(Minor Spoilers Below)
For those of you that don’t know, we created a Harry Potter Escape room that you can do in your home… and it’s amazing (see here). It’s a bit of work to setup but it is a really fun way to experience a little HP out of the pages and in your home. This post is to help with that and to give some links to some supplies we found that make it easier but there are alternatives/DIY suggestions in the PDF and our Pintrest board. Please note these are amazon affiliate links (buying something after clicking on one of these links won’t change the cost of the items for you, but Amazon will give us a commission for the referral which will help us fund additional games for the future). In the original blog post you can get access to a download that will also say how to make a few of these items. Obviously we are DIYers ourselves so we completely understand that you may want to forgo purchasing many of these items, however some of these make it easier (and sometimes better) to just buy it. Whatever you want to do, this master list will help you.
Please note that for the locks (particularly the word lock) we strongly recommended you use the links below since some lock don’t let you change the code or are limited in what codes you can make.
| Required Item | Fancy Version | Regular Version | DIY/Thriftstore Friendly |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Four Harry Potter Books (Scholastic Version) | NA | Click Here | You should already have these |
| 4-digit Lock | NA | Click Here | No |
| Directional Lock | NA | Click Here | No |
| Word Lock | NA | Click Here | No |
| Food Coloring | NA | Click Here | No |
| UV Marker and Light(1) | NA | Click Here | No |
| Magnet | NA | Click Here | No |
| Jelly Beans (Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow) | NA | Click Here | No |
| Plastic Spiders | NA | Click Here | Halloween Only |
| Quidditch Snitch (Lindt Chocolate Truffles) | Click Here | Click Here | Click Here |
| Sorting Hat | NA | Click Here | Yes |
| Potion Bottles x6 | Click Here | Click Here | Yes |
| 4 Glass Bottles | NA | Click Here | Yes |
| Wand | Click Here(2) | Click Here | Click Here |
| Mini Broomstick | NA | Click Here | Click Here |
| Colored Harry Potter Glasses | NA | Click Here | Yes |
| Goblet (or Cup) | Click Here | Click Here | Yes |
| Gold Dragon Egg (or yellow Easter egg) | Click Here | Click Here | Yes |
| Pear-Colored Paint (yellow) | NA | Click Here | Yes |
(2) These wands do not have a UV light
NOT Required, but Awesome
And now for some extras that might make more magical immersive moments!
Description of the amazon picture links above and how we would use them in the escape room.
- A brick wall is the perfect way to start off the journey through this Harry Potter escape room. You can make this with a vinyl sheet paint and a sponge, its a bit of work but it can look nice.
- Hanging and Owl from the ceiling (with fishing line) with the initial letter is nice touch that we have loved (admittedly we got our owl from a thrift store, might want to check if there is one handy there).
- Candles (also hanging with fishing line) are a great way to give the room the enchanted feel of Hogwarts. Either a clear thumb tack or tape works great for keeping them up for a long time. Don’t tape up the candles too far in advance with small pieces of scotch tape or they stop levitating. 🙂 The candles are also easily found at dollar stores so it may be good to check there first.
- A book safe is an awesome way to hide stuff. A Harry Potter book safe is all the more awesome. One thing, if you do use this remember that you don’t need to hide this too well in your bookshelf… no one really wants to thumb through all the books so make it stick out just a little to help them out. Searching for things in escape rooms is great, especially for younger players who may not contribute as significantly to puzzle solving as the older players.
- The crest of the different houses is relevant for a specific part of the game. We have print outs that would still be good to have, but this adds a little flare to the backdrop.
- There are a few printouts in the PDF which look great with the right parchment!
Wow, you made it all the way down here! Well we hope your party goes well as your participants journey back through the years of each book and solving puzzles, finding spells and remembering stories from the first four year of Harry Potter!