Like most college students in the late 90's, I read the Harry Potter books. I was encouraged to read them by my absolute favorite Uncle who is my literature muse. He read Sourcerer's Stone and passed it on to both me and my younger cousin. And from that point on I was hooked. I waited in line at midnight to buy the remaining books (I clearly had more stamina back then), I saw midnight screenings of the movies and I immersed myself in everything Potter. In fact, Part 1 of Deathly Hallows came out in theaters on the day my daughter was born and I still have not seen it (or Part 2).

Fast forward to the present...my daughter, Harper, was choosing her birthday party theme and much to my delight, she decided on Harry Potter! She really is cool (just like her mom!) and has never chosen themes that all of her friends were picking or that you would consider popular for her age.

In planning her party, I wanted to make sure to capture all of the highlights of the books so I set out to create three vignettes for the decorations:

Platform 9 3/4 - where the guests picked up their robe, glasses and wands and then picked up a suitcase and walked through the brick wall.

Professor Snape's Potions class - where wizard guests helped me make the beverages - Polyjuice Potion, Pensieve Punch and Butter beer.

and the Dining Hall - where guests ate their meal and sweets.

I also wanted to pay tribute to other parts of the book so I included: Harry's Hogwarts Acceptance letters, the Sorting Hat, Gold Snitch candy balls and even some Patronus S'mores kits.