For my son's 9th birthday party this past weekend I did a Harry Potter party. For the invitations we used card stock that I had aged to look like it had come a far distance, I did this using tea bags, and then I burnt the edges. As the guests arrived they watched a Harry Potter movie while we waited for everyone else. For the food I did my homework and found all kinds of neat foods in the book. I made pumpkin pastries ,caludron cakes, exploding bon bon's, butter beer, pumpkin juice, liquorice wands, chocloate frogs with a wizard card the child got to keep, every flavor beans, fire balls, magic soda, and chocolate pops Imade from a mold I found on ebay. For the butter beer I got a cauldron from a party store and poured the hot mix in, then for a somking effect I put in a piece of dry ice (this cools it down, and it safe to drink). I put the fire balls and jelly beans in to mini caludrons. I decorated the table with a dark blue table cloth and covered it with spider web and plastic spiders. The Kids loved the food. After they ate they went out side and we had them sorted into there houses. I got a sorting hat off ebay, and sewed in a little pocket for a walkie talkie. I had my dad record the diffrent house names in the order of which child was to go up, then when the child sat down I had my mom holding the other walkie talkie and she would play the recording into the other walike talike to make the hat "talk". I made each child a robe and used iron one patches I had made. After they were sorted into there houses they got there wands which I made from dowles that you can get from walmart. I took a large dowel for the handle and a much smaller one for the wand, cut them to the size I wanted, I drilled a hole into one end of the larger peice and glued the smaller dowel in with wood glue. After they got ther wands I let them decorate them with markers and glitter glue. While they dried we did cake a gifts. Now being that I made all of the other food, I couldnt just go out and buy a cake, so I made it as well. The cake was a smoking witches hat, I just made a reg sheet cake and frosted it with black frosting. Before I frosted it I cut out some of the center (big enough to hold a little plastic continer, one from a fruit cup will do fine) then I frosted around it. I made a hat out of construction paper, when it was time to bring out the cake I put some dry ice in the cup and added a bit of HOT water and then put on the hat, it smoked like crazy, the kids loved it. After cake and gifts the kids played "Moaning Mertal", this is kinda like marco polo, except the kids who are not it have to moan, and the child who is it has to close there eyes and try to find one of the moaners.The had a blast. Then they all got there wands and played wizard hid-n-seek, this game uses the same rules as reg. hid-n-seek, except instead of "it" taging the other children he uses his wand and yells "stupify" the freezing spell. There is a twist, if one of the hiders see's "it" first then they yell "expelliarmus" the disarming spell, and "it" has to start counting again. We also a had broomstick relay race. I made up a few games they got to take home in there goodie bage, IE, a crossword puzzle, word search, and a word scramble. The kids had a blast, and the parents all asked me to to there next party. If you would like a copy of the crossword, word search, or word scramble, or the recipies please email me, I also have other ideas that I did not have time to use. kenzibrook25@aol.com