Harry Potter Party Games & Activities

Capture the Snitch!
The goal of the game is to capture the elusive Snitch (a ball) which is placed in the middle of the playing area and run back without being tagged by the defender, a Slytherin.  The winning team is decided by keeping score.

Before the party

1. Mark a playing area in the grass which is at least 20' by 20'. 
2. Designate two goal lines at opposite ends of the field.

At the party

1. Divide the children into two equal teams, Slytherins and Griffindors.
2. Each team should stand behind their goal line.
3. Place a ball, representing the Snitch, in the center of the playing field.
4. To start the game, the Slytherin Captain steps onto the playing area to guard the ball/snitch.
5. One "Griffindor Seeker" steps onto the field to capture the Snitch.
6. To succeed, the Seeker must entice the Slytherin into a chase by weaving, dodging, looking bored, etc. The Seeker tries to run back, grab the Snitch and run off of the field. 
7. Teammates should shout encouragement to their player, etc.
8. A point is scored for the Griffindors if the Seeker succeeds in getting the ball off the field. 
9. A point is scored for the Slytherins if the Seeker is tagged by the Captain before he grabs the Snitch or leaves the field. 
10. Continue until everyone on each team has a chance to play. 
    

Boggart Race
In this case, the Boggart has assumed the shape of a Mummy!

At the party

1. Divide the guests into teams of 3 or 4.
2. Each team selects one team member to be the mummy.
3. Hand each team a roll of toilet paper.
4. To start, each team wraps their teammate in toilet paper as quickly as possible.
5. Caution teams not to cover the face of their mummy.
6. The first team to use all of their toilet paper wins.
7. If the children start wrapping too fast, the paper breaks causing more confusion and fun.
    

Hogwarts Cake Hunt
The goal is to follow Golden Snitch Clues until the cake is found.

Before the party
Write your clues on copies of the Snitches from the following page. Hide the clues at the appropriate spots.

At the party
Tell the guests that Peeves the Poltergeist has played another one of his nasty tricks and has hidden the cake!  But… left some clues.  Hand the children the first clue. Guests are led from clue to clue until they find the cake. For ease, clues should probably lead back to the cake table.

Sample clues

• Harry is a Wizard, Hermoine's a Witch, Follow the clues that look like a Snitch.
• The first clue is easy for ickle firsties, Look in the place you go when you’re thirsty.
• You've found one clue and you want some more, look for a clue on the back of a door.
• Nick thinks you can. He knows you're able. Now look in the kitchen, I’d try the table!
• One twin is George; one is Fred, look all around the backyard shed.
• Hogwarts has doors with portraits as locks, to unlock your clue, look in the mailbox.
• Winky's an elf that belongs to old Crouch, now quick as a Winky, look by the couch!

Magical Creature Crafts

At the party
Give each guest a sufficient amount of modeling clay or air dry or baking craft clay. Each guest creates their own magical creature from the clay.  Pipe cleaners and beads can be added for eyes or horns, etc.  It may help younger children to remind them of the types of magical creatures Harry encountered: Flobberworms, Balilisk, unicorns, dragons, hippogriffs, centaurs, hinkypunks, house-elves, skrewts, etc. When finished, have each person name and display their creature.  Award prizes for scariest, largest, funniest, etc.

Snapes Potion Class

Before the party

1. Place 1/2 cup of baking soda in a measuring cup or glass jar and label it with something unusual such as "powdered unicorn horns."

2. Place 1/4 cup of liquid dishwashing soap in a container labeled, "troll slime." 

3. Finally, place 1 cup of vinegar in a jar and add a few drops of green food coloring and label the jar "green dragon's blood."

At the party
Set the ingredients around a "caldron" or large pot.  Name each of the ingredients and let the birthday child demonstrate potion making!
Caution:  The pot will "boil" over so you may want to put it on a surface which can be easily cleaned and have paper towels handy.

First add the baking powder or "powdered horns of unicorn" to the caldron.  Add a several drops of troll slime dishwashing soap to the jar of dragon's blood.  Slowly pour the dragon blood/troll slime mixture into the powdered horns of unicorn and watch the potion bubble and simmer!

Boggart Charades Contest
You will need pencil, paper and a hat. Boggarts assume the shape of the thing that terrifies you the most. As in a game of charades, each guest takes a turn selecting a piece of paper from a hat.  Each paper has the name of a uniquely terrifying thing to act out before the group.

Before the party
Write the names of scary creatures or things on a slip of paper.  Each one must be unique, and there should be one for each guest. Examples include: Spider, ghost, mummy, werewolf, vampire, bat, etc. Fold each piece of paper and place them in a hat.

At the party
Guests take turns drawing items from a hat and acting out the item without speaking.  Other guests try to guess the identity. 

Bertie Bott's Many Flavored Bean Contest

Before the party
Divide Jelly Belly jelly beans by flavor into numbered Dixie Cups.   Record the flavor for each numbered cup on a piece of paper to refer to later.

At the party 
Hand each child a numbered piece of paper and a pencil.  Numbers should correspond with the number of Dixie cups of jelly beans. Children take turns tasting the beans in each cup and write down their guesses for each type of jelly bean. Once everyone has recorded an answer, reveal the flavor of each cup. The child(ren) with the most correct guesses wins. Prizes can be small bags of jelly beans!

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