Harry Potter Halloween: Party Invitations

This year's Halloween Party has a Harry Potter Theme. I have had so much fun that I may want to throw another one in the future... My guests are adults and small children, so it has proven to be a little challenging to plan an event to apply to everyone. Today's post will cover the first and most important piece of the party, the invitation. An invitation can make or break a party as it can give your potential guests a taste of what they can expect at the party. It can make them excited to come, and gives all the information you might want them to know.

I tend to be a little particular when it comes to my Halloween parties and I this year is a tight budget... so there was quite a bit of information I needed to convey to my guests. I decided the best way to accomplish all of these requirements was to send my guests a letter of acceptance to Hogwarts.

There are four parts to this year's invitation. A letter, a supply list/course outline, the Marauder's Map, and the Hogwarts Express tickets. Each letter was addressed to each member of the family in the order of age. The letter stated their acceptance to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and included the information I needed to communicate. I tried my best to word it as officially "Harry Potter" as I could without making it too confusing.

The tricky bit was explaining that I needed this year's party to be more of a potluck experience. So the House Elves went on strike and this required the students coming to bring a soup or dessert.

Here is the letter and wording I used:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Mister Harry Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The term celebration will be held this year on October 26 at 4:30pm. We do hope you will be able to join us for the celebration as we expect a good time will be had by all in attendance. As the surrounding area is well-protected by Memory Charms, it will be safe to wear your regular wizard attire, however should you deem another character’s costume more fitting, feel free to arrive dressed accordingly. Should you miss the Hogwarts Express we have also enclosed a map for your convenience.

As a result of the Hogwart’s House Elf Strike, it is necessary to request that each attendant bring a favorite soup/chili dish or a magical dessert to add to the feast. For additional festivity, your selection may be entered into a contest (upon your request) to be considered for a prize. Please include your food selection and its entry in your reply.

We await your reply by owl no later than October 13. If you are unable to reply through regular owl post, please reply with your RSVP and any questions to [email address goes here] or via the Muggle telephony system at [phone number goes here].

Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. We are looking forward to your arrival at Hogwarts.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall 

This (of course) was printed in green ink, on parchment paper as per the letter Harry received in the series.

Part 2: the required supply list and course outline. This is where I explained everything that would be required. There is a required uniform (that of a character likeness), the potluck item, and I told them to bring their tickets along with them...

I wanted to give them a heads up for the general activities to expect so they could plan accordingly so I gave them a little "Course Schedule" that included Student Orientation, Feast, Quidditch Tournament, and the "House Points Ceremony".

The text for this part:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

UNIFORM 

All  students will require: 

A costume likeness of a Harry Potter character of their choice.

Please note that any other Halloween character costumes will be admitted, however may not be eligible for the costume contest prize.

Course Outline

4:30- Student Orientation

5:00- Feast in the Great Hall

6:00- Class activities & Quidditch Tournament

8:00- House Points Ceremony

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand (provided)

1 Hogwarts Express ticket (per student) 

1 soup/chili dish or a magical dessert or both if desired

Students may also bring an owl or a cat or a toad.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

Part 3: The Marauder's Map
Our house tends to be a little difficult to find if you haven't been here before... I had some guests who fit that category. And although some of my guests know how to get here, I included a map for everyone. The cover is a free printable I fond here. In word I wrote up my directions to find our house. I then created a map in Google maps and flagged my house. In paint, I created a dotted line to look (at least a little bit like) the path the map would show...

 Part 4: The Hogwarts Express Tickets
Nothing terribly special here... I found a free printable here and included one for each of the invitees on the letters. My original intent was to have a raffle or something for those who brought them. As it turned out, almost everyone left them at home. It was fine, I hadn't planned the details of that completely... but they were still a great addition to the invite!

All of the pieces were folded in the letter and they created their own envelope. Each was addressed to the invitees in a manner much like the address Harry got his first year. For example:
Mr. and Mrs. B. LeBaron
House on the corner
[Address goes here]
[City, State]

Finally, the detail that never fails to impress... Sealed with wax and delivered to their destinations.

General Notes:
I considered tea dying the paper I would need, but for sake of time and sanity, I purchased a box of parchment paper and the effect was amazing. I printed all parts on the parchment paper for the same effect. For $8, it was worth it for the 20 invitations I made.

For anyone who knows me, I LOVE fonts... and (at least for me) Harry Potter seems to demand special font attention. These are the fonts I used... I was pleased with the end result.
For the Letter and Class Schedule-(printed in green ink)
Letterhead and Section Headings- Lumos
Body of Letter- Magik
Signature- Windsong
Address Label- HogwartsWizard (green ink)

Map Directions- HogwartsWizard (dark brown to match the cover of the map)
Map Heading- Aquiline

I found a roundup of some awesome magical fonts here!

These invitations were the crowning jewel of everything I did for the party. I am so pleased with how they turned out. My friend even requested I make her another one to show off at work (hers was misplaced).

Special note: This particular project was not printer friendly... I certainly put ours to the test!