Wizard Party 8yr

Wizard Party  8 year old (boys)  On a vacation to Myrtle Beach, my oldest son and husband spent an entire day at MagiQuest and that got my son interested in wizards. We wanted a wizard party but NOT Harry Potter so I adjusted some of the ideas from here and from other sites.  INVITATION: For the invitation, I made an invitation that stated the following: Calling all wizards... Sam is turning 8 So it's time to celebrate! Spells with wands begun Will conjure up some fun Of games and puzzles complete And lots of treats to eat! RSVP by October 2.  DECORATIONS: Lots of balloons in purple, dark and light blue. Silver table cloths.  CRAFTS: As the kids arrived, they each decorated a wizard hat. I pre-made the hats (http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/wizard-party-hats-663725/) out of heavy blue gift wrap. I had templates of stars, moons, etc and construction paper, scissors and glue available.  Next we made crystal balls. I used plastic globe containers that are made for sand art. I got them at Hobby Lobby and they have a screw-on top. Each child filled the globe with water, added a few drops of glycerin (from pharmacy), and next glitter. They then took turns shaking them up, peering in their globes and telling each other's future. This was a hoot...we had some very creative kids!  PARTY SNACKS: Then it was time to eat...pizza and potions. As they were eating, each child came up to the table where we had 5 giant jars of potions (Kool-aid in different colors). Each color Kool-aid was labeled as one of the following: Strength, Intelligence, Bravery, Wisdom or Stamina. We talked about what each word meant and told the kids to mix a potion based on what attributes they wanted. They really got into this and were gulping down the potions so they could mix more.  ACTIVITIES: Before the party started, we put a large, closed cardboard box in plain view and labeled it BIRTHDAY CUPCAKES. We wanted to make sure the boys saw it. After they were finished eating, we asked the birthday boy to go open the box and get the cupcakes. Of course, they weren't there. Instead, there was a note from The Mean Green Dragon stating that he took them and the only way to get them back was to find his magic beans. The note included the first clue. Prior to the party, I made rhyming clues for 9 locations and 9 bags of jelly beans sorted by color (all blues in a bag, reds in another bag, etc). I did 9 because there were 9 boys total for the party. That first clue lead them to the sink. There they found a bag of magic beans and another clue. They followed the clues all around our neighborhood (pool, playground, bike rack, etc.) They all absolutely loved figuring out the clues and running around searching for the beans! When the last bag had been discovered and each child had some beans, my husband began his tale of how The Mean Green Dragon lived in the lake in our neighborhood and maybe, just maybe, if we throw these magic beans in the lake to feed the dragon, he will give us back our party cupcakes. Of course, the boys all went running for the lake. My husband had them repeat some magic words and they all tossed the beans in at the same time. Then we all went running back to the party room and the wizard hat cupcakes (http://www.harrypotter-birthday.com/Doogles/magicalwizardhatc upcakes.htm) were waiting! (I had a friend put them out while we were looking for clues).  After the cupcakes, we had a pinata...ordered from birthdayexpress.com.  FAVORS: Each child took home their wizard hat, crystal ball and pinata goodies.  My son loved this party...and so did his friends. Months later, I still get compliments from the kids!