If you weren't able to hold a Harry Potter party for the release of the seventh and final book, don't despair. Anytime is a good time to celebrate everyone's favorite wizard.

At our library we hosted a Harry Potter party from 10 PM until midnight. At midnight we distributed books that had been pre-sold.

We had given out numbers for those who had ordered books so that we could avoid the need to line up an hour ahead of time. One of the most exciting moments was when we selected the number for the person to receive the first book. We had someone who was not waiting for a book select a number within the range of numbers we had distributed. He chose #16. We then took that number back and gave the "winner" the #1. She was thrilled! She was shaking from excitement!

Tickets were sold for the party to help defray the costs of refreshments and craft supplies. We charged $5 per child, with one free parent ticket. If a second parent was coming they were required to purchase a ticket. We sold tickets at the door for $7. This encouraged people to pre-order tickets and parents to attend with children. We did require that anyone under the age of 10 be accompanied by a parent.

We had 5 craft stations set about the main room. They were:

1. Make a wand--Chopsticks donated by a local restaurant
2. Make a pop-up Hogwarts--I adapted the Oz card at Robert Sabuda.com
3. Harry Potter Bingo
4. Make a mask
5. Scratch Art

I served simple snacks:

• Peeves Poltergeist Punch--A simple orange juice and ginger ale punch with frozen fruit cocktail.
• Cookies
• Magic Wand Pretzels
• Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans
• Sweet Parcel Tongue Bread--A fruit bread baked in a snake shape
• Puffskein Bread--A chocolate chip bread, placed on the baking sheet in small balls so that they were easy to pull apart
• Frozen Dragon Tongues--Ice pops

We were fortunate to have businesses donate several items, such as cups with lids and straws and food gift certificates. We gave each child a gift certificate from Russell Stover for a free ice cream. Periodically during the party we had door prize give-aways.

We did not do much in the way of decorations or costumes. I wore a black skirt and top. Several children came in costume, but most did not. We had a very enjoyable night celebrating a major book event.