A Harry Potter-Inspired ‘Return to Hogwarts' Party Is the Best Way to Fend Off the Back-to-School Scaries

2 days ago

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Heading back to school can bring a wave of excitement—and anxiety. What will my teacher be like? Will I make friends? What if everyone is over Labubu and I get laughed out of class for my prized Lafufu collection dangling off my backpack?!
Sixth grade was a huge adjustment for me, so much so that I dreaded every day of it, those first few weeks—but Harry Potter got me through it. Immersed in a world so fantastical, with characters so oddly relatable (despite the giants and thestrals and a certain immortality-seeking, murderous wizard), I devoured each book so quickly that I had to ration how many chapters a day I'd read, just to extend the storyline a bit longer.
So, when my daughter, nieces and nephew seemed less than thrilled at the idea of summer ending—and teacher friends described combatting the 'back-to-school scaries'—I thought, what if we could turn some of that magic into a back-to-school party? Thus, the Return to Hogwarts party was born.
Armed with a little creativity, a modest budget (my goal was to spend $150 or less) and roughly three hours to throw it all together, here's what I did—along with some ideas if you want to take things to the next level. (If you do, please send me your photos! I'd love to see them.)
What to Make
1. Send the Invites
Paperless Post
Nobody has time to train a snowy owl to deliver personalized, wax-sealed letters of acceptance (though for $25, you can score a customized Hogwarts letter and supplies list that's frame-worthy). As a cheaper—and more timely alternative—might I suggest modifying Paperless Post wizard party invites (26 cents each) or creating and sending your own for free with Canva?
2. Create Your Own Platform 9 ¾
original photos: candace davison
Cover the door—or even a portion of it—with brick bulletin board paper ($12), then tape a Platform 9 ¾ sign to the outside to set the tone of the party as people arrive. I made the Platform sign using the DM Serif Display font within a large circle on Canva (which I'll share here), which I printed and cut out. It took less than 10 minutes, but it made a big impact.
3. Set Up the Great Hall
original photo: candace davison
Confession: I had aspirations of buying Poly-fil, sheets and LED lights to create a stormy sky, like this phenomenal TikTok, but given my time and budget constraints, I wound up pointing my projector toward the ceiling, playing a loop of a starry sky, and hanging floating candles ($35; $25). Nobody seemed to mind; they were too busy passing around the wand that came with said candles—it functioned like a remote, allowing you to flick on and off the lights with the press of a button.
There are a few designs like this sold online, but I've found Michaels Ashland candles are the most reliable and easiest to use. (On that note, shoutout to Michaels in general, because their Ashland line inspired half the decor—like this LED-lighted mantel scarf, $25, LED pillar candle set, $30, and ceramic cauldron, $12, all of which I can re-use for Halloween. Also, I saved 30 percent on my entire order by ordering online for a curbside pickup, which saved me time to boot, since I didn't have to scour stores for what I needed.)
original photo: candace davison
To further my theme while remaining budget friendly, I bought eight sheets of felt (67 cents apiece), in each of the four Hogwarts houses' colors. I cut them into four flags, using the other four pieces of felt to cut out a giant letter for each house's name, and glued it on top as decorations to hang on the walls.
4. Conjure Up a Sorting Hat Photo Opp
original photo: candace davison
If you have a statement armchair—or in my case, a swing chair—use it to your advantage. If you don't, you'll have plenty of leftover brick bulletin board paper you can use to cover a wall as a backdrop. To make more of a statement, I flanked the chair with these floating acceptance letter garlands I found on Amazon ($15). They come pre-strung on clear nylon, though I found I needed to use clear packing tape or string them from my curtain rods so they wouldn't immediately (and constantly) fall down. Still, it was worth it, especially when paired with the Official Sorting Hat (at $32, it was my 'splurge,' but it was a must).
What to Serve
5. Concoct 2-3 Semi-Spooky Snacks
original photo: candace davison
There's no shortage of Harry Potter-inspired treats you can serve at your party (Snitch-inspired chocolate bon bons! Butterbeer fudge! Pumpkin Pasties!), but that can get pretty time-consuming. I try to stick to two or three 'statement' snacks (I made green chocolate-drizzled, candy-eye topped "Madeye Moody's popcorn" and pretzel-rod wands) and then round things out with a few kid-friendly basics, like tater tots, pizza cut into two-bite pieces and a basic crudité platter.
6. Rebrand a Few Tried-and-True Classics
original photos: candace davison
To that end, just because you're not constructing the Marauder's Map out of puff pastry doesn't mean you can't infuse a little magic into the food table with a few creative name cards. That veggie platter? Well, it's Professor Sprout's garden, of course, and the mango-pineapple juice? Trade out the bottle for a pitcher and some test tubes; it's a Polyjuice Potion now. (And, as my niece declared, it was 'the key' to turning her into Hermione Granger—not the costume that my brother-in-law had brought her in.)
Even pigs in a blanket can be, uh, Basilisks in a Blanket, with the right signage.
What to Do
7. Make Grade School Pennants (or Charm Bracelets)
original photo: candace davison
Since I was entertaining a gaggle of kids entering second through fourth grade, my crafts were relatively low lift. I put out colored pencils and crayons, along with these printable 'I'm entering ___ grade' pennants our PureWow team designed (which you can use too; just save this PDF). After decorating them, the kids could cut them out and tape them to a bamboo chopstick for their Sorting Hat photos.
If you're entertaining an older crowd, they may be down with a goofy sorting hat pic…not so much coloring flags. In that case, pivot! Backpack charms are having a major moment, and if my crew were a bit older, I would've scooped up these Hogwarts and Horcrux charm sets ($15), basic beads in Hogwarts colors and a few Keyring Lobsters ($5).
8. Visit the Wand Shop
original photo: candace davison
Bamboo Chopsticks ($6) were another Hogwarts party MVP: Not only did I use them for the pennants, but I broke them apart and used them as the base for my wand-making station. Before the party, I used a hot glue gun and glue sticks to design swirls, criss-cross patterns and polka dots along the bottom half of several chopsticks, to give them the engraved and knobby looks of the wands from the Harry Potter series.
I covered my table with posterboard, and let each witch and wizard take turns playing with the wand options, as they searched for their perfect fit. Once 'the wand chooses the wizard,' the kids got to paint them, then we moved onto snacks before returning to embellish them with metallic Sharpie markers. In hindsight, I would've added some rhinestones and glue, just for some extra flair for the Luna Lovegoods and future Beauxbatons transfers among us.
9. Get 'Sorted' into Your New Grade
original photo: candace davison
You're not a regular mom, you're a wizard, 'Arry! Oh, wait, I'm conflating quotes, aren't I? Ah, well. While other parents opt for the standard First Day of School chalkboard sign, I vote that you give your kids a different cheesy photo opp to cringe over in five years! We had fun putting on the Sorting Hat and having kids shout out which grade they were going into, before flashing their pennant (and biggest grins) for a pic.
10. Watch the Movie
original photo: candace davison
One of the nice things about Harry Potter is that the series grows with its audience, so my younger crowd appreciated seeing the first movie, whereas older kids—as in, 10 and up—may prefer to watch later films, like Prisoner of Azkaban and beyond. (Funny enough, we didn't even get through the movie—the kids were having too much fun pretending to be witches and wizards with their new wands.)
The Bottom Line: Don't Overthink It
original photos: candace davison
It's so easy to turn Pinterest into a Portkey, racking up so many DIYs that you'll need three weeks' time and five figures to create The Core Memory of a Lifetime. But the thing is, all you really need are some floating candles, a wand-making station and solid snacks to have a great (and unforgettable) back-to-school party. Promise.
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The Science of Why Humans are Obsessed with Stadium Concerts

