Recently we had the most fun Harry Potter movie night and decorated our living and dining room like the Weasley's home. After having a blast, I thought you would like to know how to transform your room into the Weasleys burrow for Halloween or a movie night.
My family are huge Harry Potter fans. We've enjoyed the entire series. For several years, my family and I have been creating fun Harry Potter world themed ideas for Halloween.
We have transformed the entryway into Privet Drive with flying letters, and a fan favorite has been the Harry Potter table decorations with floating pumpkins over the table. But this Harry Potter movie night idea, we decided to create the Weasleys burrow, which has welcome, warm, and cozy written all over it.
I will walk you through what you need and how to transform your space. I'll also share some food and drink ideas for the movie night in the end.
Harry Potter Movie Night Decorations
Planning any party is fun, but pulling it together can be a little stressful. Start a few weeks early for the Weasley burrow transformation, gathering these items from your personal stock and thrifting.
- Quilts and crochet blankets
- Throw pillows
- Books (old ones look the best)
- Tablecloths
- Hogwarts letters (I have directions in my flying letters DIY)
- Old lamps
- Crocks or pots
- Old trinkets from the muggle world
- Old window
- Mix matched chairs for the dining table (we grabbed chairs from different rooms of the house)
- Magical broom powered by robot vacuum
- Magic crochet blanket powered by using an oscillating fan
You're ready to set up your Harry Potter party. Now let's walk through what to do with all these items. This is the fun part!
Weasley Fireplace Mantel
One of the first things we did was collect some trinkets. Since Arthur, the dad, loves to collect muggle trinkets; this is a great place to add a few of those items. It is also a great place to include books, a crock for the flue powder, and an old window.
First, set an old window on your mantel. In the movie and books, the house is made up of added rooms in the most precarious way that only magic can be holding it together. Because things are old and rickety, I thought an old window on the mantel would give the vibe of the old rickety house.
Next, add a photo of the Weasley family. If there is one thing I learned about the Weasleys is their love for family. Here is a great place to reflect that in your decor. All I did was copy and paste a picture I found online and decoupage it to a piece of wood and add wood around it to frame it.
Last, fill in with old or dark-colored books; we added some Harry Potter books here, trinkets like clocks, and battery-powered candles. It's an easy way to bring the Weasley vibe to your living room.
And don't forget a crock for the flue powder in case of any emergency trips to Diagon alley.
I tossed a few items on the hearth, like a crock for wood and a few pumpkins. There are no pumpkins from what I can tell in the books or movie scenes, but since it is fall, I thought some pumpkins would be fun.
Weasley Burrow Furniture
New furniture is not on the agenda for the Weasley house. Their home is full of old vintage upholstery and wood pieces. Some might say it is antique, while others say it is simply old furniture. Whether you have old or new furniture, here are ways to decorate to get the Weasley core aesthetic.
Blankets over Upholstery
First, toss blankets over all upholstered pieces. This will create a warm and cozy family room look; we tossed some old quilts and blankets over sofas and chairs.
We also brought my small sofa from the office into the living room to add to the cluttered look, and it gave an old quilt too.
Lots of Pillows
Next, we tossed throw pillows everywhere. The Weasley home is maximalism to the max. The more pillows, the better, even though there were usually only two on each sofa in the movie. Kids can use the extra pillows to set up floor nests with the best view of the screen.
Decorating End Tables and Coffee Table
Now let's talk about end tables and coffee tables. On your end tables, include more vintage books, and if you have an old lamp, set it on an end table. Last, print some of the Hogwarts flying letters from my entryway Halloween post and set them on the table next to the lamp, or subscribe to my newsletter to receive them for free.
Great decorating is in the details.
Speaking of details, let's talk about the coffee table. If you have a coffee table consider placing a tablecloth on it and top it with more books, chamber lamps, candles (we used battery-powered candles), apothecary jars, or other trinkets. Remember, the more, the merrier!
Dining Table
Our dining table is a part of our living room, so it was fun decorating it for the movie night. First, mismatch chairs by collecting chairs from around the house. Two chairs are from my library, one from my office and another from a bedroom.
Since the family loved eating together at the table, we thought filling the table with lots of stuff like at the Weasley's kitchen table would be fun.
So for the centerpiece, keep the clutter down the middle with old bowls, plates, pitchers, flowers, or anything that looks like a feast. This is a great place to put themed snacks and drinks for friends and family for movie night.
