Thursday, 29 September 2011

Harry Potter Costumes Cast Their Spell on Anyone

Looking for a few ideas for Harry Potter costumes for this year's Halloween parties? Dressing up as Harry or one of the other characters commonly seen roaming the halls of Hogwarts is easy and inexpensive, and if you're anything like me then easy and inexpensive are two key factors to consider when choosing a Halloween costume!

Most Harry Potter costumes require little more than some robes and a wand. Of course, you can get creative with accessories (like a broomstick, or a wizard's hat, for example) if you want, but with the immense popularity surrounding the books, movies, and toys, even simple Potter themed costumes are bound to get recognized.

Harry Potter costumes are available for purchase at any costume shop, although you can save some money by ordering them online - finding a website that offers them is not difficult at all, and you can also try your luck bidding on eBay.

However, given the simplicity of most Potter costumes, and keeping in mind that Halloween is a great chance to let your creative side shine, why not try your hand at making your own costume? As you can see in the popular series of movies, most of the characters would require very little in the line of clothing, make-up, and accessories to copy. The ease of Harry Potter costumes is another reason that they remain so popular year after year!

Serving The Dark Lord

If you want to stick with the Potter theme, but don't want to be just another Harry, Hagrid, or Dumbledore at the party, why not try your hand at making a Dementor costume? If you start with a clear picture of a Dementor, you can see that when it comes to Harry Potter costumes, a Dementor costume is an easy way to stay true to the theme while still being a bit original.

When it comes to Harry Potter costumes, a Dementor costume is one of the easiest to make. It requires little more than some black robes, with some black strips of fabric sewn on to them to give your costume a more ghost-like feel. Sheer black fabric can also be used to create the hood of your Dementor costume, and you can use make-up to disguise your face and hands, or splurge a little on a Dementor mask and glove set to really make your costume stand out.

Other Options

And, of course, dressing up as everybody's favorite boy-wizard is easy to do, too. You'll need to find a pair of those famous round glasses, of course. They can be purchased inexpensively at a toy store or online, as can his famous striped scarf. Add some robes and a lightning bolt shaped scar on your forehead and your Harry Potter costume is complete! You can add a wand, or even a stuffed white owl, for extra flair.

There are also plenty of options for female Harry Potter costumes. Hermione Granger, Professor McDonnegall, and Bellatrix LeStrange are just a few. Also, there's no reason there couldn't be a female Death Eater or a female Dementor.

Book store openings, movies, Halloween - Harry Potter costumes come in handy for many different occasions. No matter which Hogwarts character you choose to dress up as, you're sure to have a magical time in your Harry Potter costume!

About the author: David Lawson shares his ideas and recommendations about Harry Potter Costumes and other Halloween topics at Shop Compare Costumes. Check out his Halloween costume price comparison site for more about Harry Potter Halloween Costumes.

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The Magical World of Harry Potter Toys

The world of Harry Potter goes far beyond the gates of Hogwarts Castle. After following Harry and his friends adventures, you can continue them with Harry Potter toys and games. The movies and books have generated a huge line of items. The sales volume of this brand well exceeds thirty billion dollars. Through toys, games, apparel and other items, the Harry Potter brand is huge.

No matter which is your favorite book or movie, there are plenty of branded items for sale for everyone who loves the characters. The games and toys are suitable for most age groups. As your child grows older, you can be sure to find toys appropriate for their age. There are many of the characters from the books and movies available as action figures. These are great to collect or just play with.

The Lego Company has produced a Harry Potter Lego series. For those who love to build, the Lego sets are necessary. They are based on the movies and you can buy the Lego Final Challenge, with sixty building pieces, the Flying Lesson for the Quidditch lover, and the Sorting Hat is a fun set as well. The prices of these sets depend on the amount of pieces and can run from $39 to $89. The ultimate Lego set is Hogwarts Castle. This set has over 943 pieces and many of the characters. You can add on to the set with other packages. The Castle can be bought for over $500. To complete the scene, you can also purchase the Hogwarts Express train.

There are many games based on the Harry Potter theme. Video games for the computer and for all of the gaming systems, will lead you to a whole other world of wizards. Board games are a great way for family fun. You can buy a Clue type game, a Trivia and Mystery at Hogwarts game - all have been enjoyed by the many that have played them. In addition to the action figures, you can buy other toys as well. There are trading cards, jigsaw puzzles for different age groups and those soft plush toys.

No event is complete without a Harry Potter costume. You can get Harry, Hermione, or Dumbledore costumes complete with wands, robes, and glasses. These are great for Halloween or a Potter party. You can also buy wizard robes, wands, and Harry Potter glasses that are sold separately.

There are many different clothing items available. You can buy t-shirts, robes, pajamas and other items based on the Houses of Hogwarts. You can sport a Gryffindor tie, a Slytherin Robe, or a Hufflepuff scarf. Do not forget your Quidditch broom and robe so you can play the high-speed game like Harry.

