![]() The children were instructed to draw around their patterns with a marker and cut out the pieces.Each child was asked to choose 3 sheets of felt and a set of paper patterns.A hot glue gun and an adult who can use it.A sewing machine and an adult who can use it.Lots of sharp scissors to avoid kids having to wait (I recommend that you test your scissors on felt – blunt scissors are really frustrating to cut with). ![]() A4 pieces of felt in as many colours as you like – I allocated 3 sheets per kid.I printed and cut out an owl pattern for each child. I did some preparation before the party for this activity. Our first activity was making owls for our ‘game keeping’ lesson. By the end of the party both houses were (intentionally) on the same number of points. We allocated points for sharing, helping others and all sorts of stuff. They all cheered whenever someone was given points for their house. This was a hugely popular part of the party. Chris and I allocated points to each house and they were written up on a small whiteboard. We ran a house competition throughout the party. Once the kids were sorted a house name was pinned to their clothes. During the sorting it was Chris’s job to play one of the 2 tracks over our stereo, and ensure we had two equal groups of kids in each house. (Prior to the party, Chris had recorded onto his smartphone two tracks, in a booming voice – a ‘Ravenclaw’ track and a ‘Gryffindor’ track). As each child arrived at the party we asked them to place a witches hat on their head and perch on a special stool. We decided to sort the 12 attendees into 2 houses (Gryffindor and Ravenclaw). ![]() I received some very amusing text message replies from parents mentioning owls and broomsticks and all things Hogwarts! We await your owl no later than (RSVP date), or if your family does not have an owl, you may send word to (your name) via muggle phone on (your phone number). Your parents may drop you off via the floo network or muggle transport at (address). If possible please come dressed in witches’ clothing so that you are ready to start your witchcraft lessons. To avoid detection by muggles, you should pretend you are attending a birthday party for (name of birthday child). You are invited to attend an afternoon tea at Hogwarts (your suburb) campus on (date) at (time). We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We wanted the kids to feel like they were going on a Hogwarts adventure all of their very own! The invitation itself was printed on a parchment style paper with a fancy red border (that I happened to find languishing at the back of our local newsagent) and sealed with a red stamp on the back. The invitation was an important first step in creating anticipation for the theme of the party. It did help that had a strict numbers limit with a maximum of 12 kids, and that the party was a drop off party so there were no spare adults to look after! I even tried to convince our 5 year old to dress up as a house elf in an old pillow case but she flatly refused. We both dressed up as Hogwarts professors and channelled our inner teachers which helped the kids to really get into the spirit of the party. The success of the party also hinged on Chris and I taking an active role in the Hogwarts adventure. This party was a total hit but there was a fair bit of preparation before the party. My 8 year old loves the Harry Potter series! So when she asked for a Hogwarts Harry Potter themed birthday party, I knew it meant just one thing…a party at home!
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