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Invite
some of his friends to an afternoon get-together at Hogwart’s to
discuss anything and everything Potter. You can write the invitations
on some homemade parchment
paper. Prepare some name
badges with the colors and names of the four different houses at
Hogwart:
Griffindor
– maroon and gold Slytherin
– green and silver Hufflepuff
– black and yellow Ravenclaw
– light blue and silver If
you have just a few kids over, you may want to use just Griffindor and
Slytherin. Decorate
4 (or 2) small tables in the house colors. Serve some Bertie Bott's
Every Flavor Beens Beans (jellybeans). You can easily make some small
cauldrons to serve them in by gluing 3 small wooden beads on the
bottom half of a Kool-Aid Container and painting the cauldron silver
or black. Use
some Harry Potter cups and paper plates. Turn
an old hat into a sorting hat, or make your own out of a brown paper
bag. When the kids first arrive, sort them into the different houses
and hand them a badge for their particular house. Give
them some time to discuss the books among themselves. Let them know
that a quiz will follow in a little while. Ask the different houses to
answer some questions about the books. Each correct answer is worth
one point for that particular house. Here are a few questions to get
you started: What
is the name of the Wizard Prison?
- Azkaban What
kind of letter did Ron get after he and Harry crashed into the
Whomping Willow? – A Howler What
is the color of the dog that Sirius turns into? – Black What
is the color of Alabastor Moody’s magic eye – Blue Who
is the only ghost teacher at Hogwart? – Professor Bin What
subject does he teach? – History of Magic You
can find lots of information to come up with more questions of your
own at http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/reference/index.htm.
Try
a few of the questions out on your child a few days before the party.
If he is having a hard time answering them, consider turning the
questions into multiple choice questions. Everybody
will be ready for a treat after all this hard work. Invite them to
make their own magic wands using the recipe below. Edible
Magic Wands: Ingredients
Directions In a microwave or heavy saucepan, melt white chocolate chips, stir until smooth. Dip the pretzel rods into the melted chocolate to coat about 1 inch in the white chocolate. Let the excess chocolate drip off. Place the rods on the wax paper and sprinkle with sprinkles or crystal sugar before the chocolate cools. Cool until the white chocolate is firm, about 45 min to an hour depending on how thick the coating is. Encourage
some more discussion about the books by asking who their favorite
characters in the books are, and why they like them. Compare
how Harry in the first book to Harry in the latest edition and ask
them what changes they have notices. Does he seem more grown-up and
responsible now? What do they think Harry will do once he graduates
from Hogward? What profession will he choose? If
you feel up to a longer party, watch one of the Harry Potter movies
with them and encourage discussion about how the movie differs from
the book. This
fun party is sure to inspire even the most reluctant reader to pick up
one of the books and start reading.
How could they resist something so fun?
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