What I Made Wednesday {A Harry Potter Birthday Party: Wrap-Up}

Welcome to the Harry Potter Birthday Party Grand Finale. I know, I know: some of you are relieved, some of you are disappointed, and some of you may be confused. If you have stumbled upon this post and are a bit boggled, no worries. Here's links to what you have missed:

Introduction

The Invitations

Setting the Scene

The Props

The Food

Class Schedule

Hogwarts School Class of 2012

Caught up? Good. This last Harry Potter Birthday Party post will discuss the unique way we thanked each and every guest that attended. Super Hubby always goes the extra mile when it comes to, well, just about anything. So, of course, my idea of buying the pre-made, massively-manufactured Harry Potter thank you cards from the party store just wasn't going to cut it. How could it, after all the work we put into the party and the amazing way it was pulled off! No, this party deserved to end on a high note. Thanks to Super Hubby's amazing talents, that note was breaking glass, baby. 

Super Hubby created his own version of The Daily Prophet, the primary newspaper for wizards in the Harry Potter world. He thought he was going to have to conjure up articles to fill the newspaper space but, after all that occurred during the party, the newspaper nearly wrote itself. Unexpected events and circumstances that occurred during the party ended up being newsworthy, so Super Hubby went with it.

So, our version of The Daily Prophet acted as our son's thank you card to each and every young wizard. The front of The Daily Prophet was exactly the same for each child, but the back of the newspaper was not. Super Hubby added a Picture of the Week section and we put the recipient's picture there, along with a personal thank you note from our son. This part was really special and was worth the time to personalize each one.

Here's the front and back of our Daily Prophet. Please note, the children's names have been changed, you know, just because.

Front Page - Click "paper" to enlarge 

Back Page

Individualized paper's included a photo of the recipient
and a personalized thank you from the birthday boy, posted in the Classified Ads section.

This time around we did forgo the Owl Post and delivered the news via U.S. Postal Service. Plus, we didn't want, or feel the need, to repeat our Owl Post idea from when we delivered the invitations.

Kudos to Super Hubby for tying up the last loose end of this Harry Potter Party in genuine fashion and choosing to stay in character of the theme. It took some extra effort, but after all we did, who's keeping track, now?

Just the other day, Super Hubby and son were playing LEGO Harry Potter on the Wii and we all decided we really missed ol' Harry. The World of Harry Potter had been so much a part of our lives over a good 6-months in preparation for this party, that not having it be part of our daily discussion has us feeling a bit empty.

Many people ask us if it was all worth it. To be certain, this party was a lot of work, but only slightly more work than the previous birthday parties we've thrown over the past 10 years for our son. Yes, we went a little overboard because it was a decade celebration. Yes, perhaps we went a little above and beyond "our normal" because it may very well be the last themed party my son is willing to have (you know when kids get older, they just want to "hang-out"). So, if this ends up being the finale, then we did it big, and yes, we are proud! Planning our son's birthday parties have always been a family project that easily unites us towards one goal: making sure the birthday boy and all his guests have a blast! As a family, we work together to make it all happen, then enjoy our efforts on the big day. Super Hubby and I get just as excited as the kids and if I could bottle that feeling up, I would send it to you so you can feel it, too! But since I can't do that, I hope the past several What I Made Wednesday posts have captured a little bit of the magic we experienced and given you a taste of our good times and memories-in-the-making.

Thanks, LOVD readers, for sticking it out with us for 7 weeks! If you're really itching for a What I Made Wednesday recipe, check out this post from last week using COOL WHIP Whipped Topping! We'll resume our regularly scheduled W.I.M. Wednesday programming next week.

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