Thanks to the recent releases of “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” and “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” we of the Potter Generation have had plenty of excuses lately to let our “Harry Potter” flags fly. It’s almost like the old days, when we stayed up late on school nights to catch the newest movies at midnight and doodled the Deathly Hallows symbol onto our school notebooks. But now that we’re grown up, we don’t need excuses—we can do whatever we want to work “Harry Potter” into our lives in any way we choose. Here are some ways to start.
Relive the series…
Need a break from the news? Read “Harry Potter.” Looking for a low-budget way to spend time with friends? “Harry Potter” movie marathon. Expecting the holidays to be filled with long plane rides and stressful family dinners? Sneak a “Harry Potter” paperback into your bag to escape with when you need it. Really, “Harry Potter” works in every situation.
…And pass it on
As the generation of people who were lucky enough to live through the very beginning of “Harry Potter” fandom, it’s on us to keep it going. Read the books to your nieces or nephews. Gift the gorgeous illustrated “Sorcerer’s Stone” or “Chamber of Secrets” or a full box set at baby showers or first birthday parties. Give little Harrys, Rons and Hermiones extra compliments on Halloween.
Dress the part
Every Potter fan should have at least one go-to Potter T-shirt. You can sometimes find them at Target, Forever 21 or Hot Topic, and the internet has an endless supply. Wear ’em to movie releases, the gym or anywhere you need a little magic to keep you going.
Work subtle nods to the Potterverse into your everyday wardrobe. Get a long black coat that makes you feel like you’re wearing a wizard robe. Find a chunky sweater with your initial on it a la Molly Weasley’s famous Christmas sweaters. Heck, get a striped tie in your house colors and wear it to your most important meetings. No one has to know.
Deck out your living and working spaces
Stock your kitchen cabinets with literal goblets to drink out of as often as you can. Fire not included.
Hit up antique stores or resale shops for vintage portraits or tapestries to hang on your walls. Everyone will think you’re fancy, but really you’re just pretending to be hiding secret passages to Hogsmeade.
Search Etsy for a hand-lettered version of your favorite “Harry Potter” quote, or, if you’ve got the skills, make one yourself, and hang it anywhere you might want a little inspiration. Some of our favorites: Ginny Weasley’s “Anything’s possible if you’ve got enough nerve,” or Dumbledore’s “Happiness can be found in even the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”
Eat and drink like a wizard
Did you know they still make those Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans, in all their vomit- and earwax-flavored glory? Pick up a few packs to share with unsuspecting friends, but maybe leave them out of the office candy jar. Also available at jellybelly.com: Chocolate Frogs (wizard card included) and colorful gummy Jelly Slugs.
Know how to bake? Bring to life some of those treats that you’d never heard of but that the Hogwarts kids seemed to eat all the time. Treacle tarts and pumpkin pasties are totally real and totally makeable. Get going!
Turn your home bar into the Three Broomsticks with magic-inspired beverages. The internet is full of butterbeer recipes containing everything from butterscotch schnapps to brown sugar to cream soda to actual melted butter—get your potions master on and find one you love. If you’re more of a firewhiskey person, Fireball should fit the bill. And for a non-boozy option (that you can definitely booze up, if you want), the company behind Virgil’s Root Beer makes a Butterscotch Beer they say is brewed at the “Flying Cauldron” in “Hogsbreath, England.” Find it at reedsinc.com.
Take a magical trip
While you can still hold out hope for your Hogwarts letter, these days you can also take matters into your own hands and go there yourself. Burn a few vacation days on a trip to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios parks in Florida or California, where you can visit our favorite castle, pick up a wand, sip J.K. Rowling-approved butterbeer and much more.
Go all-out YOLO and plan a “Harry Potter”-themed trip to England. In London, pretend to run through a wall at King’s Cross Station and try to snag tickets to “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.” Check out Christ Church at the University of Oxford, the inspiration for Hogwarts’ Great Hall, then see the real thing at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, the films’ production home, which now hosts a permanent Harry Potter studio tour. And if you head way north, almost to Scotland, you can visit Alnwick Castle, which was Hogwarts itself in the first two movies.
Find the wizarding world in Chicago
With all the theaters in this city, there’s usually one or two with a “Harry Potter” show on offer. A current option: “The Wizengamot: A Harry Potter Debate” at Under the Gun Theater (956 W. Newport Ave. 773-270-3440), in which “Harry Potter experts” debate questions such as “Was Albus Dumbledore a good headmaster?” Shows are at 6 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 11; tickets are $15 at underthegun.theater.
Emporium recently collaborated with Central State Brewing on Polyjuice Potion, a sour ale brewed with plums and elderberries (so much more appealing-sounding than lacewing flies and shredded boomslang skin, right?). Cans sold out in six hours at their release party in October, but you can try it on draft for the next month or so for $7 a pint at their Wicker Park location (1366 N. Milwaukee Ave. 773-697-7922). Just don’t blame us if you turn into someone’s cat.
If you’ve read the series 394 times and think you know it front to back, put your knowledge to the test at a “Harry Potter” trivia night. Joe’s Bar (940 W. Weed St. 312-337-3486) has events coming up on Dec. 14 (reservations all booked up, but show up before 7:30 p.m. to try your luck as a walk-in), Jan. 11 and March 29, and Lincoln Hall (2424 N. Lincoln Ave. 773-525-2508) and Fado Irish Pub (100 W. Grand Ave. 312-836-0066) have had them, too.
Every once in a while, local eateries present opportunities to really geek out in style, so keep your eyes open. Back in October, Ada Street (1664 N. Ada St. 773-697-7069) threw a four-course Halloween Feast with magical cocktails, quidditch beer pong and more, and City Winery (1200 W. Randolph St. 312-733-9463) hosted Harry Potter wine dinners with four house-themed courses and wine pairings. Sign. Us. Up.
Pro tip: If you hear about a HP event in Chicago and you think you might want to go, buy your ticket as quickly as possible, because there apparently are a lot of eager wizards in this city. Tickets to City Winery’s two dinners were all snatched up during presales, Lincoln Hall totally filled three of its four trivia events, and Ada Street’s original four Halloween Feasts sold out so fast that they added two more, which also sold out. So don’t wait!
Get your Hermione on
The girl who made it cool to do well in school would probably still be standing over your shoulder today if you knew her IRL, encouraging you (or, to be honest, pestering you) to check out some personal enrichment classes, download an educational app or just put your library card to good use. You do have a library card, right?
And above all, do good
From S.P.E.W. to Dumbledore’s Army to the Order of the Phoenix to good old Neville Longbottom and J.K. Rowling herself, the series gave us countless role models who taught us the importance of standing up for ourselves and others and working hard to do what’s right. Make them proud by being kind to others and by finding a cause you believe in and dedicating some of your time or money to it. What’s more grown-up than that?
@gauxmargaux | mhenquinet@redeyechicago.com
