International Harry Potter day: How can you celebrate?
International Harry Potter day is celebrated on the 2nd of May every year, for all Potter fans who can’t get enough of the wizarding world of magic! It’s no secret that the magical world of Harry Potter has become iconic since the first books release, around 26 years ago, in 1997. The popularity for the magical world increased, four years later, when the first film came to the big screen with a bang in 2002. Since the whole series and books were released, the wizarding world continued to grow in popularity and is still very iconic to this day.
Due to this, lots of people worldwide jumped onto the Hogwarts Express and became huge fans of the fictional series. While people lost themselves in the wonderful magic, wizard battles and sorting into their favourite houses, a decade passed and the Harry Potter series ended. This is when Harry Potter day was born to celebrate the iconic magical world.
The 2nd of May was chosen for the day to celebrate all things Potter as it was when the amazing Battle of Hogwarts was fought. This was the battle that finally defeated Lord Voldemort so is the perfect day to celebrate Harry potter, Hogwarts and all the amazing wizards and unique characters!
But how can you celebrate this amazing day? It can be hard to think of fun and unique ways to show your appreciation for Harry Potter. To help you get your wizard on and create spell-binding, fun activities, we have created a guide of various Harry Potter activities that are bound to cast a spell on you and your family. Try these magical activities out and celebrate Harry Potter day in the best, most exciting ways possible!
Play Harry Potter board games
Gather your family round to celebrate Harry Potter day with engaging and exciting Harry Potter board games. Leap into the wizarding world of magic and host a family board games night centred around Harry Potter.
You could pick out your favourite Potter games to play and let your family choose the order they want to play, to keep the night interesting for everyone. You could even cast your spell with yummy Harry Potter themed treats, such as chocolate frogs or Bertie Bott’s every flavour beans. Sprinkle more magic with Harry Potter themed cocktails and mocktails for everyone to enjoy and don’t forget the butterbeer!
We have a wonderful range of Harry Potter board games to choose from and you can explore some below, to help you decide the best board games to play for International Harry Potter day.
Harry Potter Race to the Triwizard Cup
Are you ready for the next wizarding world adventure with the ultimate race to the Triwizard Cup? This super-fun game will truly put your inner wizardry to the test as you dodge dragons, land on magical encounters, play your next spell card and pass the golden egg.
See who wins the Triwizard cup as you battle it out by completing all the tasks, dodging the dragons and being the first one to reach the cup. Discover who is the ultimate wizard in your family with this must-have board game for all Harry Potter fans. A perfect game to celebrate the day with as it is a thrilling challenge against all odds and unleashes your inner wizard!
Skillmatics Guess in 10 Harry Potter Edition
Put you and your fellow wizards to the ultimate trivia test and see who knows the most about Harry Potter with this exciting Skillmatics Guess in 10 Harry Potter Edition Game! Using the cards that give you 52 different characters, ask smart questions to try and guess the character on the card correctly. It really is that simple, meaning any Harry Potter fan from aged 8 all the way to 99 can play!
The characters can be anyone from Harry Potter himself, Albus Dumbledore and Ginny Weasley to Lord Voldemort and Severus Snape. The game is packed full of fun facts and trivia so is a perfect game to play to celebrate Harry Potter.
Harry Potter Pictionary Air Game
Play the classic game of Pictionary with a magical twist by playing the Harry Potter Pictionary Air Game. Aspiring witches and wizards will adore the magical fun that comes with playing this game. Cast a spell using the wand, just like Harry Potter, and draw in the air from the clue cards inspired by the wizarding world. Watch your drawing come to life on your screen through the Pictionary air app!
Let your competitors guess what you have drawn and see who guesses right the most! It truly will put a charm on your Harry Potter family board game night.
Have a Harry Potter movie marathon
What’s a better way to celebrate International Harry Potter day than watching all of the Harry Potter films? Snuggle up with your family and watch all 8 films in order! This can be spread out over a weekend or watch them in the week leading up to the big day!
Create a comfy area that you and your child can settle down in. You could use blankets to snuggle together with or let your child make a den with duvets, blankets, pillows and cushions! Once your set up is ready, have some scrummy snacks to munch on while enjoying the films. These could be simple treats such as popcorn, chocolate and sweets, or you could make it even more special by offering Harry Potter themed sweets like Butterbeer gummies!
