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Create a magical Harry Potter Birthday dessert table with Honeydukes-inspired sweets! Get decoration ideas and sweet treat inspiration for a Hogwarts birthday party.
A year ago my oldest son and I started reading the Harry Potter series before bed — a few pages, a chapter, sometimes two. It’s been our nightly routine ever since.
When it came time to plan his 8th birthday, a Harry Potter birthday dessert table was basically a given. He didn’t even have to think about it.
We were only through the first book at the time, so I did a lot of research (and leaned heavily on the incredible Harry Potter fan community out there on the internet!). I’m no Hogwarts pro, but I learned enough to pull together a party he still talks about.
Read on for all the details and sources to inspire your own Harry Potter dessert table.
What you’ll love about this Party:
Harry Potter Set
Shop the books that inspired the party! This seven-book set includes the entire series.
Harry Potter Dessert Table Ideas: Party Decor
When I think about putting together an awesome dessert table I always try to break it down into two categories: decor/printables and the dessert menu.
We decided that our party decor would mostly be set at Hogwarts, with the house colors on full display. Guests could join in on the fun and sort themselves by enjoying several party aspects under their House flag.
I knew I wanted to make a statement for the dessert table and thought in front of our fireplace would be the perfect backdrop for an amazing balloon garland.
This one was large and did take a few hours to create but it was worth my time for such a big impact!
Using the Hogwarts House colors for Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin, this balloon garland adds amazing pops of colors to the party decor.
One big statement piece is really all you need. You’ll notice the rest of the details are pretty subtle, yet on point.
I purchased the balloons on Etsy from GoGo Glam Co. You’ll need the balloons in both 5″ and 11″ sizes in the following colors: Sangria, Forest Green, Gold, Royal Blue, Black, Chrome Silver, Marigold Yellow.
Update: some of the colors have slightly changed. I’ve tried to match them as close as possible the colors I ordered.
Balloon Garland Tips
- I always recommend you make your balloon garland a day or two in advance of your event.
- Keep it at room temperature – avoid extreme hot or cold – and it will last for days if not weeks!
- You’ll want both an electric balloon pump and a manual balloon bump to save time (and your breath) when blowing up multiple balloons.
- 260 long balloons work great to connect and hang your balloons because they easily stretch and provide give.
I love how I can use my Samsung The Frame TV as party decor. You can display your own unique art, or subscribe to their Art subscription, instead of having a boring black square!
READ: Grab the free Frame TV Hogwarts Crest Art
On the table itself, I used a black cover with table skirt. I love these to cover up bland folding tables.
Then I found table runners in the four House colors: Burgundy, Blue, Green, Yellow. I cut them in half to use in two places, on the dessert table and on the Harry Potter tablescape.
Harry Potter Party Table Runners
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Birthday Party Ideas
Harry Potter Desserts
What’s a party without some sweet treats?
My favorite part is decorating, so I usually leave the baking to the pros and order from a local bakery or the grocery store.
I thought it would be fun to have cupcakes for each of the four Hogwarts houses.
Little tent cards with each of the House emblems are displayed in front of the cupcakes.
But what I’m really excited about is the Honeydukes Sweet Shoppe!
Honeydukes Sweet Shoppe
You can’t have a Harry Potter dessert table without your own Honeydukes Sweet Shoppe — and the best part is how simple it actually is to pull off.
We used a corner of the dessert table for ours and kept the setup intentionally approachable: apothecary jars for the candy, printed labels, and a mix of store-bought and DIY treats. The free Honeydukes-themed labels make everything feel cohesive.
TIPS
- Label everything. Half the fun is reading the Harry Potter name before you grab a treat. Don’t skip this part!
- Use height variation. Stack a small box or books under the tablecloth to get some jars higher than others. It makes the table look more styled with almost zero effort.
- Mix jar sizes. Big jars for gummy worms and jelly beans, small ones for lemon drops and specialty candies. The variety looks intentional.
CANDY OPTIONS
There are many different treats mentioned in the books, so choose your favorites!
- Acid Pops – Lemon Drops
- Jelly Slugs – Gummy Worms
- Fizzing Whizzbees – Gum Drops
- Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans – Jelly Belly jelly beans, or grab the actual Harry Potter themed Bertie Bott’s beans for extra authenticity
- Chocolate Wands – Pocky Sticks
- Chocolate Frogs – DIY with chocolate and a silicone candy frog mold (more on this below!)
- Golden Snitches – Ferrero Rocher with printed wings (also more on this below — they’re easier than they look!)
- Treacle Fudge
- Cauldron Cakes
- Cockroach Clusters
- Ton Tongue Toffee
I love the look of candy in apothecary jars with a cute Honeydukes label on each one.
DIY Chocolate Frogs
These were easier than I expected, and they look so much better in person than in photos. Use the chocolate frog mold, melt your chocolate, pour, let set — that’s really it.
Don’t want to DIY? You can also buy ready-made Harry Potter chocolate frogs that come in individual packages — honestly very cute.
DIY Golden Snitches
The golden snitches were one of my favorite DIYs of the whole party — and they’re genuinely the easiest thing on the table.
Grab some Ferrero Rocher, print and cut the snitch wings from this template on the Party Delights blog, and use the little Ferrero Rocher sticker to secure the wings onto the chocolate. I pulled the wing template into Silhouette Studio so my Silhouette Cameo (I really want to upgrade to a Cricut) could make precise cuts — but you can absolutely cut them by hand with scissors. Either way, they look spectacular.
Honeydukes Sweet Shoppe
Tips for Setting Up a Harry Potter Dessert Table
If you’re building your own Harry Potter birthday dessert table from scratch, here’s what I’d do differently (or the same!) knowing what I know now:
SHOP THIS LOOK
- Harry Potter Paperback Box Set — the set that started it all
- Balloons from GoGoGlam
- Black table cover with skirt — perfect for covering folding tables
- Hogwarts house table runners: Burgundy, Blue, Green, Yellow — one per house, cut in half to use in two spots
- Electric balloon pump — essential for a garland this size
- Manual balloon pump — handy for the small filler balloons
- Apothecary candy jars — for the Honeydukes candy display
- Silicone chocolate frog mold — makes the best DIY frogs
- Ready-made Harry Potter chocolate frogs — skip the DIY and grab these instead
- Ferrero Rocher — for the golden snitches
- Harry Potter Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans — the branded version is so fun
- 260 long baloons — for connecting and hanging the garland
I loved how this Harry Potter Dessert Table came together. The most time-consuming aspect was the balloon garland- worth it! We kept them up for a week after the party so we could keep enjoying them!
I really hope you enjoyed the details of this Harry Potter party!
If you like what you see, please COMMENT, PIN, SHARE, or TWEET! I’d appreciate the love!
Love this magical Harry Potter dessert table! The Honeydukes sweets and chocolate frogs look bewitchingly delicious.