This DIY Harry Potter Quidditch theme has been a hit of the neighborhood! Neighborhood kids and fellow Potter fans find something new everytime they come by the house!
Harry Potter is one of my all time favorite movies! I can’t even begin to count the number of times I have seen it. My family and I have traveled to Harry Potter Studios in London and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios. Both were very different experiences, yet they were both so fun and exciting! Every year, my family or my daughter and I pick a theme to dress up and go trick or treating. Since we recently moved, I found myself daydreaming about our front porch. I couldn’t get my mind off the 4 posts on the porch being a Quidditch arena. I was inspired by our friend Martin, who made an incredible Quidditch arena that he displayed at Lego Conventions across the country. You can see his amazing work and his Quidditch arena here. It will blow you away!
With this idea burning in my head, I had to create it! At first, I thought I could order it all online and just put it up. Well, no one is selling Quidditch rings on Amazon so don’t even bother looking. I started with the columns. In the beginning, I wanted to do cardboard because it would be cheap and easy. The problem with cardboard here is that it will blow away with the 40 mile per hour wind gusts. I finally settled on $1 white tablecloths, a large sponge cut into 2 pieces, and cans of spray paint that will stick to plastic. Each house has their own colors. I would lay these out on my garage floor and spray the paint into a pan. I created the checker board pattern starting at the mid-line and working my way out. Each cloth took my about 1 hour for each house. Once they were dry, I cut them in half. I measured the length of the pole and cut it to size. The front porch posts were about 96 inches in length.
You can’t have a Quidditch house without a broom and a Golden Snitch. Brooms are super easy to find at Halloween. We had one from previous years so we attached it with some wire. For the Golden Snitch, I just spray painted an extra large ornament that I found at Hobby Lobby. I also attached it with wire.
The Quidditch rings kept me up at night. I couldn’t figure out how to make them. I googled and scoured Pinterest for a month trying to come up with something that would hold up to the wind. It hit me as I took a trip to Hobby Lobby for the 3rd time. I found some hard foam wreaths and metal wreath rings. I wouldn’t be able to call myself a true Southerner if I didn’t throw some duct tape into the mix. I found some gold duct tape to secure the piece together. I made my way over to Home Depot and found some sturdy broom handles I painted gold. My husband helped me screw 1 screw into the foam and into the top of the handle after we had hammered it into place. I secured it again with some more gold duct tape, and they haven’t moved! I love them!
My last DIY of the Harry Potter Quidditch House was my directional road sign. It was all wood and paint. I bought a thin sheet of plywood and a 2 in x 2 in post at Home Depot. I cut it into 6 pieces, added my angles, spray painted it black, and stenciled on the names. I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out the names and spray paint them on the wood.
I added a flag I found on Amazon to complete the look! It’s been a labor of love and it took me a little longer than expected, but I am very happy how it turned out and can’t wait to put on my Professor McGonagall and hand out candy on Halloween while I’m sipping on my Witches Brew Smoothie! We may even play some Quidditch in my front yard! I can solemnly swear I will be up to no good!
Happy Halloween!
Author: Betsy Ramirez
Betsy is a registered dietitian/nutritionist, homeschool mom, & fairy tale junkie, who loves getting crafty. Being on my bike and lifting weights are my therapy. Thinking outside the box is my jam!