Sneak Peak: Harry Potter Birthday

So I know I've mentioned my birthday party this Saturday. I also know I whined about my birthday and I want to just say that my weekend improved significantly after my crappy day.

Well, I'm going full-on nerd this year and having a Harry Potter themed party. Now, of course, it's going to take some creative thinking to do this right and still entertain a diverse group of adults. I have found a few things to spice it up and keep everyone happy. For one thing, I instructed that everyone wear something themed, be it just a plain red shirt, or full costume. I linked to Pottermore so that people could get Sorted, but also provided links to the hp-lexicon House pages and a quick "these are the colors and this is the mascot" for each house on the FB event page. And I'm pretty sure I know two people that will be clueless and I know which of them will be at fault, but we love them anyway. XD

So, one of the things I'm doing is House cocktails. These were inspired by these amazing creations, however I've ended up, due to budget and ease, inventing my own for all four Houses. I will still be using their Butterbeer, though. I will post each cocktail on here once I finalize them and make pictures for samples.

Now the other thing is Quidditch Pong. You've possibly seen it around on the internet. It has its own crazy rules and everything, but I'm making my own version of this as well. I have not finished building the hoops, but I've begun, with pretty much all of the hard work on the hoops being done by my dad. When I get them all done, including the awesome custom cups I'm making, I will show you what I've got. Now, though, you get a sneak peak! (Mainly because I'm too excited to wait.)

First, a few shots of the first Gryffindor cup. I used gold, silver, bronze, and black Sharpies for each house, on appropriately colored cups. (Do you know how hard it is to find the right colors, though? I Amazoned the green and yellow, and a friend found the right navy blue. Red was easy, obviously.)

Now I have to show you what my dad and I thought up for the hoops.

 Now, basically, those Xs are some badass folding trivets that my dad got as a sample from someone at work, but I think some kind of wooden X or block would work, too. I'll get all into the process when I post a full post about this brilliance. Now, it's sleepy time. I'm fighting a cold that I need to go away by Saturday!