First, We Have Tea!
The holidays are a busy time of year, no doubt. However, one of the best aspects of the holidays for me, and my family, is Harry Potter. The franchise has been a part of our lives in some fashion since my sister and I took the dive around the time Prisoner of Azkaban released in 2004. Jump to our adulthood and one, two, three, and still counting trips to Universal Studios later and we continue to adore this franchise. An entire discussion could be had about what keeps people attached to Harry Potter, Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, and on, and on. However, that is not a discussion I will be getting into in this post. Maybe in the future though.
What really got me thinking on the holidays again is the current build-up for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore , which is scheduled for release in April. There’s something about the build-up to the holidays that has increasingly taken my family back to the Harry Potter universe, and now it’s not just the movies we’re watching.
As the holidays creep closer, the movies, admittedly, tend to be the first things we turn to. However, there’s so much more incorporating we’ve come to realize we’ve done as the years have progressed. This last year we actually started with an event at a local coffee/tea restaurant. The Celtic Cup as it’s called was hosting a Harry Potter-themed afternoon tea and my sister, her husband, and I wasted no time reserving our spot.
On the day we made sure to sport our Hogwarts House shirts, as seen above! The decorations were really well-done, and they even had a few locals dress up as Hogwarts professors to play along. An assortment of food was served alongside the required butterbeer throughout the experience. Once the food, drinks, and conversations were done with, the event ended with light-hearted Harry Potter quizzes and prizes for the winners. It was a nice experience but I, and most I’ve met, always tend to enjoy any visit to The Celtic Cup.
Can’t Forget the Iconic Music!
One thing I like to do for my students as they work is play some sort of background music, nothing loud or distracting though. I really started this practice more heavily this year after trying it out here and there the last two years. One thing I’ve found I enjoy is the ambient-type music on YouTube, so I began playing it for myself on occasion if I was reading or working. I found playing it for my students would help them focus more on their work and be less open to distractions.
That backfired when I discovered some really well-done videos from a few different channels. It backfired especially when I chose to play Harry Potter themes, which I began doing more and more as the holiday season crept closer. Students would do their work but also look up at the TV in my classroom and point out things they had seen with each other. I enjoyed the videos for the same reasons so not only would I allow it, but I would also take part in their discussion.
The discussion would often lead to discussion about my interest in Harry Potter or the upcoming movies. I always happily tell my students that one reason why I still enjoy Harry Potter is because it sparked an interest in reading for me when I was a kid and that interest has only grown as I’ve grown up. These same videos I would play at home some when I would read or work and I found out my sister played them as well at her home for the same reasons.
‘Tis the Season!
Enter the holidays, lots of cheat meals and cheer to be had. Another area that Harry Potter became incorporated in our lives was food, all thanks to my sister. As much as I would try to help, she also gets full credit for all the ideas and delicious creations that we enjoyed. Throughout the season we had pumpkin juice, regular and frozen, butterbeer, also regular and frozen, pumpkin pasties, a version of Hagrid’s birthday cake for Harry, and the list goes on. All the food was good, again thanks to my sister and her efforts, but the best parts were the time my family spent together.
We talked of lots of things as you do, but Harry Potter, Universal Studios, and subjects surrounding those topics were always the main topics. There is something about binging the movies around Halloween and Christmas, but the extra stuff we’ve increasingly incorporated into the holiday season was at first a surprise; however, after some thought it wasn’t. Some may scoff at the silliness of making a big deal of Harry Potter during the holidays but to us it adds another layer of fun to our own personal family traditions and festivities. Since it is a layer that seems to get better with each passing year, it also makes the anticipation of looking forward to that time of year even more fun as we plan what to do and try out next.
There’s More?
What magic to look forward to? I’m pretty sure I spoiled some already but the next holiday season is definitely in the early planning process. The Wizarding World franchise does have quite a lot building up as well to discuss. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore releases in April, Hogwarts Legacy is an upcoming videogame that looks to be quite the experience for fans, the illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is set for release later this year as well, and I am sure there’s more I’ve left out and yet to be announced. The build-up for the new movie and the illustrated book I listed have me so excited that I’ve returned to playing the Harry Potter themed music for my class just about every day.
Harry Potter and the holidays somehow just makes sense, at least for us, but Harry Potter being one of our shared enjoyments that we seem to constantly include in our life also makes sense. If you would’ve asked me in 2011 after watching Deathly Hallows: Part 2 if I thought there would be more the answer would have been a negative, but here we are with so much to look forward to. All was and is well.