The most important item to have is of course the wizard wand. These are great collector items and there are many to choose from. Most of the wands are based on the actual wands seen in the movies. You can buy Ron's, Harry's and other character wands for around $29. You can also find great wands to play with. Most will light as you wave the wand to perform your magic.

The world of Harry Potter is right at your fingertips. You can relive your favorite movies and part of the books through the toys, games, and costumes.

Chloe Alice Wilson is the founder of Son Time Now - a boys toys blog that reviews popular toys including Harry Potter Cluedo and Ben 10 Lego.

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Find LEGO Harry Potter Game For PS2, Wii And All

As you know there's a brand new Harry Potter movie in theaters and as you would expect it is fairing very well at the box office. That also means that Potter merchandise will also fair well this Christmas season. So if you want a LEGO Harry Potter game you might want to go get it now before the shops are all out of them.

The LEGO Potter games are probably the most popular of the Potter game collection and the LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 game is at the top of the list. This game takes you through the first four years of Harry's learning at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As if playing the game wasn't good enough, seeing all the Potter characters as LEGO characters just adds to the fun.

Just imagine yourself playing this LEGO Harry Potter game as LEGO Harry or Hermione Granger or any of the other characters going through your lessons, learning to cast spells, mix potions or fly on broomsticks all to earn your house points. You'll also get to explore familiar scenes like Hogwarts castle, Diagon Alley, the Forbidden Forest and the village of Hogsmeade.

The LEGO video games are already very popular and have a huge following. Now team that with the extremely popular Harry Potter franchise and there's no way that the Harry Potter: Years 1-4 game can lose. This is a game for a generation of game players who grew up as fans of the Potter books and movies.

Okay, so now you're all excited and you want to get the game and get started on an adventure. But you have a PlayStation 3 and now you're wondering if you can get the game for that system? The answer is yes! This LEGO Harry Potter game has a version for the most popular game systems out there including Xbox 360, Wii, PSP and there's even a PC version so rest easy knowing that you're covered.

So now the question is, where can you find the game? With Christmas coming up and the popularity of the game it's bound to fly off the shelves in the stores. Well one place you are nearly always apt to find it is online and one of the best places online to get it is at Amazon. At Amazon not only are you sure to find the game but you are also going to get a good price. They have been online for a long time and they are a very trusted company to do business with.

If you're planning to get the LEGO Harry Potter game Years 1-4 as gift or get it for yourself, look at getting it from Amazon and I think you'll be happy you did.

The LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 game is not the only Potter LEGO game there is. Click the link and go over to my Harry Potter LEGO Video Game Guide and you see other Potter LEGO video games as well as Potter games based on the movies including the new movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.

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Harry Potter Wands

In a very formal, yet logical definition, magic wands are considered to be a tool used by magicians and wizards and it reflects different magical powers, depending on the properties of each particular wand. Most of us associate the word "wand" with a person capable of performing magic trick and spells. In fact, this object is mandatory for most spells that magicians perform. We have established that they remind us of magicians. Now let us see what the word "magician" reminds us of. Most grown-ups will think of Blaine or Copperfield, but amongst youngster, there is no magician more powerful than Harry Potter.

It would appear that the length of each wand used in Harry Potter movies and books is directly proportion with the height of the wizard who owns it and since each of these has rather unique properties, only its owner has the right and power to use it. Aspiring wizards are prone to causing severe damage if they use one which comes in conflict with his or her character. This does not mean that wands cannot change owners. In order for a wand to be used by another character, its master must be killed, stunned or disarmed and so the wand will recognize the "attacker" as being its new master. Simply taking it from another wizard's hands is not acceptable.

Harry Potter wands are definitely an accessory that every kid craves for so they can turn teachers into frogs or make objects on the table float. It is a well known fact that in 99% of the cases it is the wand that chooses its wizard, not vice-versa. There are 4 total famous Harry Potter wands, as follows:

• The first was made of holly wood and it measured 11 inches. It is known for being supple and nice and it was broken in December 1997 when it flew from Godric's Hollow. At the core of this wand lies a Phoenix feather.
• The second Harry Potter wand was made from blackthorn, taken by Ron Weasley from a Snatcher back in 1997. Harry used it until 1998, until he obtained wand number 3.
• The hawthorn wand measured 10 inches and it was taken from Draco Malfoy. This one became Harry's after the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor. At its core lied unicorn hair and Harry used it until he gained possession of the Elder Wand.
• Wand number 4 is probably the most famous and powerful wand Harry Potter ever used. It was made of elder wood and measures 15 inches. He only used it once with the goal of repairing his phoenix wand. After using it, he returned it to Albus Dumbledore's grave.

Although these Harry Potter wands are famous, they are mainly some examples of magic tools used in Harry Potter movies and books. There are many other wands made of wood such as chestnut, oak, cherry or willow, wands used by other characters like Ron Weasley, Rubeus Hagrid or Peter Pettigrew.