Invite other family and friends over for a movie marathon party to make this activity extra-special! If you are doing a film per evening, on the run up to the big day, you could have different themes each evening for your family and friends to enjoy! This could be coming as your favourite house or dressing as your favourite character.
Make some yummy butterbeer
Whip up some yummy butterbeer to taste on Harry Potter day, as it’s the perfect way to celebrate the wizarding world of magic. Try out delicious recipes to create your favourite butterbeer that tastes just like the ones they sell at Harry Potter world!
All you need is cream soda, caramel extract, butter extract, heavy whipping cream or squirty cream, butterscotch syrup for topping and powdered sugar! You just have to mix all the yummy ingredients together in some beer glasses and enjoy! Discover more on how to make this tasty drink here.
Sip it while watching the films or during your family board game night. You can even just relax with a cup of butterbeer together, talking about everything you adore about Harry Potter.
Host a Harry Potter themed party
Host a Harry Potter themed party for your family and friends to show your appreciation for the series, it is the perfect way to celebrate International Harry Potter day. Encourage your guests to dress up as their favourite characters and cast a spell to turn your house into the wizardry school with some fun Harry Potter decorations.
Create a delicious buffet with tasty treats and Harry Potter sweets, you could even add home-made bakes for everyone to enjoy! You could re-create the wizarding world by shaping your food into wands, broomsticks and even characters (if possible).
Sort you and your family into your house
To celebrate the iconic day and show your love for all things Harry Potter, why not sort you and your family into a house? In the magical school, there are four different houses that each represent the different elements. These are Gryffindor (fire), Slytherin (water), Ravenclaw (air) and Hufflepuff (earth). Each student at
Hogwarts is sorted into their house which is determined by the sorting hat and fans love to discover which house they belong to as well!
See who is the Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Gryffindor in your family by using the sorting hat on the wizarding world website. You can see if you get the house you want or if your personality suits a different house. Are you a good guy, like Harry Potter, or a bad guy, like Draco Malfoy?
You could even make your own sorting hat with each house written on a piece of paper. You can shake the pieces of paper up and get each of your family to pick one to determine their house. To make it extra fun, create multiple pieces of paper for each house and see what you get!
Read Harry Potter books
Curl up and read your favourite Harry potter books for Harry Potter day and escape in the magic. Choose your favourite book and read it for the day or try and read each book in the week leading up to the day! Delve into the original stories of Harry Potter again, or for the first time if you were too young when they were first released! Discover wonderful storylines that haven’t made it into the film adaptations and get lost in wizard battles, what’s a better way to spend the day?
Get your child involved with reading the classic books too by reading together. You could do a chapter a day of your favourite book in the weeks leading up to the day. Read out loud together and take on different characters to keep the reading interesting and fun for your child.
On the day, you could read one chapter from one of the Harry Potter books. This can be done as a waking up activity before a day filled of magical fun, or as a wind down activity before bed to get your witch or wizard to relax and fall to sleep!
Learn how to play Quidditch
Quidditch is a sport any muggle wishes they could play, and now you can! You can now learn a muggle version of the favourite magical sport although, it doesn’t involve flying broomsticks sadly. However, it is still an exciting and enjoyable sport to play with the whole family to show your love for Harry Potter.
All you need to play is:
- A broomstick for each player
- A volleyball/football for the quaffle
- Dodgeballs/or soft balls for the bludgers
- A tennis ball for the snitch
How to play muggle Quidditch
Step one:
Hold your broomsticks between your legs at all times. Make sure to have one hand on the broomstick, like you are flying in the real game! No one should fall off or drop their broomstick throughout the game.
Step two:
Make sure you have four different balls before you play, as this is needed to be able to play. You should have one volleyball/football which is the quaffle, two dodgeballs/soft balls that are the bludgers and one small ball (tennis ball) that is strapped to one player, which is the snitch.
Step three:
Ensure you have three hula hoops at each end of your garden or field, these can be tied onto different sized sticks or poles. These will be the goals. Then, split your group into two teams and assign roles to each person.
