INVITATIONS

Prepare your guest list and use Hogwarts admission letters as your invites. You can print these at home. Send out your invites by owl post. Pick up cute stuffed owls or if they prove hard to find, create your own. Even paper owls can work if done well.

DRESS CODE

Ask your friends to come dressed as their favorite Harry Potter character. Prepare a prize for the person who arrives in the most creative outfit.

REFRESHMENTS

You can’t throw a Harry Potter party without serving butterbeer. There are many recipes available online but fans have said that this one comes pretty close to the one served at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida.

Butterbeer recipe

1 cup light or dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
6 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
3/4 cup heavy cream, divided
1/2 teaspoon rum extract
Four 12-ounce bottles cream soda

Combine the brown sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium fire. Bring to a gentle boil, stirring often, until the mixture reads 240 F on a candy thermometer.

Stir in the butter, salt, vinegar and 1/4 heavy cream. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Once the mixture has cooled, stir in the rum extract.

In a medium bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar mixture and the remaining 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Use an electric mixer to beat until just thickened, but not completely whipped, about 2 to 3 minutes.

To serve, divide the brown sugar mixture between 4 tall glasses. Add 1/4 cup of cream soda to each glass and mix. Fill each glass nearly to the top with additional cream soda, then spoon the whipped topping over each.

Freeze it before adding the whipped topping to make it even more delicious.

Let your guests get a taste of Hogwarts fare and some of Harry and Ron’s favorites. Other goodies you can serve include shepherd’s pie, pork chops, fried sausages, cauldron cakes (spice cakes), treacle tarts and more. Recipes are easily available online.

ENTERTAINMENT

Sort your friends into the four Hogwarts houses. The Gryffindors, Slytherins, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs can then compete against one another when you play games. Harry Potter’s Scene It DVD Game is a big hit with fans. But if you don’t have it, no worries. You can always create your own Harry Potter trivia game.

Who says you need a wand? Download the Harry Potter Spells app into your iPhones, iPads and iPods and have a duel with your friends. Here’s a warning—the three unforgivable curses are now available.

Hold a potions class. Prepare jars and different kinds of (edible) liquids and ingredients. Feel free to get creative and bring out your Harry Potter books to get inspiration. Ask your friends to create their own version of Polyjuice Potion. Award extra points for people willing to drink their creation.

Before the party starts, hide a Golden Snitch somewhere in your party venue. Ask the guests to look for it and give the winning seeker a prize.

You can hold a screening of your favorite Harry Potter films. If your guests are up to it, go for a movie marathon (but if you’re planning to watch all seven films, you might want to ask them to bring pajamas and sleeping bag).

GOODIE BAGS

If you can find affordable toy cauldrons, they’d be great to use as giveaways. Otherwise, you can make your own Honeydukes paper bags and make your guests feel as if they just shopped at Harry’s favorite candy shop. Fill the cauldrons or paper bags with jelly beans, fizzing whizbees (yes, Pop Rocks), Droobles (cotton candy) and jelly slugs (jelly worms will work too).