Blog Archives
Badge: Harry Potter — Recipes
Add a little more magic to your gathering with these recipe ideas. Try them yourself before handing them off to your kids.
Some of these may be used for a “Potions” class.
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Steps
1. Decorate cakes and cookies.
Whether cupcakes, sheet cakes or cookies, decorating with house colors, edible graph elements or colored fondant, you can make your own Harry Potter themed cakes. Don’t do all the work yourself! Make an example and let the kids create their own masterpieces.
2. Drinkable potions.
Check out the AEP recipe supplement for Brianne’s drinkable potions. Make one or more of the following.
- Draught of Peace
- Euphoria
- Felix Felicis
- Love Potion
If you don’t care for any of those, create your own. Use Brianne’s recipes and unusual ingredients for inspiration.
3. Edible wands.
Dip pretzel rods in melted white chocolate, almond bark or even frosting. Decorate with sprinkles. Perhaps replace the pretzel with licorice to make your wand or even a hard stick of candy. If it’s really hot, try popsicles to help keep your participants hydrated. Make any of the mentioned wands or create your own edible wand recipe.
4. Beverages.
Try creating butterbeer or pumpkin juice. Use the recipes from the Web or create your own. Experiment until you find one you like.
NOTE: You may wish to include alcoholic versions for adult parties. There is one recipe in the supplement for this, but many more online if you wish to explore this further.
5. Chocolate frogs.
Purchase chocolate and forms from your local hobby store if you do not have any of your own. Melt chocolate and pour into form. Wrap each individually with paper or use one of the templates available online to wrap your frog.
You do not have to stick to frogs. For example, heart-shaped chocolates can have “love potion” mixed in.
6. Adjusting candies.
By simple adjustments to candies to renaming them, here are a few ideas for your Honeyduke’s store.
- Acid pops — dip sucker into warm water, then roll in pop rocks. Wrap in new wrapper.
- Blood pops — red lollipops
- Fizzing whizbees — pop rocks
- Jelly slugs — gummi worms
- Licorice wands — black or red licorice whips
- Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans — Jelly Bellies
- Lemon drops — no adjustment necessary
- Owl Pellets — chocolate covered peanuts
7. Muggle dishes.
Since the stories are set in England, any English recipe will help add to your Harry Potter experience. Look for recipes that your participants are not likely to have tried before like Yorkshire pudding, scones and shepherd’s pie.
8. Explore parties.
To get a wide variety of ideas for Harry Potter recipes, search the Web for kids’ parties. Parents are incredibly imaginative and they share their ideas. Find more ideas to add to your recipes.
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Supplements Available
SUPP_HPR_Recipes.pdf
Recipes and food ideas.
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Sites to Explore
www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/features/crafts/food
www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Harry-Potter-Themed-Feast
greensim.com/lemonade/wizfood.html
www.hp-lexicon.org/wizworld/food.html
www.britta.com/hogwarts/recipes.html
www.budget101.com/frugal/harry-potter-816/
Badge: Harry Potter — Hogwarts Activities
Use some or all of these activities to help get your participant’s into the mood for your Harry Potter adventure.
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Steps
1. House questionnaire.
www.thealmightyguru.com/Reviews/HarryPotter/Docs/Quiz-House.html
Create a questionnaire with four answers to each one to determine which house your kids will be in. The questions should be given a “more like me” choice. The questionnaire may hint at the activities that will be done. This will give everyone something to do while waiting to start. Those who are late will be sorted according to spots left.
2. Sorting hat.
Look through your Halloween decorations for an old witch’s hat or find a very unusual hat to use for a sorting hat. Explore ways to make your sorting hat ceremony magical.
NOTE: If you didn’t have a chance to check everyone’s hair DO NOT put the hat on participant’s heads. Hold it over their head instead.
3. House leaders.
Each house will need to have the required number of adults. However, the heads of house and prefects can help lead activities so the adult’s roles will be less obvious. Find teenage volunteers to fill these positions.
4. House cup.
The House Cup award can be tied into participation in classes, winning challenges, behavior or any rules you set forth at the beginning of your event.
Be consistent in awarding points. Provide a clear list of ways to earn and lose points.
5. Classes.
Classes can be held by year or by your available location and materials. See the AEP supplement on classes for a listing of which classes are held each year, a description of the classes and some activity ideas.
6. Magical sheets.
To help learn about their magical world, younger kids may receive coloring sheets. Older may receive information sheets with areas to sketch the items they learn about including:
- Magical creatures
- Plants
- Magical items
- Famous people at the event
- Maps to areas
These sheets, when completed, should be placed in each kid’s notebook, folder or tote. You could also collect the sheets to create a book at your event.
