[HPFGU-OTChatter] Harry Potter side-shows

[Britta Peterson]

"Hagrid" <aussie_lol at yahoo.com.au> wrote:
> My kids' Girl Guides group is planning a Harry Potter day. Can anyone
> come up with other ideas?
>
> We want to set up tables or booths with different activities.
>
> PS - no Blast Ended Skrewts please

> Quidditch match ???
> we have basketball and football playing fields nearby. Any ideas on
> how to do it though?


Britta (me) writes:

(yay! I finally have a good reason to chime in! First time posting to
OT-Chatter! *waves to everyone I think I know now from reading your
posts but you have no clue who I am*)

Your ideas are already excellent, but I can add a few.  I had a "Year Five
at Hogwarts" party for the OotP release (website not up yet) which was
mostly adults, but I did have a few kids, so I set up some kid activities
(Hogsmeade Elementary School I called it)...this is what I did if it
helps, or if it inspires you to adapt these to your event:

Young Wizard Treasure Hunt

I wrote silly rhyming clues where each clue sent you to find the next
clue, ending with a treasure chest that included bubbles...leading to...

Bubblardium Leviosa!

I "taught" them the Bubbleardium Leviosa spell, which is just blowing
bubbles, but was lots of fun for the 4-7 year olds. :) (Yes, I realize
"bubblardium" wouldn't be correct, and I did look up some Latin to try for
better, but in the end since this was for kids, I went with more obvious)

Pretzel Wands

Using the large pretzel rods, various sprinkles & frostings, they could
decorate their own wands...but this might be expensive or difficult for a
lot of kids?

Decorate your own robe & hat

I used the cheap anti-weed garden fabric that is essentially the same as
the black gossamer sold at party supply placces like Shindigz.com, cut
them into kid-sized capes & added a drawstring for around the neck.  For
the hats, it was just black construction paper pre-cut in a cone shape
with double-sided tape pre-stuck to one side, then I had a bunch of
stickers & gel pens for them to decorate with.  These kids loved this!

Beginning Potions

I saved all sorts of interesting plastic or really safe glass bottles and
jars, made labels with the potion ingredient on one side with the real
ingredient on the other side, then let the kids go to it.  Everything was
edible & safe, so they could mix together whatever they wanted.  The kids
potions isn't online (yet!), but it used a lot of the same ingredients as
my adult potions from my party for Harry's birthday in 2002 here:
http://www.britta.com/hogwarts/party/potions.html
(obviously no Aqua Fortis for the kiddies! ;)

We also played Nerf Quidditch in my 20'x25' patch of grass in my
backyard...but it was all the adults who got really into this!  Here are
the rules I made up to accommodate Quidditch without broomsticks, since as
as you all know, the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy of 1692
strictly enforces the 1419 Wizard Council decree that "Quidditch should
not be played anywhere near any place where there is the slightest chance
that a Muggle might be watching or we'll see how well you can play whilst
chained to a dungeon wall." (QTTA) :)

I used a Nerf golfball painted gold as the Snitch, with gossamer wings I
added, and I found two small balls I painted black to be the Bludgers
with 20-cent "caveman" plastic bats, then a smallish soccer ball painted
red became the Quaffle. For my goalposts, I got cheap white PVC pipe for
the posts that I stuck into the grass, then cheap ribbed hosing painted
white for the hoops.

My Nerf Quidditch rules are below...wish I could just send a link but I
havn't been able to put anything up for my Year Five party yet... :(

Thanks!
Britta

---
Nerf Quidditch

Players:

(Due to space limitations, we eliminated one Chaser and one Beater from
each team from standard Quidditch.)

each team:
One Seeker (same)
One Keeper (same)
Two Chasers (-1)
One Beater (-1)
One Bludger (same)

The Keeper guards the goals as usual.  If a goal is made, the Keeper
throws the Quaffle back to the referee who puts the ball back into play.

The Chasers try to throw the Quaffle through the goals.

The Seeker tries to capture the Golden Snitch.

The Beater tries to prevent the Bludger balls from injuring any of their
own team.

The Bludgers stand on the sidelines, throwing the Bludger balls at the
opposing team.

Scoring:

Scoring is the same as standard Quidditch
10 points for each goal
150 points for capturing the Snitch

Rules:

Standard Quidditch rules that Quaffle scoring continues until the Golden
Snitch is captured, with the following substitutions for the lack of
magic:

The Bludgers:

Bludger balls are thrown at the players by "human Bludgers" on the
sidelines of the pitch.  Once hit by a Bludger ball, the player must
remain stationary and out of play for a count of 5 seconds.  The Beaters
on the pitch are responsible for throwing the Bludger balls back out to
the Bludger players on the sidelines, whether intercepted or recovered
from the ground after hitting a player.

The Golden Snitch:

The Golden Snitch is attached to a string on a pole, preferably a fishing
pole to be able to reel it in easily.  One person on the sidelines is in
charge of the Snitch, pulling it out of play and throwing it back in as
the mood strikes.  This person must be indepedent of any team so no
favoritism occurs in leaving the Snitch stationary allowing it to be
captured by a certain team. (Since I was hostess of the party and not
participating in House Points, I was the magic behind the Golden Snitch.)