First, each team needs to decide who the captain will be. The captain of each team will decide the roles of the rest of the team. Once a captain is decided, they can determine the roles of the rest of their teams, these are:
- Chasers: select three chasers who are responsible for throwing or kicking the quaffer through the hoops, they are the ones who try to get goals.
- Beaters: have two beaters who throw the bludgers at the opposing team players. They are trying to kick players off the team for a while to give their team an advantage.
- Keeper: each team needs one keeper who prevents the opposite team from scoring and defends the goals.
- Seeker: one seeker is needed in each team who has to catch the snitch.
- The Snitch: Have one person that isn’t a part of any team to carry the snitch. They can have this on their waist or wrist, or can hold it. They have to run away from each of the seekers as when the snitch is caught, the game ends and the team who caught it, gets 30 points extra.
- A referee: Assign one person to be a referee who starts the game by throwing the quaffle in the air. They call out penalties so this will have to be someone who is fair.
Wear the same colours as your team to distinguish the difference between the teams, you could get two different coloured shirts to hand out before the game. Then you could add accessories in different colours for various roles, so the seeker could wear a sweatband while the chasers wear a hat.
Step four
Now you are set up, the aim of the game is to get as many scores as possible by getting the quaffle through the hoops at each end. When the quaffle gets in a hoop, the team that scored gets 10 points. To get the quaffle there, it can be passed between different players in the same team.
To stop the game and get the most points, your team has to get the snitch to get 30 extra points on top of what you have gained from goals! Whichever team has the most points, wins.
However, throughout the game, the beaters of each team will be throwing bludgers at their opposition to temporarily get them out. If someone is hit by a bludger they must dismount their broom and tag one of the hoops at either end before they can resume playing!
Step five
To make the game fair and harder to win, each team will be watched by the referee. They will call out penalties and decide how long a player, who has cheated or played dirty, will be out of the game for. Penalties to look out for are:
- Not keeping your broomstick in place is a foul
- Failing to dismiss a broomstick and tagging a hoop after being hit with a bludger is a foul
- If any player, other than the seekers, touch the snitch it’s a foul
- Any rough playing or dirty tricks, such as hitting, kicking or shoving can be deemed a foul.
Follow our small guide on how to play muggle Quidditch to play a fun, sporty game with your friends and family and celebrate International Harry Potter day. Find out even more about muggle Quidditch here.
Visit Harry Potter world
Immerse yourself in the ultimate Harry Potter experience by visiting the Harry Potter world in London. Delve into how Harry Potter was created and see all the different sets that were used in each of the films! Check out magical props that all the key characters used and discover original costumes that your favourite characters wore when filming the iconic Harry potter films!
You can uncover all the behind-the-scenes magic and enjoy tasty treats, drinks and take some spell-binding merchandise home with you. It is an exciting day out for the whole family to get lost in the wonder of the wizarding world and a perfect opportunity to get some cherished memories at your favourite places, from Diagon alley to the Great Hall! Snap some pictures and celebrate Harry Potter day in style.
Plus, there are often different attractions and themed days that you can see for a limited time only, such as the return to Azkaban that runs from the 1st of May- 4th of September. This day is to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban where you can see new features and spell-binding sets!
See what’s on and get a taste for the perfect day out here!
Make your own Marauder’s Map
Why not get crafty for the big day and try making your very own Marauder’s Map? You and your child can get stuck into some arts and crafts to create a unique Marauder’s Map, which you can add your own twist to with colours if you like!
All you need to create the map is a printer, paper, scissors and a glue stick. Then you can source a Marauder’s Map template to use and print this on the paper.
Once this is printed, you can help your child to cut them down, removing the blank parts of the paper around the edges. You then need to line each of the designs up and glue them down together.
Wait for the glue to dry completely and then fold the map accordion style on the crease lines. Once this is done, you have your very own Marauder’s Map!
To get the templates and for further help with making this amazing, magical map, check out this website.
Go on a Harry Potter treasure hunt
Set up a fun Harry Potter treasure hunt for an exciting and magical adventure on International Harry Potter day. Hide trivia clues about Harry Potter around the house or garden for your child and their friends to find. They have to answer the trivia clues correctly to go onto the next one. Try to get your clues to hint where the next clue will be too. You can do this by having the trivia clue at the top with a small sentence on where to find the next clue at the bottom of the paper.