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Specific activities
7. Owl post.
Under drawings, photos or stuffed owls, place a clothespin beneath to attach notes, lost items, mail from home, etc. Make one owl specific to each group or house. Make this a daily activity with announcements from your director / leader.
8. Magical skits.
Each house gets points for the skits they perform for the entire group. Magical inclusions count as extra points. You may wish to let your participants know beforehand so they can find skits.
9. Magical creatures.
Ask a nature center, zoo, etc. to bring animals that were in the movies such as owls and snakes. Give a presentation about them to your participants.
10. Magical creature hunt.
Place “magical creatures” for the kids to find on a scavenger-type hunt. Give them maps to mark with an X (like the Marauder’s Map) to show where the creatures are hiding.
Alternatively, instead of finding magical creatures, the hunt might feature items to create a potion, materials they need for a class, the missing golden snitch or other themed hunt ideas. Use your imagination to create your own unique hunt.
11. Actual magic.
Invite a magician (illusionist) to perform for your participants. Make sure your magician is aware of your theme so it can be incorporated into the act.
12. Yule ball.
Host a dance for all participants. Let them know beforehand so they can bring special clothing. You can teach them dances before the ball. Choose more modern version with dances such as the Electric Slide and YMCA, country or even more classical like the ball on the movies. You can choose or let your participants vote for their type of ball.
13. Pranks for all.
Pranks can be a lot of fun. Explore the pranks Fred and George Weasley pulled and those available at Zonko’s Joke Shop. Brainstorm your own pranks. Create a secret book of your favorites.
14. Graduation.
What’s better than graduation? Create your own Hogwarts certificates or use one of the ones provided in the AEP supplement. Make sure you create a final graduation event that your participants will remember.
15. Scouts own.
At the end of your event, a ceremony is a great way to recognize volunteers, hand out awards and more. Ask your scout volunteers or House Cup winners to create a Harry Potter themed ceremony to fit with your event. Provide a list of items you need covered and who will be presenting so they can be included.
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Supplements Available
SUPP_HPHA_Arithmancy.pdf
Arithmancy Personality, Arithmancy Birth Date and Describe Yourself in Numbers.
SUPP_HPHA_Classes.pdf
Classes listed by year, description and ideas to incorporate into your event.
SUPP_HPHA_Divination.pdf
A few divination methods to introduce, printable palmistry information from Web and fortune teller printables (2).
SUPP_HPHA_Graduation_sm.pdf
Graduation certificates for years 1-7 plus a blank one.
SUPP_HPHA_House_Gryffindor.pdf
House information and graphics.
SUPP_HPHA_House_Hufflepuff.pdf
House information and graphics.
SUPP_HPHA_House_Ravenclaw.pdf
House information and graphics.
SUPP_HPHA_House_Slytherin.pdf
House information and graphics.
SUPP_HPHA_Places.pdf
Places and ideas for Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley and Hogwarts.
SUPP_HPHA_SortingHat.pdf
Sorting hat ideas and poems.
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Sites to Explore
www.thealmightyguru.com/Reviews/HarryPotter/Docs/Quiz-House.html
quizfarm.com/quizzes/new/ty1erquagmire/which-hogwarts-house-would-the-sorting-hat-place-you-in-long-questions-with-pictures/
summercampprogramdirector.com/harry-potter-camp-ideas-part-1/
www.the-leaky-cauldron.org
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_creatures_in_Harry_Potter
www.fictionalley.org/authors/s_c_johnson/FGWGTPP01a.html
Badge: Harry Potter — Games
The house who wins the most games wins the “Quidditch Cup.” While “Quidditch” is the most recognizable game, you may find other games are more to the liking of your group. You can do a variety of games or choose one for the houses to compete against each other.
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Steps
1. Muggle Quidditch.
Muggle Quidditch is a real sport. Learn about it. Review the IQA rulebook (currently version 4) to get specifics on field size, play and more.
2. Home Quidditch.
Explore additional versions of Quidditch. If you’re playing at home or camp, you will need a simplified version to teach quickly. The kids will be more interested in playing than waiting. Some links are in the “Sites to Explore”. Don’t stop there. Explore the Web.
NOTE: No matter which way you choose to play Quidditch, determine if you will play a single game or if you will have houses compete against each other over a longer time (such as day camp) and on the last day play for the Quidditch Cup. Make sure you take pictures of the winning Quidditch team with their prize.
3. Gobstones.
Gobstones is the equivalent of marbles. The difference is that the gobstones spit putrid liquid at players when they lose a point. Find rules for various marbles games to play.
4. Wizard’s chess.
Whether you choose to have your participants play chess or work as the pieces themselves, chess is a great rainy day activity. Teaching and playing chess is time consuming. You could do this as one-time activity or over a longer time, creating a competition to find the best player or even a Wizard’s Chess Club.