Time Magazine

7 hours ago

Time Magazine

The Science of Why Humans are Obsessed with Stadium Concerts

August 15, 2025 marks the 60th anniversary of a pivotal moment in live music history: The Beatles' infamous performance at Shea Stadium. What began as an unprecedented attempt to accommodate the Fab Four's overwhelming popularity has evolved into a touchstone of pop culture—the modern stadium tour. Today's stadium concerts are more than just supersized live shows; they have become cultural phenomena and socio-economic markers. Perhaps most intriguingly—at least to me—they are also neuroscientific experiments in mass synchronization. In 1965, pop music's demographic was dominated by teenagers with disposable income and a desire to break the self-imposed boundaries of their post-Depression-era parents. The Beatles' audience at Shea was overwhelmingly young, predominantly female, and distinctly American. In the decades since, stadium audiences have expanded in every conceivable way. Through the '80s and '90s artists like U2, Madonna, and Michael Jackson drew increasingly global, multi-generational crowds. Today, truly global music acts like BLACKPINK and Bad Bunny play to stadium audiences worldwide, reflecting the increasing multicultural appeal of contemporary music. And touring artists like Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Cyndi Lauper, and The Rolling Stones now draw in new followers aside lifelong fans, with three generations of family members often attending together. Fandom itself has transformed. Where fans once relied on the vagaries of radio play and magazine spreads to engage with their favorite artists, today's fans form tightknit communities on social media platforms like TikTok and Discord. Through these digital spaces, enthusiasts exchange theories, share memes, decode Easter eggs, and coordinate elaborate travel plans and ticket-buying strategies months in advance. The shift from passive consumption to active participation has transformed how fans engage with pop music, turning concerts into global events that have expanded well beyond geography and generations. Yet this evolution has created new challenges, chief among them, the skyrocketing cost of being part of the experience. We've gone from $5.10 to see the Beatles at Shea Stadium to Eras Tour tickets with face values ranging from $49 to $449 reselling for up to $20,000 on StubHub and SeatGeek. When my mother wanted to surprise me with tickets to Bryan Adams' Waking Up The Neighbours Tour in 1992, she lined up at the physical box office hours before opening with other eager fans. She forked over $42.50 for two, side-view seats in the lower bowl. Compare that to last year when I battled bots and refreshed my browser every few milliseconds in the hope of scoring four tickets to Olivia Rodrigo's GUTS World Tour before they soared to mortgage-level proportions. By some miracle, I was able to take my three teenage daughters to their first arena show for a relatively low $600. They're now saving their babysitting money and diligently tracking price trends for Benson Boone's American Heart Tour while I'm (half) considering dipping into their college fund to see Bryan Adams again this fall. At what point does the price of admission outweigh the joy of participation? When it came to the Eras Tour, like many other disappointed Swifties, we had to settle for movie screenings and grainy live feeds. Swift didn't stop in our hometown of Montreal. We considered travelling to Toronto, Boston, New York, or Philadelphia. When calculating the costs—tickets, travel, accommodations, meals—our cheapest option turned out to be Lisbon, Portugal. That three-day excursion would have set us back about $6,000 CAD. While that was substantially less than the resale tickets in any nearby city, the financial cost and complicated logistics of participation were too great. Economists often argue that high ticket prices are simply a reflection of market forces—artists, and resellers, can charge more because demand far outstrips supply. Sociologists counter that this trend deepens cultural divides, turning concerts into exclusive experiences for the financially privileged. Despite the costs, stadiums continue to sell out at record speed, raising the question: what is it about live music that makes us willing to pay such a premium? Is it the music itself, the sense of community, or something even more basic? For 30 years, our lab has been exploring why music moves us—literally and figuratively. Many of our studies focus on memory for music, demonstrating that people have a remarkable ability to recall melodies, pitch, tempo, and loudness with surprising accuracy, even without formal music training, suggesting that musical memory operates differently from other forms of memory. We conducted some of the first neuroimaging studies to map the brain's response to music—showing how it lights up the brain, engaging areas responsible for hearing, memory, movement, and emotion all at once. This is why a song can transport you back to a specific moment in time, evoking vivid memories and emotions. Our studies show that