A Magical 9th Birthday

Jake woke up on June 16th the day of his birthday party and got to open up two very important gifts.  First his Gryffindor Robes and tie, and Second this very cool wand in a velvet lined Olivander’s box.  It was the perfect surprise and start to a wonderful birthday weekend. 

We had planned to have the party at a nearby castle.  It took a lot of extra planning….getting a friends van to help haul kids and stuff, toting everything to the castle, borrowing a table for the “Great Hall”, and hoping for perfect weather..etc.  It was a little stressful on the 20 minute drive to the castle as we sped down the Autoban in a downpour of rain.  I was so disappointed.  I had wanted the party to go smoothly and rain was not in the plan!!

Jake all ready to head to Hogwarts!  First activity after setup was to get sorted into houses.  The kids were sorted into Gryffindor and Ravenclaw.  The sorting hat made the decision for each 1st year! 

 

After determining houses, the kids tried out Bertie Botts every flavor beans to see if they could recognize the yummy flavors like: vomit, earwax, rotten egg, boogar, pepper, grass and more.  They were a HUGE HIT!  Next they headed to “Olivandra’s” (run by Hanna) to have a wand matched to each person.  These wands were very fun to make, but turned out to be quite a project.  It was a bit of trial and errror, but in the end they were really cool.  (Made from paint brushes stripped of there bristles, hardened clay, painted, and then mod podged. 

Takumi Ford…one of Jake’s best buddies from school and  church this year.  So sad they are “pcs-ing” back to the states this summer.  Hanna is great friends with his big sister Minami. 

 
Next the wizards headed to Spells class.  They learned 3 spells:  Arana Exeme!  (for spiders), Petrificus totalis! (for snakes), and Pretego Lupis! (for warewolves).  Then they each got a turn at getting attacked by either a spider, snake, or wolf to see if they could remember their spells before the stuffed animal attacked them.  They loved this! 

When it was Jake’s turn, Instead of attacking him with one thing when he turned around, they all came forward to attack him and confuse him! 

Next they were off to Potion’s class where they learned some different potions and reactions. 

They were all very impressed with Jared’s little Potion’s show! 

After a yummy sandwich with brotchen from our village bakery, the kids wanted to explore the castle.  Leichtenberg Castle is located by Kusel Germany.  Its about 20-25 minute drive from our house.  It was the perfect back drop for our Harry Potter party, its our new favorite castle nearby.  They have a restaurant in it that Jared and I want to try soon.   

Thankfully our weather cleared up enough to get through the party!!  The wands were a huge hit.  The kids ran through the castle casting spells on each other and pointing wands at everything. 

The last two activities were Quidditch Tryout Relays and then finding the the hidden golden Snitch.  After running around the cones, they had to throw a quaffle ball through the golden goal and then hurry back to hand the broom off to the next person.  They Loved it!!

HEDWIG CUPCAKES were the perfect dessert this year! 

The last thing was to visit Honey Dukes sweet shop to spend all of their golden galleons they had collected throughout the party for the different activities.  They had plenty of yummy options.  Chocolate Frogs, gummy snakes, bats, golden snitches, edible wands, buckbeak droppings and more. 

The next morning before church Jake got to open his other gifts.  He was very blessed this year by everyone and got some really nice gifts.  His favorite being his very own camera and carrying case that hooks on his belt.  He was sooooo excited!  He’s my little shadow now when we travel and he brings along his camera. LOVE YOU BUDDY!