Looking for a magical, non-traditional Harry Potter party idea for a large group? Here are all of our fun ideas for how to throw a magical Harry Potter Farmer’s Market party!
This past year, I finished reading all seven Harry Potter books out loud to my young daughters (I sugar-coated some of the darker parts), and it was an incredible experience. To my delight, the girls became obsessed with all things Harry Potter, and my middle daughter wanted it to be her birthday theme. I thought it was extra-fitting that her birthday happens to fall on the week before Harry’s in July.
Because of its [very well-deserved] popularity, Harry Potter is a common party theme, and it can be hard to come up with original ideas. Two of my sisters have thrown some pretty incredible Harry Potter parties for their kids already, and while I wanted to steal every one of their ideas, I also wanted to try my own spin on things.
It just so happened that the majority of our family was able to get together around the time of my daughter’s birthday. So I took advantage of the large number of people and our entire family’s obsession with Harry Potter to create a fun, unique Harry Potter party experience: a Harry Potter themed “farmer’s market”. Imagine Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade meet a farmer’s market.
(Fun Fact: My family is so obsessed with Harry Potter that we once actually stayed in a Harry Potter-themed Airbnb! It was the coolest, and you can read about that here!)
**Disclaimer: We are associated with Amazon Affiliates and have links to the really awesome products we used for our party. We earn a small commission based on any purchases. Thank you so much for supporting us!
Our Harry Potter Farmer’s Market Overview
Before I get into the details of the Harry Potter farmer’s market booths, I’ll share the big picture of how we executed the party. The party was originally going to be hosted outside on my parent’s lawn, but the 104 degree temperature persuaded us to absolutely not do that. We ended up reserving the gym in our local church building, which turned out to be a perfect venue, as we needed an indoor space large enough to fit over 20 people and several tables.
We like to have a story that kind of leads the party and presents a natural flow for the activities. So we decided to begin the story at “Hogwarts”, where the party guests were new first-year students.
The stage in the gym ended up being the perfect place for the “Great Hall”. We set up the House tables and decorated them with their respective banners.
Tara, our Professor McGonagall, sorted the party guests into their Hogwarts Houses with the Sorting Hat (Because the Sorting Hat takes the students’ choices into consideration, we had the kids whisper to the hat which House they wanted to be in.) Each child got a sticker with their House symbol on it.
Afterwards, we had lunch in the Great Hall, which was “catered” by The Three Broomsticks. We served pub sandwiches, chicken legs, chips, and this incredible butterbeer recipe from Favorite Family Recipes. (We used caramel topping instead of butterscotch topping, and it was soooo good. We also dropped in some dry ice for a fun effect!) I reallllly wanted to serve gourmet caramel apples too, but I needed to simplify.
After lunch, party guests were escorted to Gringott’s Bank, where the First Years received a special (chocolate) coin that gave them free access to the Harry Potter farmer’s market.
Once everyone received their coin, they were led to the main gym area where the market was set up. The guests presented their coins to the gatekeeper, and then they were led to a brick backdrop where their picture was taken by a Daily Prophet Reporter. (My daughter turned 6, that is why we changed the platform number.) You can purchase a similar banner to the one we used here.
Once everyone was in, the kids visited each booth and could “purchase” small favors or play mini games. (Read the full description of each booth in the next section.) We played the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone soundtrack in the background to help set the mood. After everyone had a chance to visit all of the booths, we returned to the Great Hall for a slice of our delicious, cookies n’ cream, Harry Potter-themed cake made by Tara! We almost used this adorable cake topper, but it didn’t make it before we left for our trip.
Harry Potter Farmer’s Market Booths
Here are the details on the booths we had at our party! Some of the booths were based on real stores from the Harry Potter series, while others were simply inspired by the magical world. The awesome thing about the Harry Potter world is that there are so many directions you can go with the same theme.
Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes
At Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes, my brother-in-law Alex dazzled the kids with his Muggle Magic card tricks, while also offering Laffy Taffy, mini slinkies, and small prank bugs and spiders for the guests to take.
