Older teens want to spend time hanging out, not playing musical chairs with sorting hats. That said, here are some entertaining ways to fill the time:
- Quidditch: Thousands of college players can't be wrong. Muggle quidditch is an excellent game, for players and spectators alike. And all you need is a large field, brooms, hula hoops and balls. Here's the scoop on how to play, according to collegiate quidditch rules.
- A Movie Marathon: Watching all six Harry Potter movies back-to-back is a particularly popular way to spend that last evening with the old high school crowd, before everyone leaves for college. For added fun, include a screening of "A Very Potter Musical," the hilarious brainchild of a group of University of Michigan students - including Darren Criss of "Glee" fame - or the documentary "We Are Wizards" (compare prices), about Hogwarts fandom and wizard wrock - rock and roll inspired by Harry Potter.
- A Dinner Party: Set the banquet table, dangle electric candles from the ceiling and cue up the wizard wrock or "Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince" soundtrack (compare prices). Hogwarts' house elves cooked quintessential British fare, so About.com's British Food pages are a gold mine of banquet suggestions - including a recipe for treacle tart. Other great sources include Britta Peterson's Hogwarts Celebration website, and the new "Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook" by Dinah Bucholz (compare prices). Kreacher's French Onion Soup, anyone?
- Gringott's Casino: Blackjack, craps and poker take on new liveliness when the venue is a goblin bank and the playing cards come from a bizarre, fabulous red dragon deck (compare prices). Use gold foil-covered chocolate coins for poker chips, or break out the spray paint and coat your poker chips in gold, silver and bronze, to represent galleons, sickles and knuts. (Need a refresher course on how to play? About.com's guide to casino games has the lowdown.)
