After that it was time for classes.  Click here to continue.
Emily's Birthday Party at Hogwarts
This year, Emily decided she wanted a Harry Potter-themed party.  Instead of just getting HP decorations, we decided to turn our house into Hogwarts for the afternoon.  Here are some pictures of the party!
I didn't get a picture of it, but at the front door we put a cardboard box filled with objects - a tennis shoe, an umbrella, a flag, a train track, to name a few - that were our portkeys to the party.  A sign on the door read "Welcome!  Please choose a portkey.  While holding the portkey, turn around three times, and then ring the doorbell."  The kids got a kick out of that.  When they came in the house, this is what they saw:
These are just plastic tablecloths from the dollar store.  The stones were made with a large kitchen sponge dipped in gray paint.  Emily and I had a good time doing this!
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Since students at Hogwarts are allowed to bring a pet, our party guests also got to choose a pet.  Here are some of them resting in the Pet Menagerie during the party (toads were popular)!
Our next activity was Sorting and Choosing a Wand.  Our sorting hat dropped house badges for the children to wear.  When it came time to get wands, they had to close their eyes, because "the wand chooses the wizard"!
After that it was time for classes.  Click here to continue.
We had a really good time coming up with our potions ingredients.  Here are a few close-up pictures of them.