How to Host the Coziest Harry Potter Movie Night This Fall

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POV: It’s a cool, crisp fall evening, your friends just arrived, you’re drinking butterbeer and using your free will to make the most of your Harry Potter movie night. Life could not be better.

As soon as a single leaf falls from a tree, I don’t need any other reason not to throw a Harry Potter movie night. There’s just something so cozy about hosting your friends on a random weeknight, making Harry Potter-themed food and watching a movie from the film series. It’s the perfect inauguration to the fall season.

Today I’m sharing exactly how we threw a Harry Potter movie night — complete with Harry Potter Birthday Cake, Bertie Bott’s Flavor Beans, Meat Pies, and more movie night snacks that are perfectly themed for the occasion. Below, I’m sharing your complete guide to throwing the coziest movie evening with you and your fellow wizards — let’s dive in!

1. Dress on Theme

Whether you’re hosting a small group of friends or just having a chill movie night with your roommates, it’s always fun to have an excuse to dress up for the occasion. You could go all out and dress in Harry Potter robe or go more casual and sport a striped sweater that coordinates with the different houses. Don’t forget to throw your wand in your back pocket!

2. Decorate Your Living Room

There’s no negotiation when it comes to decorating for a party. Decorations help set the vibe for the evening. Start by hanging floating candles from your ceiling. You could even hang Harry’s Hogwarts letters too. Feel free to go all out or keep things simple — it’s totally up to you.

3. Serve a Hogwarts Dinner

When I visited Harry Potter Universal several years ago, I ordered the meat pie at The Leaky Cauldron. Not only is it a traditional English meal, but it’s also a Harry Potter-themed recipe that they would serve. 

We prepped the recipe ahead of time and baked each meat pie in a small ramekin. This makes them easy to grab and eat while you catch up with each other before the movie starts.

Ramekin Beef Potato Pies

Butter Beer Dirty Sodas

Dirty sodas are super trendy right now, and we thought there was no better time to make one featuring Butter Beer. The heavy cream topping made it look even more authentic to true butter beer.

4. Have an Assortment of Movie Snacks & Treats

Before the movie begins, have everyone select the snacks and treats they want to eat during the movie. We made a “Happee Birthdae Harry” Cake that was featured in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and an assortment of candy and popcorn that Honeydukes or the candy trolley would sell.

“Happee Birthdae Harry” Cake

Popcorn Bowls and Candy

We sorted M&M’s into the colors of the different Hogwarts houses, so we had a bowl of red, blue, yellow, and green M&Ms. In addition, we also served assorted Jelly Belly candies. If you’re able to score the Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans at your local grocery store (or order them on Amazon Before Hand), these would even be so fun for everyone to enjoy.

• 2 bags of popcorn
• Hogwarts House-Colored M&M’s
• Small assorted jelly beans
• Chocolate frogs

Golden Snitch Ferrero Rochers

We created golden snitches out of Ferrero Rocher chocolates. We taped golden paper wings that were printed and cut out by hand. You could even hot glue the wings to the back, if you’d like. They turned out so adorable and were such a fun DIY craft to add to the mix.

• Small Ferrero Rocher chocolates
• Golden Snitch Wings Cut-outs

5. Use the Sorting Hat to Choose Which Harry Potter Film to Watch

Determining which of the Harry Potter films to watch could be the biggest challenge of the night. To make the decision easier, you could use the “Sorting Hat” to decide which movie to watch. 

Write the names of the movies on small slips of paper, add them to a hat, and have a friend draw at random. Whichever movie title is pulled from the hat will be the movie that you watch.

6. Activity: Build Lego Dobby

If you’re looking for a fun craft or activity to do while you watch the movie, building a Harry Potter Lego set is totally on brand for the night. I personally love the Lego Dobby or the Night Bus. Both are simple enough to complete within the span of the movie, too.