MAKE IT CUTE

Lucky for you, GL is here to make the party planning a cinch. All you’ll have to do is brush up on your Potter trivia and pull out your stack of books and DVDs.

Invite the merry marauders. Get an antique, old-world feel with parchment paper. Draw a Marauder’s Map lightly in colored pencil. Over top, glue construction paper cut-outs of a wand shooting colorful sparks. In thick Sharpie—think metallics—write out the deets. Above it all, scrawl “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.”

Set the scene. Give your home a makeover, Harry Potter-style. Each room should have a theme. The kitchen or dining room could become the Great Hall with candles and pumpkins. Your living room? Toss the pillows onto the floor and pull in beanbag chairs if you’ve got ‘em and call it Trelawney’s tower divination room. Fall asleep in Hogwarts house-style dorm rooms with bed-sheet canopies and house colors as decoration.

Get sorted. Pull out the witch’s hat you used for Halloween and sort your friends as they come through the door. To see which house you belong in, take our Sorting Hat quiz. Keep the hat’s song in mind and have badges ready!

You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
if you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folks use any means
To achieve their ends.

(from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone)

Put on a show. If you and your buds are super fans of the Harry Potter series, you know the books and movies by heart, right? Try giving ‘em a dose of reality by acting out your fave scenes. Vote on the best character impersonators and give the winner a prize…perhaps a wand?

Test your knowledge. Have a Harry Potter-themed quiz bowl. Go around in a circle and ask the most difficult book- or movie-based questions you can think of. The first to answer correctly gets a point. Tally ‘em up at the end of the game and surrender the Sorting Hat to the winner.

Movie marathon. When you’re ready to snuggle up in your sleeping bags, pop in the first film and watch Daniel, Rupert and Emma from the beginning. You’ll love seeing the trio grow up on screen, just as their characters do.

Want more Harry Potter goodness? Stay tuned, chicas! This weekend, we’re kicking off seven days of Harry Potter. Check girlslife.com daily for new gossip, video clips, crafts ‘n’ recipes and more.

by Brittany Taylor | 2/1/2016