Questions to ask about the last book
http://www.potterparties.com/
http://familycrafts.about.com/od/harrypotter/index.htm
Crafts
One of my staff showed me a craft for a paper bag owl. If you used white
paper bags, they could represent Hedgewig.
http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/mbagowl.htm
I am ordering mirror board
hat kits from Oriental Trading. It would be their wizard hat.
Wands
You can make wands from paint stirrers. Stores that sell paint gave some
to me for free. Or, short lengths (12") of dowel rod can be purchased
for under $2 for 12. Then, the kids can decorate them and if you can
find wire star garland (usually at dollar stores) the kids can wrap it
around the wand.
Guess how many Bertie Bott's Everyflavor Beans (using only some Bertie, because they're so expensive)
Wizardology book
Owl origami
http://www.maryannfraser.com/origami.htm
had a teen HP party when book 6 came out, and we did some games that
the teens got a kick out of - the three most popular were HP Jeopardy
(very competitive and high energy - we did it in teams, with only one
person on the team being able to answer although they could consult with
their team members), mixing your own potion (I had fruit juices, sodas,
milk, tea, flavored syrups, Kool-Aid drink mixes, cups, and stirrers -
the teens made their best/worst combinations, with prizes for best
tasting, prettiest color, most disgusting and people who drank most
disgusting, etc.), and, somewhat of a surprise to me, a coloring contest
- I played songs from some Wizard Rock bands that I'd downloaded (and
there are TONS more out there now), handed out coloring pages I'd torn
from a HP movie tie-in coloring book, and told them that there weren't
any rules...they could add scenery in the back ground, they could color
in- or outside the lines, they could use "normal" colors or express
their artistic sides, the only catch was they had 15 minutes. I was
afraid they'd think it was a bit juvenile, but they really got into it,
with dragons added in the background, bruises add on Harry in a
Quidditch scene, and some stuff Andy Warhol would have been proud to
call his own. After 15 minutes we displayed them on the wall and they
got to vote for different categories (most inside the lines, best
colors, whatever you can come up with - we added a Best Bruises
category!). The other highlight was the food, which included pizza,
cauldron cakes (a teen volunteer had made chocolate cupcakes with white
frosting and then stuck gummi insects on top with a pretzel stick as a
cauldron stirrer), chocolate frogs (made from candy chocolate and frog
molds from a craft store), butter beer made from apple cider mixed with
butterscotch sauce, and a mix of candy from "Honeydukes" (we played
Poison with the candy before they got to eat it). I also had
fortune-telling cards and a guide to telling fortunes out on a table and
let them mess around with those during down time.
Trivia
We successfully did a trivia contest at the Marina Branch and had
three age categories. We let anyone participate and gave out books for
prizes as it was the day of the release.
Games
I am beginning to work on my HP "Muggle Madness" plans and I have decided
that I want to include a HP inspired Scavenger Hunt. Have any of you used
this type of Scavenger Hunt before? At this point, I am thinking that the
kids will complete a task and will receive a clue that will lead them to
finding certain books in the library that are related to the classes that
one might take at Hogwarts.
I would appreciate any suggestions that would make it fun and interesting.