This was a Harry Potter party for my daughter's 6th birthday.  It included elements of  all three movies. Since it was a family party as well as a classmate party, I rented a  local legion hall.  I sent the invitations on a scroll design paper, summoning everyone  to a special celebration in the Great Hall at Hogwarts.  I described some of the planned activites and asked them to respond by owl (any owl except Errol), phone or  e-mail. To decorate the hall, we covered the walls in flagstone printed paper. On one  wall, I wrote "Happy Birthday Shannon" in drippy red paint so it looked like a message  from the heir of Slytherin. I also taped a line of plastic spiders near one window, so it looked like the line of spiders Ron and Harry followed in the movie. We hung up many Harry Potter pictures, a poster and even a Harry Potter towel!  We covered the  tables in the house colors (red, yellow, blue, green).   I set up one long table for the children that was set with Harry Potter tablecovers, plates, cups, etc.  Each child had a goodie bag that included pixy stix, a Hogwarts "blow-out", "witches warts" candy, and  a "Twistables" fruit snack. I had Harry Potter coloring pages and crayons set out as well.  Above the kids' table were hung four long felt banners I made with the colors  and designs of each of the four houses (Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and  Hufflepuff).  Around the room, battery operated torches flickered on the walls and on each table, a  small "fake flame" cauldron served as the centerpiece. As guests arrived, they were greeted by a Dementor by the front door (a Halloween  grim reaper decoration) and a sign that said "The Dementors of Azkaban are watching you". In the main room, I set up four small tables along one wall to represent four subjects for the kids to explore. The "Potions" table included jars of ingredients such as "Wiggentree Bark" (bark from a tree in my backyard), "Bloodworms" (cooked spaghetti in red water), plastic cockroaches, "Powdered root of  Asphodel" (brown sugar) and "Shredded Boomslang skin" (dyed coconut). Also on  the table were an assortment of test tubes and beakers filled with colored water. The "Charms" table had a magic wand and a brightly colored feather which had a  long piece of monofilament tied to it.  The monofilament went up to the ceiling,  through a paper clip we pushed into a ceiling tile, then back down.  Then, when one  child cast a spell, another child could pull on the other end of the monofilament and it would look like the feather levitated. This looked especially good from a distance!!!   The "Herbology" table had "devil's snare" vines all around it, and an old venus fly trap bank I've had for years. When you put a coin in its mouth, it "comes alive" and eats the coin.  I had a bowl of pennies on the table, and children were invited to "feed a knut to the venomous tentacula". The "Divination" table had an "Eye of the Storm" on it which is an electrified crystal  ball in which colorful fingers of electricity dance.  Children enjoyed touching the  crystal ball and watching the fingers of light inside changing. The ladies room door had a sign that said "watch out for Moaning Myrtle" with a picture of Moaning Myrtle on it and the men's room door had a sign that said "Beware of Mountain Trolls" with a picture of the troll. We had a sorting hat ceremony, children sat on a stool and my husband provided the  voice through a baby monitor from another room.  I printed the crest designs from  each house onto cardstock and glued jewelry pins to the back so that as the children were sorted they could wear a pin of their house crest. The children enjoyed several activities.  We played "guess how many jelly beans are in the cauldron" with the winner receiving a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans  (there were 1,195 beans!!!).  We also played "Aragog's ring toss" which was an inflatable spider, the legs of which stuck up with a different point value on each. Kids had four rings to throw and whoever ended up with the highest score was the winner.  We also played "pass the snitch" which was like hot potato. The kids stood in a circle and passed a small snitch around as Harry Potter music played. When the music  stopped, whoever had the snitch was out of the game.  The last person remaining was the winner.  Winners of games got first pick of prizes in a treasure chest.  All kids  got to pick a prize eventually. I also set up a small cauldron on a stand, and set it over a "fake flame" light.  I filled the cauldron with plastic easter eggs so it looked like dragon eggs heating over a fire.   In each egg were two "magic grow" capsules and a note from Hagrid instructing the children to take the capsules home and put them in hot water. Food included moon and star shaped cheese, "cheese wands" (string cheese) and also cold meats, fruits, vegetables and dips.  We had a great birthday cake with a Quiddich design on top, including Harry chasing the snitch and the three Quiddich  hoops, and also served homemade chocolate frogs.  The children's beverages were set out in a large plastic cauldron. We had a fog machine to add a spooky touch to the room. Other decorations we used  included a plastic sword decorated with red jewels and the name "Godric Gryffindor" written along the blade, a broomstick, a plush owl resembling Hedwig and guests  were also asked to write a message to the birthday girl in a Hogwarts journal.  I glued  a long feather to the pen they used.  I also decided to dress the part of a Hogwarts professor, so I wore a shiny blue gown and matching cape. I got many compliments on the party, the kids had a great time and the birthday girl  had the time of her life.