How to Throw a Harry Potter Party

10 Mar 2023, 15:20:00

A Harry Potter-themed party with green and blue balloons showing from a Harry Potter balloon arch, a party table with Harry Potter party tab

The first Harry Potter book came out in the UK in 1997, with the first of the films following in 2001 (feel old?), and since then the franchise has taken the world by storm! Some might even say, we’ve been under the spell of the Wizarding World for a couple of decades now. Still over 25 years later, kids and adults everywhere still take so much joy from the magic and that’s why Hogwarts and Harry Potter make the perfect party theme.

If you’re thinking about throwing your own Harry Potter party and don’t know where to start, this is the article for you. We’re going to be taking you through our Harry Potter party ideas, including decorations, table settings, fancy dress and some magical Potter party games!

Dazzle with decorations

Once you’ve invited your guests (with these Harry Potter party invitations) and the date is set, it’s time to start thinking about your Harry Potter party decorations! When it comes to decorating and Harry Potter party supplies, a great place to start is the colour scheme. Luckily, Hogwarts has made this one easy for us with a clear quad colour palette of red, blue, green and yellow, which of course represents Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin and Ravenclaw.

Birthday banners and balloons are a great way to ensure your decor stays true to your theme. We used a mix of official Harry Potter foil and latex balloons, plus red, blue, green and yellow latex balloons to create our Hogwarts House-inspired balloon arch. We’ve made life super easy for you and have collated a few Harry Potter decoration kits so that you can focus on the rest of your to-do list!

The illustration-style decorations add an air of fantasy to your party setup and will make guests feel like they’ve stepped straight into one of the novels! Some candle hanging decorations will have your room looking like the Great Hall and will certainly impress your crowd of young witches and wizards.

A Harry Potter themed birthday party with a balloon arch with a gold number 9 balloon and a table setting with Harry Potter plates, a cake and a toy Hedwig owl

A toy owl sat on a party table with a Harry Potter theme, in the background are green and gold balloons and there is a Hedwig paper plate with a gold chocolate in the foreground.

Set the banqueting table

With a great banquet comes great responsibility. Make sure you dress your table to impress with a themed table cover and add a runner for an extra wow factor. We went for the illustrated paper tablecloth and chose a Gryffindor red runner but you could go for your child’s preferred house colour, after all, they might be a Hufflepuff!

Stick to the theme by using our Harry Potter party tableware, you can find paper plates, cups and napkins that will go down well at your Potter party. We wanted to give a party table that regal feeling that Hogwarts is known for and so we added some Harry Potter table centrepieces. You can place these down the centre of your table(s) so that everyone can enjoy them.

For the pièce de résistance don’t forget to add a plastic wand at each place setting! We’ve added two packs of our wands to our Harry Potter Super Deluxe Party Pack or you can buy them separately.

A Harry Potter party table with paper tableware with illustrated Harry Potter designs, plastic Harry Potter wands, Bertie Botts every flavour beans and a toy owl

Harry Potter tableware, including paper plates, cups, table cover and runner plus a Harry Potter table centrepiece, a sorting hat photo prop and plastic wand

Dress the part

Next up for your Harry Potter-themed party… costumes! Elevate your Harry Potter party by making it a costume party. Ask your attendees to dress as their favourite characters from the Wizarding World or to dress in their house colours. Our Harry Potter costume ideas has a range of options for the event, from Harry and Hermione to Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore. Opt for a less obvious costume, such as Hedwig, Dobby or even the golden snitch!

Children's Harry Potter fancy dress, including Hermione, a Slytherin boy, Moaning Myrtle and Harry Potter

The Triwizard Tournament (party games)

Now that you have your decorations, table setting and costumes, it’s time to think about some Harry Potter party games! We’ve rounded up our favourite Potter parlour games so you can enjoy them at your party…

Sorting Hat piñata

Work your magic on our Sorting Hat piñata and reap the rewards! This pull piñata is the perfect birthday party game for keeping young witches and wizards entertained, no matter their house.

Pin the scar on Harry

This party game is a twist on a much-loved classic. Simply print out or draw your Harry and his lightning bolt scar, then have your players place the scar in place on Harry’s forehead. The twist? Players must be blindfolded!

Dobby’s sock toss

This one is pretty simple, give each player a balled-up sock and get them to throw it into a basket. If they get their sock in the basket, the player must take a step back - the player who gets the most goals wins!

Another idea for your party games is to split your guests into four teams, you guessed it, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw! You can even do a sorting ceremony at the beginning of the party.

Harry Potter themed pull pinata designed to look like the Sorting Hat with gold tassel come from the bottom

We hope you’ve enjoyed our Harry Potter birthday party ideas and can take some inspiration for your own Potter party! Continue your party planning by checking out our licensed Harry Potter party supplies, or stay on our blog for more party ideas.

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Dazzle with decorations

Set the banqueting table

With a great banquet comes great responsibility. Make sure you dress your table to impress with a themed table cover and add a runner for an extra wow factor. We went for and chose a Gryffindor red runner but you could go for your child’s preferred house colour, after all, they might be a Hufflepuff!

Dress the part

The Triwizard Tournament (party games)

Sorting Hat piñata

Work your magic on our Sorting Hat piñata and reap the rewards! This pull piñata is the perfect birthday party game for keeping young witches and wizards entertained, no matter their house.

Pin the scar on Harry

Dobby’s sock toss

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