Mandrake Pot

Another quick(ish) craft at the Little Tomato Casa... a Mandrake pot! For a quick rundown of how the mandrake was made, instructions are below.

Divination Balls

For the upcoming Escape from Azkaban party that we will be hosting in October, we are including a 'Divination Classroom' in the party. Of course, divination balls will be needed! Tutorial on the divination balls below...

Knockturn Alley... In Progress

With Halloween quickly approaching, Husband and I are working on our next escape-room-esque party! We have both always loved Halloween, and after all of the work and props that we have accumulated with Little Tomato's Harry Potter parties, it only makes sense to keep with the wizarding world theme for our October shin-dig. Last year's party was a Horcrux Hunt. This year's theme will be 'Escape from Azkaban.'

Chamber of Secrets Party: Decorations

The Chamber of Secrets party is officially over. It was another great birthday party for Little Tomato and her friends. I have already posted about the classes and hunt activities, so this is just a final post of the decorations we had set up for the party.

For the Classes, see THIS post.
For the Hunt, see THIS post.

Chamber of Secrets Party: The Hunt

The Chamber of Secrets party ended with a hunt that I created for the students. It was a sort of mix of scavenger hunt, escape-room-style puzzles & keys, and Clue. The instructions for the hunt were given in a diary entry.

*** Now available in a kit in my Etsy shop HERE***

Chamber of Secrets Party: Classes

The two classes for the Chamber of Secrets party were crafts: Potting Mandrake Seedlings & Cornish Pixie Jars. I have included the project supplies and steps in the post below.

One Day to Go... A Sneak Peek at the Chamber of Secrets Game!

Radio silence usually means I'm too busy crafting to post on the blog. The last few weeks I have been hurriedly working on the party details for the upcoming Chamber of Secrets birthday party for Little Tomato.

For this party, we are starting with a couple of quick crafts, which the girls will get to take home: re-potting baby mandrakes & a Cornish Pixie jar.

After the crafts, there will be a little game. This is what has been taking so long to work out. I'm not going to lie, my brain is a little fried right now!

I have devised a game that is a little bit 'escape room' flair, a little bit scavenger hunt flair, and a little bit Clue flair... I think it will be a hit!

The game begins with a diary page that reads,

"We have learned that this diary, that belonged to the heir of Slytherin, has bewitched a student at Hogwarts to open the Chamber of Secrets! Ginny Weasley has been kidnapped and taken to the Chamber. You must help find who is bewitched by the diary, where the entrance to the Chamber is hidden in the castle, and what creature is the Beast of Slytherin before it is too late for Ginny! 

Follow the clues you find. Every person, beast, and location found can be ruled out. When you have found all of the clues, you will have all you need to free Ginny!"

The 'students' will be given a checklist (Clue-style!) and their first clue. All of the clues are provided by Gilderoy Lockhart in his typical 'Lockhart flair.' Some are riddles, some are puzzles- it is a fun mix of solving clues and hunting for the next clue once you've solved what you're looking for. Each clue includes a card of a Suspect, Beast, or Location. That card can be checked off the list, as we know that they are not 'guilty.' Each Suspect, Beast, & Location is numbered. Once the students find all of the clues (and thus, all of the cards). They are left with only one Suspect, Beast, and Location that can be the answer to the game. The number of associated with each [Suspect - Beast - Location] is entered into a final lock which completes the game!

What I love about the game setup is that I designed it to allow the cards to be mixed up. Much like Clue, you can shuffle the Suspects, Beasts, and Locations and set a new end game. While the clues are the same, you can shuffle the order of them, and where the item they lead to is hidden (ex. if the answer to the clue is 'glove,' the glove can be hidden somewhere new).  So the game can be replayed with different results.

I'm looking forward to seeing it played out tomorrow!

 

Harry Potter Howler DIY

A Chamber of Secrets Party Needs a Howler

The howler was a relatively straightforward project. It was completed within 1-1/2 hours while Little Tomato was at a playdate.  Instructions & links below.

Whomping Willow Cupcake Stand

Whomping Willow Cupcake Display for Chamber of Secrets Birthday Party

For the upcoming Chamber of Secrets birthday party for Little Tomato, I wanted to add a few 'Chamber of Secrets specific' props for the party. After completing the Ford Anglia prop, I started working on a Whomping Willow cupcake stand.

Ford Anglia Photo Prop

For Little Tomato's upcoming Chamber of Secrets birthday party, I thought it would be fun to expand on our existing Harry Potter props. Since the party is specifically geared to book 2, Chamber of Secrets, it made sense to add a Weasley Ford Anglia photo prop.