Madeleine has been planning this party since the summer, and I have been stressing out about how I would manage to pull off all her lofty ideas. Madeleine also lent her own crafty skills to the party preparations, creating a hand-made gift for every goody bag. Some gifts are probably more useful than others, but she made everything from a Hermione bookmark to a plastic wand to painted rocks and a gold-foiled covered plastic egg. Not to mention a gold-foiled covered rock with paper wings taped to the sides to be a Golden Snitch.
Madeleine made her guest list over the summer, too, and only added to it once the school year began. Reader, I had EIGHTEEN CHILDREN coming to my house for this party. I had so much to prepare, and thankfully, I had the help of Minerva McGonagall's American, half-muggle sister to help out:
When the guests arrived, they painted pencils to make their own wands, but alas, the globs of paint that the kids layered upon their pencils failed to dry by the time the party ended. No matter, because we had all sorts of fun things Madeleine had planned out. Next up was a game in which we taped the name of a Harry Potter character to the back of each party guest, and the guests had to go around asking yes or no questions about their character until they guessed who they were. Since the wand painting lasted all of 6 minutes and the party game was similarly short, I was beginning to panic. But luckily, our Sorting Ceremony generated a lot of excitement.
We used a Sorting Hat to sort all the kids into Hogwart's houses, then commenced a Harry Potter trivia game. I was pleased with the amount of time this game was eating up, but Madeleine began to worry about all her other plans.
YIAYIA: Okay, the next trivia question-
MADELEINE: Uh, Yiayia? How many more questions, because we're on a VERY TIGHT schedule.
The trivia game ended suitably early for Madeleine's liking, and she then took all her friends outside to play her made up Quidditch and tag games. I am so so so very relieved this all worked out, because when Madeleine was explaining her tag game to me I couldn't help but wonder how she was going to get eighteen girls to agree to her rules.
MADELEINE: So, like, you choose SOME people to be the Death-Eaters, and then the rest of the people are Hogwarts students and professors. And, if you're a PROFESSOR, and you DON'T want to get tagged by a Death-Eater, you have to TOUCH YOUR ANKLE, and then you have a power that can stop the Death-Eaters from getting you. So, like, if you're running, you have to lean down and touch your ankle quickly.
I stayed inside for this, getting dinner ready, so I only watched out the window, but the kids all seemed delighted and happy. Go figure.
Last up was pizza, cupcakes, Hoodsies, and an abbreviated viewing of "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban." And then, happily, the parents came and the children left with their goody bags and happy memories.
Happy Hogwart's Birthday Party to this girl!:
Even I, Miranda McGonagall, had a wonderfully fun time! Since I am a half Muggle with very little ability to make my spells work, I was worried. Yes, as you said, it all worked out in the end. Thank you Mommy for pulling off a GREAT time and one that we will all remember in the years to come. I hope Madeleine appreciates what a fabulous Mom she has. XO
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