Hogwarts Alumni Reunion

You don't have to be a kid to appreciate the spell cast by Harry Potter, so says a book review of the famous series. Conjure up an adult party that's just as fun. Picture this: it's ten years after your Hogwarts graduation, and the time is right for the class reunion.  

You can visit the full board here. It will have everything you need from tutorials to activities to invites and decorations. 

Invitations
Send everyone one of these scrolls. Fill out with party details, then tie up with red ribbon. If you give them in person, consider attaching a small stuffed owl.

Take note of the instruction for guests to bring chocolate coins as donation money- you'll need these later.

You might also instruct guests to come wearing their witchy best, or robes if you're having a Halloween party. 




Decorations
Near the entrance, set out a cauldron for guests to drop off their chocolate donation money. Attach this sign up top:

Paint paper towel rolls to look like candles and hang from ceiling.

Hang a picture of Moaning Myrtle in the bathroom. Use red soap to write on the mirror: The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Mudbloods beware!"

Play movie soundtracks in the background.

Set out candies below in decorative jars and print out food labels. Set out small votive tea candles around the table. Light plenty of real candles as well---witches don't traditionally use electricity.




Activities

Have everyone place their chocolate coins into a cauldron with a sign that says "Proceeds will be donated to S.P.E.W" and a picture of a house elf. At the end of the party, raffle it off.

Set out a cocktail or mocktail bar and have guests create their own potion tasting.

Find a picture of each guest and tape to paper or parchment. Have guests sign each other's "yearbook pages."

Have a Quidditch matchup. Split the group into equal teams. Each team should have a Keeper, Seeker, 1-2 Beaters, and equal numbers of Chasers.
Hang up three hoops from trees on either side of the space. The Chasers' goal is to score as many goals as possible by throwing the balls through the hoops while the Keepers guard them. A goal is worth ten points. Occasionally, a volunteer should toss black dodgeballs into the crowd; it will be the Beaters' job to get rid of them and stop them from hitting players (if a player is hit, a 10-second penalty is incurred).  Volunteers should also occasionally run into the playing field to give the "Seekers" an opportunity to catch them and end the game with 150 points. You can omit the Seekers if necessary. The player with the most points whenever the game ends wins.



Or...go to class if you do have younger guests!

Transfiguration- give everyone some clay. Guests have 15 seconds to transform it into different objects. Whoever has the best transfiguration that round gets a House Point. You could also provide costumes and have guests turn into a different witch or wizard or famous person for the day.

Herbology- Send guests on a scavenger hunt to find nature objects outside...whether you're using real names or magical names and have guests use their imagination. Winning team gets House Points.

Potions- Make ice cream in a baggie--a Cooldown Potion. Or make your own potions by filling jars with paint and glue. Cherry Wallis has great ideas for potions as seen here for Amortentia.

Charms- Make charm bracelets with the colors of your House.

Defense Against the Dark Arts- Recruit a volunteer to dress as people's worst fears. Guests should defeat it by shouting "Riddikulus!" Think of a way to make the boggart funnier. Guests will need to work together to hit it 20 times with dodgeballs. If you'd like, make the boggart work for it by announcing how you are making your fear funnier. The teammate to finish it off gets a House Point.

Care of Magical Creatures- Make your own bowtruckles. Give each guest a stick, googly eyes, and accessories.  Or, have a hippogriff race. One person from each team is the hippogriff and must get each blindfolded teammate safely through an obstacle course. They must give their partner instructions but touch should be limited. The first House team to get everyone back safely gets House Points.

Divination- Make Harry Potter themed cootie catchers. Or play a crystal ball game. Everyone writes an "yes/no/maybe" answer on a strip of paper. Choose one player to go into the center of the circle. They close their eyes and spin around three to five times. Every player in the circle draws a strip of paper. When the player stops spinning, they see who they are standing in front of and they read their strip of paper. There are multiple ways you could play question/answer games. Alter it as you'd like.

Professor Trelawney's Fortune Telling

As shown below, you may also have guests spill milk (or beads or sand) onto construction paper and find shapes to tell each other's fortunes.

Food

Set out the following magical items in decorative jars:
Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans- jelly beans
Muggle Munch- puppy chow with candy corn
Chocolate Cauldrons- truffles
Candied Worms- gummy worms
Drooble's Best Blowing Gum- bubble gum
Licorice Wands
Dementor Mix (Hershey's mini chocolates and kisses)




You could also include:
Pumpkin Pasties- Tastycake cupcakes work fine, especially the Halloween ones
Chocolate Frogs- melt candy in frog molds 
Magic Wands- pretzels dipped in chocolate with gold sugar sprinkles
Molly Weasley's Meat Pies 
Hagrid's Cake (dull pink frosting with green writing that says something misspelled like: Welkome Alumnaee)
Pumpkin Juice (could be orange soda or some other orange punch)--serve in goblets
Butterbeer

Food labels can be found here. Simply cut out the units as a whole after printing on cardstock and fold them over so they can stand.