HARRY POTTER
PARTY GAME IDEAS 

Be Creative... most any party game can be changed to a HARRY POTTER version... Some ideas are listed simply to help you be creative in "converting" other age-appropriate children's party games and activities. 

Remember the "Pin The Tail On The Donkey" game? Draw and color a large picture of Harry Potter (or any character) on white butcher paper. Make "black eyeglasses" or other item you select (ear, nose, etc.) on Post-It notes so that each guest gets one to pin on when they are blindfolded and turned around several times. You now have a Pin The Glasses On Harry game.

Everyone's heard of the dance game "Hokey Pokey"... make yours the Hermione Giggle!

The "Hot Potato" game can now be called Nearly Headless Nick. Play this game to some fast music using a doll with the head removed. Start the music and the children continue to pass the toy to the person next to them until the music stops. The person holding the toy is out of the game. Start the music and the toy passing again, stop the music, the guest with the toy is out. Continue until only one player is left. "Musical Chairs" has the same rules only using chairs. Place out one less chair than their are kids, start the music. When it stops, the kids rush for a chair. The one left standing is out of the game and one chair is removed. Continue till there is only one person left. Call your game the Moaning Myrtle Polka.

Remember the Ice Breaker Game where every guest has a sign pinned to their back and they have to guess who or what they are (game ideas and how'to's -- http://www.thepartyworks.com 
icebreakers.htm ). Call this game the Sorting Hat. When everyone has found their partner, play a game.

How about Transfiguration? This is the game of Charades using characters for the kids to act out. Such as being magically transformed by a Wizard into a teapot, a chair, a frog, etc.

Or how about the Hogwart School Quiz? Prior to the party, handwrite or type a master list... the alphabet. Down the left side of the paper, put one letter on each line (A, B, C, D, etc.) until all 26 letters are listed and photocopy. Give guests one copy, a pencil and ten to fifteen minutes to fill in the blanks. The object is to list something from the Harry Potter stories for each letter of the alphabet. A friend just had a party where this game was played with 9 year olds... they loved it and the winner had 17 letters filled in. 

Or Potter-Mon-Ingo? Make up Bingo cards using Harry Potter characters (pictures for little kids, written names for older kids). Ensure that all the Bingo cards are different or everyone will be winners. Kids like this game so much they will want to play many times. 

Don't forget Golden-Snitch-Seek! Assign the kids to teams (2 to 4 each) and let them find clues hidden around the house that will bring them to their treasure, their party-filled loot bags or other small toy or game cards. The clues should be different for each team or they'll be all over each other. This is not a contest nor a race, simply a fun activity. Clues should be simple. For instance, "back of chair" (could be any chair in the house) and when they find the right chair, there is another clue, such as "under table". A list should contain four to eight clues and the team must stay together as they search. The winner will find the Golden Snitch first. (Use a hockey puck and spray paint it gold).

Quidditch-Trivia is always fun because it is the simple game of "20 Questions" you've created about with trivia questions about the game, players, equipment, characters. 

Professor Lockhart's "Memory Game" which can played in a couple of ways. You can use two of the same playing cards or cards you've made up ahead of time, in many designs or words, say 20 sets. These are shuffled and placed face down so you can't see the character. The first person selects any two cards and turns them over. If they match, he/she gets to keep the pair; if they don't match, the cards are turned face down again after all the players have seen them. The next player turns up any two cards and play continues until all cards are matched. The kid with the most pairs is the winner. Another way to play this game is to give everyone a piece of paper and pencil. Call out the name of a Harry Potter character or object, and everyone has to draw it... When everyone is finished, have them write their names on the back. Gather them all up and let all the kids guess the character's name and write it on their sheet of paper.

Party activities can include House Rivalry (face painting) using symbols of the four Hogwart Houses. For the artist-in-you, paint a character on the cheek of one guest and ask all the other kids try to guess what Harry Potter friend it is. Continue until all the guests have their cheeks painted. 

And why not start your own set of trading cards and call it Potter-(name of birthday child)... if the child's name is Maria or Ben, then this activity is called Potter-Maria or Potter-Ben. Give the children 3x5 white index cards (no lines) along with colored markers, crayons and pencils and let them design their very own Harry Potter character including the name and what this little being does. Put all the cards on display and award prizes for the most creative, the funniest, cutest, ugliest, scariest, etc. and ensure that all the children get a prize. The kids can trade cards with one another to take home as a party favor. 

Rather than store-bought invites, do Hogwart School-Tations, which are invitations that are hand-drawn Harry Potter characters on one side and written party details on the other side of mini blank puzzles (purchase at a stationary store). Break up one puzzle and put in an envelope for each guest. A simpler idea is to send a blank puzzle to each guest and ask them to draw their favorite Harry Potter character on it and bring it to the party with them. These can be traded with other guests to take home as a party favor.

Spell-Erts are birthday cakes... decorate a round or rectangle cake and decorate (using colored frosting) lightening bolts and spells, using purple, white and black icing. Y

Well... you get the idea -- be creative and make your party unique and one-of-akind...
You are ready to have wonderfully enjoyable Harry Potter Party Games!


Compliments of
The PartyWorks
www.thepartyworks.com