Harry Potter Theme Teacher Appreciation Week {Decorations, Schedule, and Food Ideas}

Fun ideas to make Teacher Appreciation Week AMAZING with a Harry Potter Theme!

I worked as a substitute teacher for the first time about two months ago. As I drove home, totally
exhausted, I was determined to make the Teacher and Staff Appreciation week at my kids elementary school the best yet.

I’ve had a lot of fun being the co-chair the last 6 years and this year’s Harry Potter theme was the most fun by far! It lends itself so perfectly to a school teacher appreciation week.

Fortunately, I had a committee of insanely creative people who were just as excited about incorporating the theme in every way possible as I was.

Harry Potter Teacher Appreciation Week

To create anticipation, excitement and to help them know what to expect, we always send out
an invitation announcing the plans for Teacher Appreciation Week. I love invitations. I feel like
they are the first impression and creating fun wording sets the scene!

Additionally, this year we wanted to get the students involved. We split the school into the 4
Hogwarts Houses and had them compete for the House Cup Championship!

We wanted to give the kids a fun and easy way to get involved without feeling like they had to spend any money to show appreciation for their teacher. This was a really fun aspect and my kids were so excited each day to find out which house was in the lead!

Harry Potter Teacher Appreciation Week Decorations

The staff lounge was transformed!

• We hung the Hogwarts house banners on the walls.
• Each table got a house color table cover.
• There were about 4 of the volunteers that had thrown pretty amazing Harry Potter parties of their own and they brought all of the decorations they had. We made a centerpiece out of each one. It was so fun to see the teachers sit at a different table each day and notice different details at each table.
• We had everything from Horcruxes to Mandrakes. Hanging from the ceiling were homemade floating candles and antique keys with paper wings on them.

In the front entry of the school we posted 60+ Prisoner of Azkaban posters. I took a picture of
the teachers and staff holding a prisoner number sign and just used Microsoft Word to create
each poster. The teachers loved this detail and it really made an impact on the entrance of the
school!

One of the most fun secret details I added were pictures of Moaning Myrtle in the staff
bathrooms and a “Ministry of Magic this way” (with an arrow pointing down) hanging over the
toilets. They thought that was really funny!

Harry Potter Teacher Appreciation Week Schedule

Monday

Monday we started the week with the Start of Term Feast! The main food choices were a

• Hogwarts Haystack or Professor Sprouts Vegetable Garden salad. We love doing a build-your-own salad bar because it accommodates so many diet needs.
• For the Hogwarts Haystacks (our take on Hawaiian Haystacks) we used this recipe. To shorten our prep time we used the already cooked and pulled rotisserie chicken from Costco and placed it in portion cups to make sure we had enough.
• We served a variety of toppings along with bakery rolls.
• We also had a choice between gluten free scotcheroos and the most amazing Butterbeer cupcakes that two of our committee members made. For the cupcakes they modified a vanilla cupcake box mix and used this recipe for butterscotch buttercream and ganache for the topping.

Tuesday

Tuesday all teachers and staff received the cutest Mandrake Cupcake (they made the mandrake out of an individually wrapped caramel) and a Mandrake planting kit (a pot, packet of herb seeds and some candy). Teachers also received a package of school supplies.

Then, the cutest part was that the committee members went room to room and “sorted” the teachers,
letting them pick a gift card that was donated by local businesses based on the house they were in.

Wednesday

Wednesday the Three Broomsticks Soda Bar really brightened the day. The teachers had a very
intense morning due to a lockdown that turned out to be a hoax and needed a minute to step
away from their classroom for a treat and a hug.

My co-chair created the most adorable soda menu based on different things from Harry Potter. We had a variety of 2-liter sodas, syrups, puree’s and other mix-ins to help them create a delicious drink. We then let them pick a ferrero rocher Golden Snitch (get the wings here) or a chocolate frog (get the chocolate mold for
them here).

Thursday

Thursday all teachers and staff got a delivery from Ollivander’s wand shop. Inside the box was a
coupon good for a breakfast sandwich and drink as well as a dry erase marker, flair pen and sticky notes. Teachers also got a notebook containing “Owl Post” notes from each of their students.

Friday

Friday was the final day and we didn’t want the week to end without sending them to
Honeydukes for some sweet treats! With the cutest Honeydukes backdrop anchoring the
display we set out a variety of treats. Some were on the healthy side, some not as healthy. One
of the committee members had cute jar labels and I was able to find several more with a quick
internet search.

Here’s what we served on the Candy Buffet:

• Red Vines Licorice – Licorice Wands
• Gummy Worms – Slytherin Snakes
• Dum Dum Suckers – Acid Pops
• Twisted Suckers – Magic Wands
• Lemonheads – Lemon Drops
• Jelly Beans – Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans
• Zots – Fizzing Wizbee’s
• Bubble Gum – Droobles Best Blowing Gum
• Cinnamon Hard Candy – Pepper Imps
• Laffy Taffy – Weasley’s Giggling Taffy
• Dried Mango – Fainting Fancies
• Dried Apple
• Boom Chicka Pop
• Pretzels
• Assorted Nuts

Using a Harry Potter theme for our Teacher Appreciation week this year was magical! The staff
loved it, the kids were excited and involved and we on the committee had so much fun inserting
all of the details into our plans!

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