Michael Garver writes about Harry Potter wands at his Harry Potter site. Click HERE to see more.

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The Harry Potter Series

Magic, sorcery, wizards and witches, these are the first that come into mind when you hear Harry Potter.

The author of the series, J.K. Rowling, has written a total of 7 books, 6 of them have been adapted into movies, with the last book presented in 2 parts, and the first one already came out last year.

The series revolves around a young orphan named Harry who lived with his Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and their son, Dudley who never treated him well. On his eleventh birthday, he discovers that he is a wizard, and was told that "special people" like him needed to attend a school where he can learn magic in order to survive the wizarding world. He was invited to join the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and he accepts.

Each series tells the story of Harry as he grows a year older and how he discovers a lot of things about himself and his late parents. He learned that his parents, a wizard and a witch and who also attended Hogwarts were killed not in a car accident as he was made to believe, but by a curse put upon them by one of the most powerful dark wizard named Lord Voldemort. Voldemort intended to kill Harry but same curse rebounds, thus seemingly killing the dark Wizard. Because of this incident, Harry became a hero to the wizarding world and makes him the number one quarry of the dark wizard and his followers.

The first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, reveals Harry's true identity. As Harry discovers the wizarding world, a lot of the primary locations and settings that will be used on the rest of the series are introduced. Books similar to Harry Potter like The Chronicles of Narnia, and the Lord of the Rings have the setting in a fantasy world. But unlike these books, the author, J.K. Rowling has created a world where reality and the magical world meet. A lot of the locations and settings exist in real world. One of these places is London and this is where Harry meets two of the main characters that will become his best friends, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger.

The rest of the series introduces more characters and has Harry and his friends growing up together to fight off Lord Voldemort. These series are adventure-rich that ultimately help Harry and his friends through social, physical, mental and emotional development. They grow up having fun together and having to go through heartaches, pain and loss. This really is a good read, a feel-good book, and of course a pile of papers where one can learn a lot about family and friendship.

The rest of the series follow as HP and the Chamber of Secrets, HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban, HP and the Goblet of Fire, HP and the Order of the Phoenix, HP and the Half-Blood Prince, and the last book is entitled HP and the Deathly Hallows.

There are books similar to Harry Potter that have the same setting. These books also take place in a fantasy land. As mentioned above, The Chronicles of Narnia written by C.S. Lewis is also a series of novels where four children discover a fantasy and magic-filled land through the other side of a wardrobe.

Among the books similar to Harry Potter is the famous saga written by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings. An epic fantasy, it was written during the World War II. And like Harry Potter, it consists of characters that are dwarves, elves, wizards, and humans.

So if you want to read something that has a thing or two in common with Harry Potter, you should try out these books.

Author is a hubber at hubpages and likes to create lists. If you liked Harry Potter you might want to look at his list of 10 Books Similar to Harry Potter

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Live the Magic With the Harry Potter Book Series

Just recently it has been one of the most significant weeks in cinema history with the release of the first part of the last Harry Potter movie. All previous box office records are expected to be smashed from the opening weekend of The Deathly Hallows Part I, with this predicted to be beaten again with the release of part II in 2011. However with the recent hype of the new movies it is easy to forget where all the magic was originally conjured up.

It was 1997 when the first book was published by Bloomsbury, from the day it reached our shelves it was an instant hit, winning countless awards and making J.K Rowling a household name. The novels follow the teenage years of a young wizard called Harry Potter and his life growing up at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The stories tell of him trying to overcome his enemies and to attempting to defeat the evil Lord Voldemort who killed his parents when Harry was a baby. The books follow Harry and friends through their progression of school up until they graduate, the themes include coming of age, fantasy, love and death.

Over the years with the gradual release of the seven books the Harry Potter series has provided significant financial success for Rowling and the Harry Potter franchise, this success has made Rowling the first and so far only billionaire author. The books have sold over 400 million copies worldwide and been translated into 67 different languages. Harry Potter has brought a lot of imagination to children and adults alike with many growing up with the main characters Harry, Ron and Hermione. This is why it is not surprising why many people love the books and will spend so much investing into the merchandise of the Harry Potter franchise. The storyline has not only captured the imagination of the children worldwide but has produced a lot of positive press surrounding the books with many people suggesting that it has encouraged a lot more young children to take up reading.

If you want to be a part of the magic and own your own Harry Potter books there are plenty of online book stores that sell the books at great prices, whether you want to buy the whole series or just one, Harry potter will take you on a journey through the world of witchcraft and wizardry that will set your imagination alight.

If you want the best deals on all books, from biographies and film books, to children's books [http://www.thebookpeople.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/qs_category_tbp?storeId=10001&catalogId=10051&langId=100&categoryId=48107], browse and order online today.

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