Your child and their friends can hunt for each clue, trying to get the trivia questions correct to lead them to a prize at the end. Hide the prize in a more difficult place as a final challenge and whoever finds it, gets to keep it. The prize could be a selection of Harry Potter sweets or a fun Harry Potter toy! Hand out sweets and other tasty treats to every child who takes part so they don’t feel defeated if they don’t win the big prize.
Bake delicious Harry Potter treats
Spend International Harry Potter day baking home-cooked treats with your child to enjoy later. You could create your favourite recipes and decorate them to look like something from Harry Potter. This could be a big cake with icing on top to look like Hogwarts, or little cupcakes with each house emblem decorated on them.
You could even make tasty cookies or brownies and decorate with icing to make different characters from the well-loved series. You can add sprinkles, gummies and even edible glitter to perfect your bakes and make them look even better. Once baked and cooled, you and your child can tuck into the tasty treats while watching the films or reading the books. You could even serve these treats at your Harry Potter party for all your guests to enjoy!
For inspiration with your Harry Potter bakes, you could use the new Harry Potter baking book. This book is perfect to make Harry Potter treats, giving you simple step-by-step instructions to create better bakes.
Dress up as your favourite Potter character
The best way to celebrate Harry Potter day is by dressing up as your favourite Potter character. Encourage your family to pick their favourite character and dress up as them for a day filled of magic fun! You can all try out the activities above while being dressed up and feeling like a wizard or witch.
Cast a spell on your family with amazing accessories too. From wands to broomsticks, you can become the wizard or witch you were born to be and unleash your magical powers. You could even flaunt your family costumes at your Harry Potter party and show off your favourite character to friends and family!
At BargainMax, we have an awesome range of Harry Potter costumes and accessories that you can explore. For inspiration on a costume your child can wear, we have listed some of our favourite costumes and accessories below.
Harry Potter costume kit
Transform your little wizard into Harry Potter with our amazing Harry Potter costume kit. Your little wizard can become Potter before they say “Wingardium Leviosa!”
With his iconic specs and wand, your little Harry Potter enthusiast can cast spells to their hearts content. They can become a student of the Dark Arts of Witchcraft and Wizardry and your family and friends can be in awe of your child’s costume that looks so real, they will have to watch out for their next trick!
Perfect for children aged 5-8 years old for a Harry Potter party or just for role-play fun!
Harry Potter Luna Lovegood costume
If your little one adores Luna Lovegood, they will love dressing up as her with this wonderful Harry Potter Luna Lovegood costume. Luna, sometimes known as ‘Loony’, is known as one of the most brilliant minds in the series. She has the wildest imagination in the whole wizarding world and is one of Harry Potter’s trusted friends. She helps lead in the fight against Voldemort alongside Harry and her amazing mind is powerful in this.
She is a Ravenclaw student who has an enchanting, yet unusual sense of style. This style is brought to life in this costume with a multi-patterned dress and a pair of fabric glasses. Your little witch can become Luna Lovegood in seconds, ready for a magical day of events or a fun party!
Harry Potter broom
Complete your child’s costume for Harry Potter day with our fun Harry Potter broom accessory. The Nimbus 2000 is a broom everyone wants as it’s the fastest broomstick out there, perfect for catching the snitch in Quidditch!
Now your child has the opportunity to have their very own Nimbus 2000 to complete their character look. They can test out the theory of how fast the broom is and see how fast they can travel through the grounds of Hogwarts. Just add your favourite robes with the broom to complete your child’s costume for the day.
Try out our fun activities to celebrate Harry Potter day with and step into the wizarding world of magic to show your appreciation for the loveable series. Let your child help pick out your favourite activities to fill International Harry Potter day with spell-binding magic.
It can be hard to fit all of these exciting activities into your day so try to combine some together such as dressing up, the party and baking treats. If you fancy doing all of these Harry Potter activities, why not do an activity a day on the lead up to Harry Potter day? So, go on, unleash your inner wizard or witch and cast your powerful spells to celebrate International Harry Potter day!
