How to Throw a Harry Potter Slytherin Party

This Slytherin Party takes you straight into the wizarding world! Most of the items are thrifted or DIY with easy to follow tutorials.

I have two brand new (to me) nieces that just joined the family. They are both equally obsessed with Harry Potter and had a birthday a few weeks ago.

It was a no-brainer that I would help my sister set up their dinner party. I have an entire series of Harry Potter Ideas scattered throughout my site. So what we did was combine those with some NEW ideas.

One of the girls is a Slytherin. We ran with it and decided to lean into Slughorn’s dinner party vibes. The end results were AMAZING.

Be sure to check out the Original Harry Potter Party post if you’re more Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw.

Slytherin Party Decorations

The first thing we did was devise a plan. We wanted the girls to feel special, but also didn’t want to break the bank. We decided to purchase a few items new for them to take home and use a lot of things we already had on hand. Here’s what we purchased:

• Hogwarts House Flags
• Slytherin Wand Stand
• Triwizard Cup
• Hedwig Stuffed Animal

Next, we divided the room. We wanted three spaces to be defined:

• Ollivander’s Wand Shop
• Wanted Photo Booth
• Slytherin Dinner Table

Walking into the house you would immediately see the cutest wand display. My brother in-law built this wooden wand holder so each of his kids could pick up their wand and experience a little of that magic. He even included little tag displays for the wands to get a name and description of what they were made of (not pictured).

Honestly my favorite piece from the party. AND currently hanging in my office with all of my geeked out DIY wands.

DIY Harry Potter Party Ideas

Speaking of, I FINALLY was able to write a step by step post for DIY Harry Potter Wands. These are not the typical chopstick version (which are equally as awesome). They are heavy duty dowel made wands that look like the real deal.

I kid you not, the first time we made these for my son’s party I had full grown adults begging for the extras.

The best part? You don’t even need any special equipment beyond a drill, dowel, and sand paper to make these!

We also made DIY Felt Ties. You can hop over to the tutorial for these.

Just know that they are the EASIEST and cost almost nothing. I measure out the length I want, rough sketch a template (tracing a real tie works too), and cut and glue the pieces together with fabric glue.

All of the kids flipped for these and it was a minimal effort party decoration.

The Harry Potter Photo Booth is another of my all-time favorite creations. We did this for my little guy as well, so I had a pretty good idea it would be a hit with the family.

I found some downloadable wanted posters online, pasted a black and white photo of the birthday girls onto a few, and printed a few dozen.

We taped them up and used a black board to make the “Have you seen this wizard” sign.

When I originally created this adorable backdrop, I used the scene from the last movie when Harry, Ron, and Hermione are running out of the ministry with the locket. Harry turns back and uses his wand to whirl a stack of papers in the air as a distraction. These happen to be the “wanted” posters.

Is it really a party without a Quick and Easy Balloon Garland? We spent a few dollars on green, black, and silver balloons. Wrapped the garland around the windows and INSTANTLY started to see the space turn into the Slytherin common room.

Slytherin Party Table

Now, time for the BEST PART. The dinner table.

We wanted this to really shine. Inspired by Slughorn’s dinner party, the one with those giant drool-worthy ice creams, and decided to give it some real flair. Most of the items are recycled, from the dollar store, or thrifted like:

• Empty Wine Bottles (green worked out well!)
• Candle Holders
• Tall Candle Sticks
• Black Feathers
• Glitter Spiders
• LED candles
• Black Mesh

We did eventually add two long gold snakes that were painted gold. They weren’t ready for photos, but they looked incredible!

Also printed our own Quibbler magazines to have on hand for guests! This was a last minute idea from my son. He is obsessed with the Quibbler and how often it is referenced in the books. Added an extra special touch.

I should note, a LOT of the decor came from my Halloween decoration stash. Hosting a Slytherin party is the perfect excuse to break these out. Grab anything dark and spooky for your table or home!

We also found some great plastic cutlery that matched plastic plates. Making it appear “fancy” but making clean up a breeze. Thanks, Amazon!

Harry Potter Recipes

Now, time for my favorite part. The FOOD.

The dinner was take-out (their request) which meant we didn’t have much else to make. The one big thing we wanted to make sure to include was the iconic Hagrid Cake. You know the one. Presented to Harry at his 11th birthday.

It was the EASIEST cake to make. Mainly because you don’t have to make it look pretty. Because, well, it doesn’t in the movie.

My sister also had a candy trolley (forgot to photo) and some cute truffles made into snitches.

More Harry Potter Recipes:

• Best Ever Chocolate Cake (used in the cake above)
• Butterbeer Cupcakes
• 2-Ingredient butterbeer fudge
• Frozen Butterbeer

More Harry Potter Party Ideas

Alright, so we’re winding down but I wanted to share a few more fun ideas you could have at your Harry Potter Party:

• Follow the Spiders (pictured above)- We used paper spiders I had in my Halloween stash to lead everyone to the Forbidden Forest (Tv room).
• Platform 9-3/4. You can find so many cheap platform door decorations. Perfect way for guests to hop through the front door.
• Potion Cocktails- Seriously considered this, but the twins aren’t drinkers so we stayed sober this time.
• Outdoor Quidditch- Set up a quidditch pitch using hula hoops in the yard.

So, what do you think? While we might not be celebrating like we traditionally would, the girls loved that we went the extra mile and they were still able to enjoy a Harry Potter themed celebration with their family.