I have begun my crafts for my sons upcoming Harry Potter Birthday Party. I've been collecting cheap little plastic animals from thrift stores and (shh) the bottom of my kids' toy box. Then I painted them with silver craft paint. Very easy.
To be honest I think I should have used some gesso on them first and maybe given them a coat of shellac or something, but this is just a small favor in what will be a craft intensive event. So, I'm going easy here. I'm sure the five to seven year olds won't really mind.
Here is the whole menagerie of patronus charms that I made. My favorites are the elephant and the frog, for some reason.
What I still need to figure out is how I will give these little guys out. I want them to be an activity/game. My first thought was to put them in balloons and the kids have to pop a balloon to get them out. Like learning the patronus charm, you have to work at it and you have no idea what patronus will come up until you do.
But I think they are too big to fit in a balloon. I was going to put them in a pinata, but I want one to go to each kid, not a free for all as everyone scrambles on the ground. Hmmm. Dilemma.
Does anyone have any brilliant, clever, simple and fun ideas for a game that can result in a patronus charm favor? I really am stumped here. A grab bag?
Not really a game -- more of a presentation gimmick -- but you could wrap each one in a black tissue- or crepe-paper Dementor, which would then be thrown away. :)
ReplyDeleteI like that presentation idea. It's a great one. I was thinking about wrapping them in white paper bags and having the kids grab them out of a claw type contraption, but black is definitely better... but how do you chase the dementors away??
ReplyDeleteAnd good to hear from you, John. I'm trying to get back into blogging again. I've missed it.
Wasn't it the patronus charm itself that chased the dementors away? I guess you could have each little one hold your charm in their "off" hand, pointing at the other while they forcefully hurl the wrapper at the trash container -- probably while yelling "Expecto patronum!"
ReplyDeleteI'd noticed you dipping a toe back into the rhythm of blogging. (Sent The Missus here a couple weeks back for your margarita recipe. The simplicity of the one-third/one-third/one-third proportions really appealed... but she had to adjust the taste away from limes and more orange-y.)
Every now and then I think back to that "Burning Lines" round-robin story. That was such an entertaining (and chaotic!) project; I still get Sitemeter reports from that blog, reassuring me that people are still finding it for some reason. Heh.
Yes I think about burning lines too. It was so challenging and fun. And I think the story was pretty good, too, in a crazy sort of way.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you tried the margarita recipe. I am always adjusting it one way or another myself. I noticed that with my homemade orange liqueur I don't need to lower the proportion of triple sec, since it's less sweet. And I often use more orange, also.
Still working on the patronus puzzle.
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ReplyDeleteJust stumbled onto this idea, it's BRILLIANT! I love the balloon idea, maybe you could have a scrap of paper inside that says EXPECTO PATRONUM! and the balloon could be tied to a small box or container with the patronus inside, and a small bit of chocolate? Just a thought. Either way, lucky kids! :)
ReplyDelete(PS: sorry for the removed comment, my blogger acct is all wonky. Ugh! My B!)
Thanks for the info...Beautiful charms that will not rust!
ReplyDeletegreat ideas for patronus charms.
This is exactly what I've been searching for. There are all sorts of places selling them but few to none that show how to install it.
shoelace charms