when people listen to music they love, it activates brain regions associated with pleasure and reward, helping to explain why a favorite song can feel as satisfying as a good meal or a warm hug. Music's ability to give you chills and make you feel euphoric is tied to the release of natural opioids in the brain, the same chemicals that help relieve pain. Years ago, our lab showed in brain scans that listening to the same piece of music caused people's brain waves to synchronize. Recent studies conducted in real-time, in concert halls, demonstrate that people enjoy music more when the performance is live and experienced as part of a group. Live music triggers stronger emotional responses than recorded music due to the dynamic relationship between the audience and the performers. The visual cues, collective energy, and real-time responsiveness of live music engage more sensory and emotional systems than listening alone, deepening our visceral connection to the experience. Attending a concert is associated with increases in oxytocin, a bonding hormone, enhancing our sense of social connection. When we move together to music—clapping, swaying, or singing in sync—we engage neural circuits involved in motor coordination, empathy, and social prediction, reinforcing our sense of being part of a group. We're literally on the same brainwave! What ties all this together is the simple but profound idea that music is more than just entertainment. From the joy of discovering a new banger to the comfort of an old, familiar tune, music may well be a biological necessity, a fundamental part of being human, wired into our brains and bodies in ways that shape how we think, feel, and connect with one another. Our innate desire for connection might also, in part, explain why a friendship bracelet exchange (inspired by Swift's You're On Your Own Kid) is trending at modern stadium shows: the simple act of swapping beaded bracelets cultivates a microcosm of human connection within a macro-scale experience. It's a ritual that transforms a crowd of thousands into an intimate community, where strangers become momentary friends, bound by shared enthusiasm and a tangible token of group membership. It's a small, tactile gesture that taps into our deep-seated need to bond, to feel seen, and to belong. In a world where digital interactions often replace physical ones, these trinkets are a reminder of the power of touch, of giving, and of creating memories that extend beyond the concert itself. Music has always been a social glue, a way for humans to synchronize their emotions and movements, whether around a Neanderthal campfire or in a packed stadium. And in an era of increasing isolation, these moments of connection feel more vital than ever. Making friendship bracelets to share with your fellow Swifties may be part of the solution. But today's stadium shows aren't just about emotional connection or even entirely about the music—it's also a masterclass in sensory stimulation. The Beatles may have pioneered the stadium format, but their setup was quaint by today's standards. Early stadium shows featured little more than musicians standing in front of a static backdrop, struggling to project their sound through subpar sound systems designed for sports announcers, not music. By the 1980s, technological advancements had changed the game. Pink Floyd's The Wall Tour in 1980 set a new standard for large-scale stage production, with elaborate sets, visual projections, and theatrical storytelling. U2's Zoo TV Tour in 1992 introduced multimedia screens that transformed the stage into a digital playground. More recently, Taylor Swift's Eras Tour involved 70,000 wristbands pulsing in unison, and stage sets transforming from slithering snakes to whimsical fairy-tale forests to cinematic cityscapes. And Beyoncé's 2023 Renaissance Tour incorporated cutting-edge robotics and high-fashion couture, proving that stadium concerts can be as much about visual effects as they are about the music. While many fans view these advances as improvements, others argue that the intimacy and simplicity of early stadium shows have faded, and been replaced by a commercialized, high-stakes industry. The Outlaws Roadshow stadium tour in 2012 left me feeling as though I had overpaid for a lights and lasers show that happened to include the Counting Crows phoning it in somewhere in the background. In the pursuit of grandeur, has some of the raw, unfiltered magic of live music been diluted? And what does all this mean for the future of live music? If the past 60 years of stadium shows (and tens of thousands of years of human music-making) have taught us anything, it's that music, at its core, is about shared experience. We crave the pulse of the bass beneath our feet, the collective chant of a catchy chorus or killer bridge, the unspoken understanding between strangers who, for just one night, are part of something bigger than themselves. As technology continues to evolve and fan communities grow more interconnected, one thing is certain: the stadium concert will remain a space where we come together, not just to listen, but to belong.

