When a girlfriend and I learned that one of our dearest friends was expecting her first child, we immediately went into baby shower planning mode. The first step was to figure out a theme. In our minds, it had to be special, unique. We tossed around a lot of ideas, searched a hundred(probably close to at least) web sites for theme ideas, and looked through magazines and books. Yet, we didn't find the theme that we thought was perfect. Then, we got to talking about how much our friend loved the Harry Potter series(she knows the books inside and out). So, we thought..."Hey, why not do a Harry Potter themed baby shower!". The idea was perfect, but it was far from easy to pull off the way we wanted it to be. Primarily because this theme idea, as far as baby showers go, was not a widely used one. However, that did not deter us from our mission(and a mission it was). But, we had a blast figuring out all the details, putting everything together, and seeing the look on the mother-to-be's face when she walked through the door.
We had food to plan, recipes to find, decorations to order, games to figure out, invitations to design and oh so much more! We decided that we wanted to pull this off as if we (the hostesses) and the momma-to-be were professors at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. From that point we designed the invitations. Wax and a Hogwart's letter seal were tracked down on the Internet and Train tickets were designed to be included for each guest. From there the themed snowballed into a huge, magnificent, magical event. How far did it go? Just take a look at a few of the decorations and food photos. We made a "Daily Prophet" with stories that pertained to both the parent's-to-be and Harry Potter World news. There was a Wishing Tree, and owl, a dragon to protect the guest sign in sheet. Banners for Hogwart's and each house were ordered. Games were designed around the theme as well. There was Divinity 101(paper bags with items in them and guests would put there hands in the bag and try to figure out what the item was - all items pertained to baby, mom, or dad). We also created a magical "Left/Right" story(each time we would say left or right a wrapped gift would be passed left or right around the room).
The food was probably the most in depth part of the planning though. It had to be good and we wanted it to be as true to the story foods as possible. The food table included Exploding Bon Bon's, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Jelly Beans, Honeyduke's Saltwater Taffy, Hufflepuff's Famous Popcorn, Cornish Pasty, Pumpkin Pasty, Treacle Tart, Herbology Fruit Wands, Tea Sandwiches, and Witches Hat Cupcakes. Beverages included "Winking Owl" wines, tea, and(of course) Butterbeer! Even the guest gifts were themed around candy from Honeyduke's! Each guest was sent home with a Wizard's Treat Mix that included a lollipop, jelly slugs, golden chocolate coins, black licorice wands, and Chocolate Frogs! We also designed a Hogwart's diploma for each guest. Needless to say, I think we all gained a pound or two with all of the amazing food and beverages. Just take a look at a few of the pictures from the planning and party. It was most definitely a magical baby shower that will always be remembered!
These were the guest gifts....Honeyduke's Special Wizards Treat Mix
The Daily Prophet with headlines covering the expecting mother and Wizarding World News
Banners were displayed to represent each of Hogwart's Houses
Food - Enough said
Witches Hat Cupcakes
The invitations included a map to Hogwart's "temporary" location, the official letter from Hogwart's Professors, a train ticket, and a proclamation that stated the theme was to be kept a strict secret from the mommy-to-be.
Invitations were made official with a wax seal.
The party was absolutely magical. That we pulled it off as we wanted to was nothing short of a miracle. OK - I knew we could do it and it was a blast doing as well!
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