I’ve been dreaming up all the whimsical details of a Harry Potter Christmas tree for a long time now. My love for all things Harry runs deep, and although we’ve had major plumbing issues and a series of unfortunate events that all hit this month, even Voldemort himself wasn’t going to stop me from making my dream Christmas tree a reality this year.
Some of the Harry Potter decorations on my Christmas tree are part of my collection that grows every time we visit Universal Studios Hollywood. Most, however, are handmade Harry Potter Christmas tree decorations that I lovingly designed and created myself. I’m beyond excited to share with you all the DIYs for them in the next week leading up to Christmas!
I’m pretty traditional when it comes to Christmas, so we still have our regular Christmas tree in our living room. My Harry Potter Christmas tree is a perfect fit in my photo studio (yes, we just built a studio for me!) and I get all giddy inside just looking at it.
Let’s take a tour, shall we? I made a quick video of the tree and all of the Harry Potter Christmas decorations on and around it for you.
Check out the video below!
Harry Potter Christmas Tree
Today I’m sharing an overview of the whole Christmas tree.
Stay tuned for all the DIYs and instructions to make these Harry Potter Christmas tree decorations!
Stag Patronus Tree Topper
I couldn’t believe my luck when I ran into the 99 Cent Store for a craft supply and saw these clear stags. In the books a patronus is a silvery-white color, and these were a pretty close match.
James and Harry both had stag patronuses, while Harry’s mother’s patronus was a doe. I bought a few of the stag ornaments to place around the tree and it just seemed fitting to place one at the top too.
Flying Keys Ornaments
I just love the visual of all the swirling flying keys in the movie, so I knew I had to include some on my Harry Potter Christmas tree.
I started with some large gold metal keys that I found and then cut some sparkly gold wings to fit the keys with my Cricut machine. I’ll be sharing the cut file and DIY soon for them!
Nimbus 2000 Broom Ornaments
Aren’t these little DIY Harry Potter broom ornaments just darling? I made them look like a Nimbus 2000 broom and I scattered them across my Harry Potter Christmas tree.
Can you believe this little cuties took less than 5 minutes each to make? They even have the gold bands around them, just like their full version models.
Learn how to make these DIY Harry Potter broom ornaments here!
Harry Potter Birthday Cake Ornaments
When Hagrid first met Harry he brought him a cake for his birthday. I recreated adorable mini versions of the cake with clay and paint to make these DIY Harry Potter cake ornaments. I couldn’t love them anymore than I do!
They actually were very easy to make, and add a nice touch to the Christmas tree. I decided to go with the movie version of the cake colors (pink frosting with green letters) instead of the book version (chocolate cake with green letters).
I went with the book version of the frosting, though, where Hagrid did indeed spell “Happy Birthday Harry” correctly on the cake! I believe that Hagrid cared enough for Harry to take the time to figure out how to spell the letters on his cake correctly, no matter what the movie portrayed. 😉
Learn how to make your own set here!
Educational Decree Ornaments
I’m very proud of these ornaments I designed and cut with my Cricut Maker. These are the Educational Decrees that Dolores Umbridge created and had Filch hang up on the walls at Hogwarts. My DIY version even has the metal chain at the top to hang the ornaments on the tree with, just like the real version!
While the real ones are made from wood, mine are made from chipboard that I painted to look like wood.
I found these Educational Decree printables that I sized down and printed that were just perfect!
Harry Potter Prophecy Orbs
All of the prophecies made in the Wizarding World are stored in the Hall of Prophecies in the Department of Mysteries. Each prophecy is recorded in a small ball that contains a swirling mist.
I wanted to recreate some of those beautiful, swirling orbs and it all it took was some craft paint and a few standard glass ornament balls. The results are just mesmerizing!
Although the prophecy orbs are all similar in color, each is different and unique and so pretty hanging on a Harry Potter Christmas tree!
Chocolate Frog Ornaments
Chocolate frogs are my husband and son’s favorite Wizarding World treats when we visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Hollywood, so of course I had to figure out how to make some for our Harry Potter Christmas tree!
I already had a frog mold from the chocolate frogs I made from our Harry Potter party (coming to the blog soon), but I wasn’t quite sure what to make the frogs out of. I was in charge of a kids’ craft at church and was using air dry clay, when the thought came to try using air dry clay.
