Five “Harry Potter” Summer Activities

Summer is here and that can only mean one thing: no school! This leaves kids and their parents looking for fun ways to stay entertained. What better way than to incorporate everyone’s favorite boy wizard? Here are a few fun summer activities for kids (and adults!) of all ages!

Harry Potter Scavenger Hunt

Start the game with each team getting their own Hogwarts letter that includes the clues for the game. The objects to be found can be anything Potter related such as various articles of wizard clothing, magical creatures, objects to represent each Harry Potter book, Horcruxes, or even the Deathly Hallows!

Potions Class

If you’re looking for a more low-key activity, why not recreate your own Potions class? Try making elephant toothpaste, slime, or lava lamps, but instead, change each ingredient’s name and labels to something a bit more mystical like “gillyweed” and “Acromantula venom.” Watch your audience’s faces as they behold the magical (and educational!) experiments!

The Amazing Potter Race

Everyone loves a good amazing race, but how can you make this more Potter themed? Easy! Break up into Hogwarts Houses and have each group compete in a series of activities such as a potato sack race or a frisbee toss. For each activity, teams get points that are added up at the end of the game to decide which House is the winner!

“Through the Trapdoor” Obstacle Course

This one takes place in a few stages, each part representing a different task that Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley must go through to get the Sorcerer’s Stone. The course starts with three people, preferably tied to together like in a three-legged race, representing Fluffy the three-headed dog. In order to get past “Fluffy,” the team must sing some predetermined song. For the Devil’s Snare, the team must make their way through a web of green ribbon or string. As for Filius Flitwick’s flying keys, have people on the sidelines toss foam dodgeballs at the group, who in turn must catch one of the balls. Next, the team must select one member to pass an abridged game of chess, or if you have enough space, set up your own human-sized chess board! The next two tasks, fighting the mountain troll and taking the potions, can be set up exactly like in the novel. The final task, getting the stone out of the Mirror of Erised, can be imitated by hiding a tiny marble or stone in the room for the group to find. Depending on the size of the group, the moderator may need to set up more than one course or time each group’s run in order to determine a winner. Note: This can also be adapted to the three Triwizard Tournament tasks.

Wandmaking

This activity is great for those times when you’re stuck inside on a rainy day. All you need are a few dowels or bamboo skewers, a hot glue gun, dark brown acrylic paint, super glue, and whatever miscellaneous glitter and decorations you have lying around the house! For each wand, cover the bottom third of the skewer in hot glue and let it harden, forming the wand’s handle. Once the glue is completely cool, paint the entire skewer with the acrylic paint. Let the wet paint dry before adding whatever personalization features you wish, attaching them with a small amount of clear super glue.

What do you think? Let us know below if you play any of these games or activities!