black food coloring in. I didn't stir the mixture up to give them more of a potion look.

Links to purchase items (click on item):

Sorting Hat

Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans

Party Favors Set - Wands, Glasses, Lightning Tattoo, Broomstick Pen

Favor Bags

Overall, I would say it's safe to say Vivian had a great time celebrating turning four! She's already asking me when she'll be turning five, and is giving me all sorts of ideas of what her theme will be next year!

The birthday girl's dress and cape was ordered from Amazon. You can purchase the dress HERE.

The background pennant banner was purchased at Target.

Are you planning a Harry Potter themed party? I'd love to hear how it goes! Don't forget to follow Urban Rhino on social media and subscribe to our website for more upcoming party tips!

The above photo was taken by Urban Rhino Photography and edited using the Urban Rhino Photoshop Brushes - Bokeh, which can be purchased on our website HERE.