Honeyduke’s
My mom and sister Madison ran the tantalizing Honeyduke’s booth, and they went all-out with the treats! This booth boasted all kinds of sweets from the books including chocolate frogs, Fizzing Whisbees, Cauldron cakes, Acid Pops, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, Licorice Wands, and more!
Mariah’s Magical Menagerie
I ran the pet booth as Madame Mariah, a lesser-known witch. 😉 At this booth, each child selected a tiny plush pet to adopt. I made tiny felt Hogwarts House scarves that the kids could put on their new pet. Before they left, each child signed Adoption Certificates and named their pet. I purchased these adorable little plush animals from Amazon.
Ollivander’s Wands
Can you have a Harry Potter party without wands? No way. My brother Tyler rocked the Ollivander wig and sold hand-made wands (carbon fiber sticks + hot glue + spray paint) to the party guests. The birthday girl got the Elder Wand, which I thought was really cool. You could also buy this pack of wands from Amazon!
Divination Station
My sister Makayla made a terrifyingly good Professor Trelawney. She read some legit palm-reading material and gave the kids their fortunes. She also had an activity where the kids would drink a “potion” and discover a symbol on the bottom of their potion, which would give additional aid in Unfogging their Futures. This crystal ball would be a beautiful addition to this table.
Flourish and Blott’s
At Flourish and Blott’s, the children could choose a Harry Potter bookmark (we loved these free printables from Artsy Fartsy Momma). My brother-in-law, Jesse rocked it as Gilderoy Lockhart, who was the featured author running the booth. The kids could get a picture and a signed photo from Gilderoy as well!
Hagrid’s Apothecary Supplies
If it’s illegal or dangerous, you can bet Hagrid will try his hand at it. Hagrid (with his Dad Polyjuice Potion disguise) offered supplies for all things that bubble and explode, including Mentos and Coke and bubbles. The kids loved seeing all the items react to each other and getting to do a hands-on activity.
Wandering Merchants
Remember, not every “seller” has to be stationary! The kids at our party received additional “stolen” treats and toys from “Sneakypuff”, a troubled Hufflepuff student who wandered the marketplace. (You could easily make this character Mundungus Fletcher.)
Tips
- Read the Harry Potter book or watch the movies before party planning. Seriously. You’ll not only get in the mood for this theme, but you’ll come across details that you’ll want to incorporate into the party.
- Dress up! Wear a Harry Potter-themed costume or strange outfit. Just do it. Don’t be afraid of looking dumb. When everyone gets into the theme, it is more immersive and so much more fun. If you want the birthday kid/adult to stand out, the unisex “I Solemnly Swear It’s My Birthday shirt” is a fun shirt to wear.
- Divide and Conquer! This party would have been much more stressful (and lame) if I tried to do all the work myself. By dividing the work up between my awesome parents and siblings, everything was so much better and there were great ideas put into place that I never thought of!
- If you have more than five kids in attendance, it’s a good idea to start everyone off at a different booth. This way, there is (literally) a lot more breathing room and everyone can relax and enjoy the stations more.
- This party can EASILY be converted into a Halloween party! Simply add some more Halloween elements to some of the booths and decorations or have Moaning Myrtle and the other Hogwarts Ghosts wander around. The sky is the limit!
- Have a large, labeled bag for the guests to put their goodies in as they go from booth-to-booth. The kids will likely leave their bags around at some point, and having names on the bags will limit any dispute on who the bag belongs to. It’s a simple way to help keep the peace.
This party format was a success! Both the kids and adults enjoyed having a unique Harry Potter party experience together, and I think my daughter felt pretty special. (Thank you to my awesome parents and siblings for making the party so cool.)Here are some more Amazon finds that would make great gifts for any Harry Potter lover! We wish you luck on your own party and hope this helped inspire a fun, new Harry Potter experience.
-Mariah
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