5. Wizard duel.
summercampprogramdirector.com/harry-potter-camp-ideas-part-2-the-classes/
Find out how this camp handles a wizard duel. Create your own list of spells to use or utilize the spell trading cards provided by AEP. Remember, no unforgivable curses.
6. Broomstick races.
Create a play area. Provide broomsticks and adjust your favorite relay and / or race to include broomsticks.”Fly” on them or use them to sweep items.
7. Broom hockey.
Find out about broom hockey. Adjust the rules as necessary to fit your event.
8. Find the snitch.
Get a yellow ball (or balls). Hide them for participants to find. Award house points when found and relocate the ball.
9. Dementor tag.
One person wears a dark cloak as the dementor. The professor teaches the Patronus charm to the participants to protect themselves. After practicing the charm, the participants are ready to play. When they are not successful (didn’t get do it right) or if they ran away, the dementor tags them and they freeze. The professor is the only one who can unfreeze them with a mini chocolate bar. The professor cannot be frozen by the dementor.
10. Moaning Myrtle.
Think Marco Polo, where you blindfold one of the participants and then the rest position themselves around the area and start moaning and crying. When the blindfolded child finds someone, they have to guess who it is. If they’re right, the two switch places and the game continues.
11. Immobulus.
Participants dance to music and when the “wizard” yells “Immobulus!”, the music stops and everyone stands perfectly still. If anyone moves, they are “out” and become the wizard. Then the music starts again.
12. Who am I?
As children arrive, pin a piece of paper on their back with the name of a character from the Harry Potter books (give easier characters to the younger children). Kids must then move around the room asking questions about their character, which can only be answered with “yes” or “no”. Example questions might be:
- Am I a wizard?
- Am I a Muggle?
- Am I a child?
- Am I good at magic?
13. Harry Potter BINGO.
Use your bingo set with special Harry Potter cards. You can find blank ones in the AEP supplements.
14. Mazes.
Whether it’s the maze of the Hogwarts building or the maze from the Triwizard Tournament, mazes can be small and on paper, in a cornfield or even a path of colored sand to follow. Create a maze for your participants. Include hidden items to add a scavenger hunt twist or time your participants to see who gets through your maze first.
15. Triwizard Tournament.
Create an obstacle course for your tournament. Base it on the Harry Potter version or create your own and try to incorporate items to help keep your course within the theme.
16. Printable games.
Create your own word searches, crosswords and more. Printable games can be created before your event. You can use minimal volunteers with printable games as the participants will help each other.
17. Runes.
Change your runes into a game by replacing each rune with a letter and create secret messages.
18. Guess how many.
From Bernie Bott’s Beans to chocolate frogs, give your participants a quick game to guess how many. You can award points to the house with the closest guess, give the container to the winner or award as you wish.
19. Horcrux scavenger hunt.
Create a scavenger hunt with items that might be used, or were used, as horcruxes. This could include rings, books and even people.
20. Trading cards.
Many card games involve trading cards. Find the trading cards in the supplements and print some out. Let your participants create their own rules.
21. Purchased games.
Harry Potter is extremely popular. You can purchase games for your participants to play. This includes games completely based on Harry Potter as well as popular games given a Harry Potter twist. Some include:
- Clue Harry Potter
- Harry Potter Wizard Chess
- LEGO Harry Potter
- Harry Potter Scene it?
- Harry Potter Trivia (various)
- Harry Potter UNO
21. Make your own.
Make your own original Harry Potter-based game. You can use the popular characters or explore areas in the series that give you the freedom to add your own imagination. For a start, AEP has provided a “Hogwarts Houses” sheet as a game board. Share your rules with AEP members.
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Supplements Available
SUPP_HPG_Hogwarts Houses.pdf
Game board to create your own Hogwarts game.
SUPP_HPG_MiscPrintables.pdf
Quote quiz and two character name mix ups / scrambles.
SUPP_HPG_Potter.pdf
Blank “Potter” cards (BINGO).
SUPP_HPG_Runes.pdf
Rune cypher and meaning sheets.
SUPP_HPG_BeanFlavorsB.pdf
Blank trading cards to create your own Bernie Bott’s Beans flavors.
SUPP_HPG_TCPotions.pdf
Seven pages (9-up) of potion trading cards.
SUPP_HPG_TCPotionsB.pdf
One page of blank potion trading cards to create your own.
SUPP_HPG_TCSpells.pdf
Sixteen pages (9-up) of “Charm, Curse and Spell” trading cards.
SUPP_HPG_TCSpellsB.pdf
One page of blank spell trading cards to create your own.
SUPP_HPG_WFFlavors.pdf
Word find for Bernie Bott’s flavors.
SUPP_HPG_WFPotions.pdf
Word find for potions.
SUPP_HPG_WFSpells.pdf
Word find for spells.
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