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Family history begins with making memories! As the corona-quarantine continues we want to make the time together fun! A family friend did Harry Potter dinners to coincide with each book/movie. And since Harry Potter has Family History interwoven throughout all the books! We decided to create our own family memories and began with book 1, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone!
Setting the mood begins with decorating!
We decorated the table with whatever I had in my cupboards, since quarantine meant stay home. So in order for our dinner to look magical, we used clear fishing line and attached letters addressed to Harry from Hogwarts and had them flying around the room. They actually looked really cool. The pictures do not do it justice.
In our dinner menu for Book 1:
Harry ate Paddington Burgers and French fries with Hagrid. (I took a short cut and got Wendy’s 😊) He had buttered peas and to top it off we ate buttermilk chocolate cake made by his old babysitter Mrs. Fig. (Which came from the Un-official Harry Potter cookbook) It made a huge cake and was so delicious we shared it with the neighbors the next day and they asked for the recipe it was that good and moist!
The best part of eating like Harry was of course, the BUTTERBEER! Our friends who inspired us to do Harry Potter dinners, makes this Butterbeer recipe and everyone loves it! It really is simple. When we came back from Florida after seeing the new Universal Potter Land, and devouring their butterbeer, we of course tried every recipe we could find on the internet and from friends. This was by far the best and also the easiest to make, family voted.
Butterbeer!
Equipment
- Ice cube trays
- blender
- hand mixer
Ingredients
- 1 litter Cream Soda
- 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream add 1 tesp vanilla and powdered sugar 1 TBSP
- 1 bottle Butterscotch Ice Cream Topping I get Smucker's because it comes in a squeeze bottle.
Instructions
- Fill ice cube trays with Cream Soda and freeze (Save some Cream Soda in the litter bottle for mixing later). I usually do this the night before. But it could freeze in about 4-6 hours.
- Take one cup of whipping cream. Add 1 tsp. vanilla and 1 TBSP of powdered sugar and whip with hand mixer till fluffy and stiff. Set aside (in the fridge) or don't make till Cream Soda is frozen and you are ready to mix up your drink.
- In your blender, blend frozen Cream Soda ice cubes with a little bit of non-frozen cream soda from the litter bottle. Add a some of your homemade whipping cream and butterscotch topping. This is all about taste preference, there is no exact measurements. Blend well. The drink is like a slushy!
- Last, pour the slushy mixture into cups. We like to use mugs that were previously in the freezer getting frosted and cold. Then top the mug with whipped cream and a lovely decorative squirt of butterscotch topping!!
There are 2 Family History activities that coincide with our Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone:
First, was taking an official Hogwarts test on Wizarding World to see which Hogwarts house we each belonged to before dinner.
To tie in the family history side of Harry Potter, remind your kids, that each of us belong to a long family line. We may know where our family line comes from or we may not. But learning and talking about belonging to the “Jeppson house” or the “Potter house” gives kids in this indecisive and confusing world, a sense of belonging and self-esteem. (See “The Do You Know Scale“). This made for a great conversation as a family while we ate our Harry Potter dinner.
Our second option for a Family History activity, reminds us that Harry’s father was a famous seeker in quidditch. Talk about the sports you, your parents and maybe even great grandparents played while growing up. Or try playing that sport or activity that your ancestors might have played, like jacks (How to Play Jacks) OR a game of wizarding chess! I spent hours playing jacks on the floor of my grandmother’s kitchen. They grew up having jack’s parties and competitions! Oh how I wished I had videoed my grandmother playing this game and teaching me all the different rounds and techniques. What fun memories!
We did this on a Friday, and so with no school the next day, we watched the first Harry Potter movie, the Sorcerer’s Stone. My friend did her Harry Potter book, dinner and movie, every other weekend to make it last and something her kids looked forward to each weekend. With the pandemic we did one every night. It gave us something to do and plan for during the days.
Make a memory this week! These are reposted and updated from an Instagram and Facebook posting in March of 2020. #foreverfamilytrees #harrypotter #makeamemory #butterbeer #harrypottercookbook #familyhistory
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