Harry Potter Day!

Harry Potter Activities

Harry Potter day is upcoming, and it’ll be here sooner than you expect! The 2nd of May is a day dedicated entirely to appreciating the children's fantasy novels. If you have children or are a childcare professional (such as a Nanny) looking for some fun, inclusive activities for the children search no longer! 

We suggest you participate by showing the children around the best-decorated, most on-theme Tea Houses in London. Ranging from wizard teas to iconic film locations and even a trip on a steam train, these afternoon teas will have you reminiscing about your favourite wizarding series..

Harry Potter themed afternoon teas in London

London, a magical city in itself, was home to the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child theatre play and many filming locations during the Harry Potter series, including Harry’s first encounter with magic in the Reptile House at London Zoo. Below are some activities you do with kids that will engage and get their imagination going!

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - afternoon tea off-site, Watford

Double the adventure in one place! See behind the scenes props, sets, costumes and even sip on a tankard of Butterbeer. Choose when to fit in your afternoon tea at Mercure Hunton Park with a scrumptious set up of finger sandwiches, scones with jam and clotted cream and mini fruit tartlets.

Peek at Dumbledore’s office and climb aboard the Knight Bus, then end your day with a magical afternoon tea at a period house in the area.

Location: Studio Tour Drive,Watford WD25 7LR and Essex Lane, Kings Langley, WD4 8PN 

Pricing: £129 for two people from Virgin Experience Days

Cutter & Squidge -The Potion Room, Soho 

Experience the atmosphere of taking a seat in a potions class, and the potions master will take you on a spellbinding journey. Mix your own potions and see it magically transform before your eyes before you eat and drink your concoctions. 

The menu tantalises with a few magical surprises alongside Yorkshire pudding, scones, butterscotch biscuits, sandwiches and the Galaxy Juice potion with hibiscus, passion fruit, and unicorn tear tea. Truly something for everyone. 

Location: 20 Brewer Street, W1F 0SJ

Pricing: The two-hour experience is £49.50 for adults and £39.50 for kids

 

Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - afternoon tea on-site, Watford

A magical experience with a refectory-style afternoon tea right on the premises. Have your fun in the Great Hall and marvel at the Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes storefront. 

At teatime, stop by the Food Hall and enjoy an afternoon tea spread of finger sandwiches, mini Scotch eggs, and a brie and leek tart for savouries. Sweets include scones, treacle tart (Harry's favourite!), and a take on Dumbledore’s favourite sweet, the Sherbet Lemon, with a lemon sherbet cupcake.

You can choose to book this experience as a private group package for 20-50 guests and have your very own Potter party!

Location: Studio Tour Drive, Watford WD25 7LR

Pricing: Tickets for the Warner Bros. Studio Tour are £45 for adults and £37 for children. The afternoon tea is an additional £20 for two.

At-Home Potter-style tea

Perhaps you would prefer to celebrate this magical day with the comforts of home.

If you would like to do so, see two Harry Potter inspired craft activities below. You could create with the children, or as a surprise for the children! 

Wand

You will need:

  • A stick or other similar object, e.g. chopstick, old pencil

  • Wool / String

  • Glue

  • Paint

  • Decorations, e.g. glitter, jewels, beads

  1. Put some glue (e.g. school glue / PVA glue) in a bowl. Add a length of wool or string and coat it in the glue. Then begin wrapping the string around your stick in whatever way you like.

  2. If you find this way too messy, you can always simply paint some glue onto the stick, add the dry wool or string, then paint more glue on the top to hold it in place.

  3. To give the wand a good shape and create a nice handle, it’s a good idea to add string at the wider end. You can then use the string to make patterns along the wand. You could try a simple spiral pattern.

  4. Paint the wand a dark brown colour.

  5. Decorate your wand!You could use normal glue and glitter, or paint, to give your wand a personal touch. You could even add jewels or other items to give your wand more features.

Golden Snitch

You will need:

  • 2-inch foam balls

  • Gold metallic acrylic paint *

  • Gold glitter acrylic paint (optional) *

  • Paintbrush

  • Vellum paper

  • Hot glue gun

  • Straight pins

  • Scissors

  • Wings template

  1. Paint a foam ball with gold metallic paint. When it is mostly dry apply a layer of gold glitter paint. Allow it to dry completely overnight before assembly.

  2. Print a copy of the wings template on vellum paper, and cut out the wings. You will need two pairs of wings for each Golden Snitch. 

  3. After cutting out the wing shape, cut the wing pair in “half” about 1 cm off-centre. Fold that extra “tab” up, that is what you will attach to each side of the snitch.

  4. Hot glue a wing on each side of the Golden Snitch. While the glue is still warm, stick a straight pin through the wing into the snitch for extra reinforcement.

  5. Paint over the tab with the metallic gold paint.

If you are a nanny and are looking for your next position, our nanny agency can help you find the right fit. Take a look at our current positions or get in touch!

Debbie Gray