Tanner's Magical 11th Birthday Party

Tanner begged me for a birthday parade. I thought it was kind of funny since his birthday had passed already. But since his siblings all got a parade and he's not going to school this year, he really wanted to see his friends and I couldn't blame him.  So I arranged a birthday parade for him the day after we got home. He loved it so much. I was just relieved people could come since school had resumed here in Arkansas and people are back to their busy lives. 

Tanner was so excited to see his friends. It was adorable!

Some friends from school and some from church and then some cousins came by. He loved it. 

I love this shot of the Quale family pulling up with a party in their car. So freakin' fun!

Our cute little neighbors made signs and stood across the street and cheered for Tanner during the parade. It was so cute. 

Our primary presidency even came by and decorated our driveway with a cute birthday message for Tanner. So cute!

                                                      

    Tanner got lots of presents and a sonic drink- it was a pretty great birthday parade. He was so happy. 

                                        

Then yesterday we had his birthday party with his cousins and grandparents. 

Tanner has been waiting to have this "Harry Potter" themed birthday party for over a year. 
Sadly, he waited to have his big birthday party with his friends for his 11th birthday because you go to "Hogwarts" when you are 11. So he skipped having his big party on his 10th birthday in lieu of having a magical 11th birthday. But then COVID hit and ruined that. So we had a small family party but I did my best to still make it awesome for him.  

Here was the party setup. 

 I had so much fun making all the magical treats to feel like he was at Hogwarts. 

These little golden snitches were so cute. 

  

I think I have finally found a great butter beer recipe. This drink was so good! 

All the little witches and wizards loved it. 

 

 

These little "Bertie Bott" boxes were a labor of love. I cut them out on our drive to Oregon and then I bagged the beans of every flavor and glued them inside and tied the boxes shut with the gold ribbon. 

These chocolate frog boxes were also a labor of love. Inside each box was a milk chocolate frog but the real treat was the box. I spent about 3 hours cutting and folding these boxes. I watched TV while I worked, but even so- they took a long time. But Tanner loved how authentic they looked. 

We had potion bottles and candles all over the table to help with the magical atmosphere. 

These bottles of "liquid luck" were a huge hit with the kids. 

Tanner wanted to make sure he had the best of luck on his birthday. 

I did my best to make the party feel as authentic as possible. Aren't these book covers fun? 

His cake was pretty fun to make. I ordered the gum paste scarf on etsy and then cut the glasses and scar with my silhouette using a sugar sheet. I love how it turned out. 

 

Luckily for me, "muggles" were welcome at this party so I got to attend!

This boy looked so great. He wore his entire Harry Potter costume and he loved how he looked. 

 

Aunt Laura came in full Hogwarts robes and it was awesome. Her and Tanner looked so cute together. 

Don't Nanny and Papa look so cute in their glasses?

After all the cousins arrived, they visited "Ollivander's Wand shop" and they were ready to get sorted into their houses. 

After the sorting hat did it's job, the kids were all divided into their houses. 

 

 

Tanner was happily sorted into Gryffindor. He was so relieved. 

Somehow, Nanny was the only one who was sorted into Slytherin. We are very concerned since there hasn't been a witch or wizard gone bad that didn't belong to Slytherin. 

Nanny was also appropriately concerned. 

We also face-time with the Aunts, Uncles and cousins who couldn't come and we sorted them into houses too. This was pretty funny. 

 

After everyone was sorted we headed outside to play quidditch. It was pretty comical to watch. 

 

Next we opened presents. Tanner loved all the transformers and legos he got. He was so happy. 

 

After opening presents and playing quidditch, we sang to Tanner and cut the cake. 

 

Tanner loved his "Marauder's Map" too. 

Then we just all hung out and goofed off together. The cousins played, the adults chatted and we enjoyed the rest of the day together. 

Happy birthday to our favorite Hogwarts student. I love this boy so much. He made me a mom 11 years ago and I will forever be grateful for him. He's such a great kid. He's just good, just plain good. We love him. Happy late birthday, Tanner!