Krispy Kreme announces five 'Harry Potter' doughnuts inspired by Hogwarts houses, plus when fans can grab a free treat

Yahoo

12 hours ago

Yahoo

Krispy Kreme announces five 'Harry Potter' doughnuts inspired by Hogwarts houses, plus when fans can grab a free treat

The bewitching collection is available starting next week. Krispy Kreme announced a new magical doughnut collection this week inspired by the world of Harry Potter and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. "We're channeling the beloved magic of Harry Potter and the Houses of Hogwarts for a collection that is truly bewitching," said Alison Holder, chief brand and product officer for Krispy Kreme. "But the magic is fleeting, and so are these doughnuts, so don't miss your chance to try them!' The announcement comes amid the excitement and first looks at HBO's upcoming Harry Potter TV series, set to premiere in 2027. Here's a look at the Hogwarts houses-inspired doughnuts, and when Harry Potter fans can grab a free treat: When will the doughnut collection be available? They'll magically appear at participating Krispy Kreme stores across the U.S. starting Monday, Aug. 18, for a limited time. Here's a look at the five Hogwarts-inspired doughnuts Gryffindor doughnut: an unglazed shell doughnut filled with cookie butter flavored cream, dipped in red icing and Biscoff cookie crumble, topped with golden icing drizzles and the Gryffindor crest. Slytherin doughnut: an original glazed doughnut topped with chocolate and green buttercream flavored swirls, chocolate cookie sugar blend, and the Slytherin crest. Hufflepuff doughnut: an unglazed shell doughnut filled with brown butter toffee flavored custard, dipped in golden yellow icing, and topped with black chocolate drizzle, cookie crunch, and the Hufflepuff crest. Ravenclaw doughnut: an original glazed doughnut dipped in blueberry flavored icing, topped with the Ravenclaw sprinkles and crest. Sorting hat doughnut: A doughnut filled with a mystery-colored cream that represents one of the four Hogwarts Houses. It's dipped in chocolate-flavored icing, sprinkled with gold stars and sugar, and topped with the sorting hat piece. This one is sold separately in a limited-edition specialty box, while supplies last. Are there any other upcoming promotions tied to 'Harry Potter'? On Saturday, Aug. 23, participating Krispy Kreme stores will be celebrating a special House of Hogwarts day. Any Harry Potter fan who reps their favorite Hogwarts House will get one free original glazed doughnut without having to purchase anything, while supplies last. Starting Sept. 1, Krispy Kreme is giving Harry Potter fans the chance to win a trip to Universal Studios Hollywood or Universal Orlando Resort to experience The Wizarding World of Harry Potter attraction. For more information, visit Krispy Kreme's giveaway website here. Solve the daily Crossword

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