A very Harry party.

Although my mom's birthday technically wasn't for a couple of weeks, my aunt, her sister, took the opportunity to throw my mom a surprise birthday party while we were in town.

My mom knew about the party, just not the part about it being a Harry Potter themed birthday party.  To really appreciate this, you have to understand my mom hasn't had a birthday party for herself in probably 50 years.  No exaggeration.  She was a little wary and uncomfortable about it. At least at first...

So, the back story is that my cousin Jill was throwing a surprise Harry Potter party for her daughter's birthday.  It was quite the undertaking and she enlisted the help of those around her including her mother, my mom's only sister, Janis.  (aren't they cute?  I love this picture)

Of course, knowing my mom's love of all things Harry Potter, Janis couldn't help but think of my mom and how much she would like to do something like that for my mom.  So the Halloween decorations stayed up for an extra month at Jill's house, and they did it all again.  (technically speaking it was a party to celebrate all the December birthdays, and I was just happy to be included in that, but really, we all knew it was for my mom Ü)

We all dressed up, to the best of our ability anyway- I was given the heads up before we came up, so I made sure to pack any HP t-shirts, costumes, wands, etc.

We played games like the one where you are a character from the books and you have to ask yes or no questions to figure out who you are. 

Jill made shepherd's pie for dinner, then of course there was the butterbeer and pumpkin juice. The cauldron cakes and pumpkin pasties.  Janis wasn't impressed with the candyfloss cupcakes the first time around so they became peppermint ones (she made those little pom-poms herself).

And then to top it all off we got to go shopping at Honeydukes and fill little bags with candy. 

  

So fun. They totally outdid themselves.  I think my mom was touched and overwhelmed by it all. I know we all enjoyed ourselves, and were so excited that they bumped up the party a couple of weeks because they heard we were going to be in town.