Since this is a movie night, we added popcorn to one bowl, pumpkin and jack o lantern cookies to another, baked bread, and a jar full of nuts and cranberries. Themed foods are also fun. We didn't have any on hand, but jelly beans would be a great addition to stand-in for Bertie Bott's beans.
Serve drinks in the pitcher. This would be a fun place to serve butterbeer or polyjuice potion for guests. They will love it! You can exchange your favorite quotes over snacks and compare your Hogwarts houses.
Bookcases
If you have bookcases add more stuff to them. Books, books, and more books, but if you don't have lots of books, stack dishes, plants, dishtowels, and more muggle trinkets will help too. The main thing is stuff but it's a good idea to keep it old and vintage looking.
Another fun idea is adding Hedwig, Harry Potters owl, or the Weasleys owl to a plant stand. I share how to make Hedwig in my Harry Potter celebration post.
Wall Decorations for Weasley Party
Here is a great place to add more coziness and implement the Weasley family wizarding world. Add a few command hooks by the front door and hang a Hogwarts robe and other items like hats, scarves, and such. Then under the garments place lots of boots. There is a description in the book that talks about all the books by the door.
Next, hang a rug on the wall or, in our case, over a door. This adds to the rustic old cozy vibe of the Weasleycore aesthetic.
Last, print out our free Weasley cross-stitch design and frame it for the wall. This download is free with a subscription to my newsletter. After you subscribe, you will receive a link to my print library full of printables. And guess what? There is another Harry Potter print in there too.
Weasley House Magic
After you have all the decorations in place, you will need a little magic to complete the look. You don't have to do this, but it will make the room much more fun to add some magical moments.
Magical Vacuum Robot Broom
My favorite magic piece we made is the vacuum robot broom. I came across it on hauz.and.co Tiktok and got a good laugh. If you have a robot vacuum, then all you need cutting tools and supplies. I found everything I needed at Hobby Lobby.
Magical Crocheting Blanket
Busy moms need all the help they can get, and Molly is one busy mom. So she used magic to help around the house by sweeping, like the broom working on its own, and making blankets like this magical crocheting blanket.
This is simple to make by screwing hooks into the ceiling and then running the fishing line down to hold the outside of the crocheting needles into place. Then more fishing lines down near the middle where the needles meet. Only this fishing line loops over the hook and runs down the back of the chair.
You can stop or add more magic by attaching these lines to an oscillating fan. When you turn on the fan, it will move the needles like they are powered by magic.
We didn't have a fan, so we simply kept it a floating crocheting blanket. But we tried using a record player, which slightly moved the needles and twisted the fishing line. But I feel pretty certain the oscillating fan idea will work.
Isn't the magical elements of a crocheting blanket and magic broom the icing on the cake? Your guest will get a kick out of these added little details and was so much fun to put together.
Well, guess what? We are all done and ready for a Harry Potter movie night.
Final Thoughts
Here is another look a the whole room. Now that the decor is finished let's talk about food.
My friend Mel has some fun Harry Potter-themed treats recipes you can try, or you can shop for items at the grocery store like butter beer, fruit, and other fun snacks. Since this is a movie night idea, don't forget the popcorn. That is a traditional item and perfect for your Harry Potter movie night party.
Don't forget the themed food. Mel's dreamy butterbeer cupcakes look and sound amazing! Also, she has a quick and easy butterbeer recipe that your guests will enjoy. I also love these golden snitch cookie pops, and last, you must check out this polyjuice potion drink recipe. It is very simple and so funny!!
Now that you have food ideas and decorations, where do you get the Harry Potter movies? I have ours on Amazon Prime. If you are not a prime member, I want to recommend it. We purchase digital movies on there like Harry Potter and watch them for family movie night all the time. It is a great place to store your favorite movies and watch many free ones.
How do you decorate for a Harry Potter movie night? Whether it's your first Harry Potter movie or a Harry Potter movie marathon, this set up will be the perfect cozy event that will ensure a great time. I'm sure it won't be the last time your family enjoys a Harry Potter themed event. Thanks for joining me here on the blog, and I hope you have found this Harry Potter film night in the burrow idea fun and helpful!
Looking for more Harry Potter inspiration? Check out this post: Magical Harry Potter Room Makeover.
Happy Decorating!
