Hogwarts’ themed Halloween Decor

Halloween is such a fun time of year and there's nothing I enjoy more than an excuse to dress up! Also, being a hardcore Potter fan, this time of the year brings back all those Hogwart memories. So we're planning a bit of a party and plenty of (adult-supervised) trick or treating.
But our tired orange-and-black decos needed a bit of updating, so this year we've looked to Harry Potter for a little inspiration.

I used my home office desk and transformed it into something special from Hogwarts.

   

Step 1: Tea painting

   

I'm starting here because this is a really simple and fun activity and if you know any toddlers it is a great one to get them involved with! Steep a few teabags in some warm water. When the water is a nice dark brown, paint directly on to your sheets of paper using the teabags. Be gentle, so the teabags don't split, but really anything goes! Once they are dry you have some lovely old parchment to turn into Harry-Potter-style props! Also you could brew coffee and use a brush, that works wonders too!
Step 2: What you will need

Now you've made your 'parchment' , gather together the rest of your props. The great thing about using Harry Potter as a theme is it gives you a great deal of flexibility - JK Rowling imagined such a rich and detailed world, you can adapt the theme to suit what you already have lying around.
Make use of the usual Halloween paraphernalia - pumpkins, plastic spiders, cotton wool cobwebs etc. These broomsticks were picked up very cheaply in our local Supermarket.
Claret and Gold are good colours for table cloths and drapes as these are the colours of Harry Potter's house at Hogwarts: Gryffindor. Luckily I found a great Sparkle Table runner. And if you happen to have a birdcage with an owl inside...(that would be perfect!) ;)

Step 3: The Hogwarts Parcels

Wrapping up some empty boxes with brown paper and string is a really simple idea to create the Hogwarts look. What has Harry bought in Diagon Alley this year?

   

Step 4: Harry's Text Books

The 'parchment' you painted earlier is great for using as dust covers on books, spells, maps and other manuscripts. We've gone for The Standard Book of Spells, Quidditch Through the Ages, and Defence Against the Dark Arts here, but you could get a whole lot more creative if you wanted to - a great activity for older children to get involved with perhaps?
Step 5: Potion Bottles

These potion jars are a really simple, cheap idea that looks great in a Harry Potter theme. Wash out a selection of old bottles and jars and make some labels using the 'parchment' you made earlier like I did, or go for this amazing free printable from Over the Moon.

They can be filled with bits of twigs and leaves from the garden or maybe some jelly worms or gobstopper eyeballs. To age them, drizzle a little kitchen oil around the top of the bottles and then dust with talcum powder. Wine corks make for good lids or try greaseproof paper tied on with string.
Step 6: Novelty treats

These apothecary jars also make for great little treats. Fill baby food jars (as shown here) or small jam jars or sauce bottles with a few scary-looking treats. It keeps unwrapped sweets from being handled by two many little fingers prior to eating and makes it a bit easier to monitor how many everyone's eaten! Seal the tops with greaseproof paper and string and they are really convenient to distribute at the door or take home at the end of the party. These little jars would also be a great way to serve up fruit jellies.
Step 7: Wands and branches

In the world of Harry Potter no two wands are the same - so wand creation is a great opportunity to go for a forage for twigs in your local park or garden! If you're lucky enough to have access to some twisted hazel, these unusual branches also make for a great table decoration. Strip the leaves. You can then either fashion your twigs into wands or use them as a Halloween table decoration.
Step 8: Lighting

The lighting at Hogwarts is fab inspiration for a Halloween theme - when it comes to candles, lanterns and scones more is more!
There are so many ways to develop this theme. Thanks to the imagination of JK Rowling, the world of Harry Potter is rich in inspiration - just let your imagination run riot! Happy Halloween!