It totally worked! Now we have the cutest little chocolate frogs on the tree that don’t cost $22.50 each like the ones for sale in Honeydukes at Universal Studios.
Deathly Hallows Ornaments
I knew I had to include the deathly hallows symbol on my Christmas tree, so I headed to my trusty Cricut and created and cut some out of basswood. A coat of gold paint put the finishing touch on the ornaments and I really love how they look on the tree. Cut file coming soon!
Enchanting Extras
Here’s a few other enchanting extras that are worth mentioning that really added to our Harry Potter Christmas tree this year.
Frog Cards and Boxes
With all those chocolate frogs we’ve been eating this year from our multiple Universal Studios Hollywood trips, we had lots of extra frog cards. I just stuck the cards right onto the tree for some added color and magic.
Metal frog boxes from Universal set on the tree branches matched the chocolate frogs and cards too.
Harry Potter Houses
We each got advent calendars leading up to Christmas this year, and of course I bought myself the Harry Potter 15 Days of Christmas socks from Target. I folded two socks from each Hogwarts house into thirds and placed them onto the tree to represent Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin.
House Elf Socks
Speaking of socks, we wanted to wish a very merry Christmas to all the house elves out there so we hung up some baby white socks to represent all the free house elves. Hermoine would be proud.
Mini Daily Prophets and The Quibbler
I printed out mini versions of the Daily Prophet and The Quibbler that I found online, then cut them out. I covered the entire front with a clear embossing ink pad, then sprinkled a heavy layer of UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel) over the top.
I sprinkled off the excess, then used an embossing heat tool to melt the UTEE and create a shiny semi-hard coating over the tops. It creates a nice finished look to them.
Owl Feathers
Since Hedwig is in her cage next to the Christmas tree, it was only fitting that there were some owl feathers on our Harry Potter Christmas tree. I used some of the leftover feathers from my daughter’s No Sew Hedwig Baby Owl Costume I made for her last year.
The feathers soften up the tree a bit and are a nice nod to one of Harry’s trusted companions.
Under the Tree
Parcels were all wrapped up in kraft paper and string, just waiting for Christmas morning.
A cauldron filled with wands made by Ollivander himself sits near the tree. Blankets in all four houses from the Pottery Barn Teen Harry Potter Collection can be seen peeking out from under the packages.
House scarves and pillows represent Hogwarts students in bright colors.
Stacked trunks made the perfect stand for Hedwig in her cage, while stacked Harry Potter books made a nice little stand for Dobby.
If you look closely you will also see Harry’s wand, Luna’s glasses, and even Dobby with his sock that made him a free elf.
A light dusting of snow added some extra magic and charm to the scene.
On the Wall
One of my favorite parts of the whole Harry Potter Christmas scene in my studio is the charcoal drawing my daughter made of Harry. She is a very talented artist and drew this portrait on Father’s Day for my husband. Can you believe that this was her first time ever picking up charcoal and creating with it?
Each of the four houses is represented by their house banners hanging on the wall. These were another Pottery Barn Teen score that I just love!
My husband and I joke (10% joking, 90% serious) that we are going to create a Harry Potter room when all our kids are older and have moved out!
Thanks so much for letting me share my Harry Potter Christmas tree and Harry Potter Christmas decorations with you!
This was such a labor of love and I’m just so happy that I was finally able to put all my ideas together and decorate my studio for the holidays.
If you love Harry Potter, you’ll love these-
21 Magical Moments You Can’t Miss at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Why Universal Studios Hollywood at Christmas is Pure Magic
Happy Christmas!
Chris says
Hi Laura…today, I have been on a hunt on a how to make a “proclamation” cabinet for my Potter Tree. Can you give me any insight before I drive myself crazy…You have many items on your tree that I have on mine. So…what one more, right!
Laura says
Haha, sounds like you’re as obsessed as I am with Harry Potter! I plan on sharing the DIY soon but need to share all my Halloween tutorials first before I head into Christmas. I designed a cut file for the proclamations and then cut them out of thin wood using my Cricut Maker machine. These are probably my favorite of all the Harry Potter ornaments I made because they are so unique! So stay tuned and I will definitely be sharing all the details in the next month or two.