My DIY Harry Potter escape room made my son’s birthday party truly memorable and epic! The kids had a blast figuring out the clues and the moms were all truly impressed. If you have been wanting to create your own Harry Potter escape room but don’t know where to start, I got you!
Today I will be sharing my EXACT DIY Harry Potter escape room with you guys! This includes FREE Printables such as puzzles, riddles, letters from Harry Potter characters, and certificates of completion! In fact, I made 2 separate escape rooms since I had a large number of kids from different age groups! Make sure to check the BONUS Mini Escape Room at the end for those with younger children in mind!
HARRY POTTER ESCAPE HOUSE
I am calling this an escape room but really it was an escape house. Because realistically, locking up a bunch of kids in a small room until they find all of the clues would not be fun for anyone. So I transformed my entire house into a Harry Potter “escape room”. And since it was the day after Halloween and my house was already decked out with Harry Potter Halloween decor, this was not too difficult to do.
HOW TO CREATE A HARRY POTTER HOME ON A BUDGET
Now you obviously don’t have to go all out with Harry Potter decor but it does help to disguise the Harry Potter clues. If your only Harry Potter decor are your clues then it will be fairly easy for the children to find it. I would suggest using Harry Potter decor, books, movies, etc. as props around your home.
I would even suggest pulling out your Halloween container, you’d be surprised how many Halloween items can be used as Harry Potter decor. In fact I have a whole blog post about that here. Think witch hats, floating candles, potion bottles, spell books, broomsticks, spiders, snakes, etc. The Harry Potter world is so extensive there are many items that could be used. Also, Dollar Tree is your friend! There are so many items there that you can use for DIY Harry Potter props!
I am sharing my EXACT Harry Potter escape room with all of the products I used and DIY crafts I made which are part of the clues that will lead to other clues. If you just want to get ideas on how to make your own than you obviously won’t need to purchase or make these specific items. But I know you will find these ideas helpful when making your own Harry Potter escape room!
HARRY POTTER ESCAPE ROOM PLOT
My Harry Potter escape room is based on the first Harry Potter book/movie: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The players will have to be familiarized with the first movie in order to understand the clues. In fact, there is even a riddle that would require them to have seen the second movie as well. But if your child is a Harry Potter fan I’m sure this is not a problem.
When I sent out my invitations for the party I suggested that they watch the first movie before the party so that the kids could have enough knowledge to be able to participate in the Harry Potter escape room. Some did, some didn’t. But all of the children were still able to participate because the second half of the escape room did not require as much Harry Potter knowledge. So without further ado, let’s get into the actual plot.
The plot of this Harry Potter escape room is that the sorcerer’s stone has been lost in transit before it could be destroyed. The kids will have to solve clues to find the stone before You-Know-Who does!
NOTE: I had the kids dress up with cloaks and witch hats that I provided. I even made DIY House badges and ties. For more detailed information see How to Throw a Magical Harry Potter Birthday Party Kids Will Never Forget.
PLOT LETTER
First, the kids will receive an owl from Hagrid letting them know that the sorcerer’s stone has been lost. Click on the link below to download Hagrid’s letter!
I rolled the letter and tied it to an “owl” which is actually drawn owls on white balloons. To make it more authentic I printed Hogwarts seals that I found online and glued to the rolled paper. I did this for all of the letters that the kids will be receive throughout the escape room challenge. Including the younger kids’ mini Harry Potter escape room challenge!
Now that we are familiar with the plot let’s dive right into the clues for this Harry Potter Escape Room!
FIRST CLUE – A RIDDLE
Hagrid mentions Revelio gadgets, aka invisible ink pens with lights, in Harry’s vault. In Harry Potter the Revelio spell reveals things, so I thought Revelio gadgets was a clever name. In order to start finding clues the kids will first need to get those Revelio gadgets from Harry’s vault!
OPENING THE VAULT
Hermione helped Harry remember his vault number with a riddle, which is included with Hagrid’s letter.
HERMIONE’S RIDDLE FOR VAULT COMBINATION PDF FILE
The answer to this riddle will reveal the vault number 0687 (Harry’s actual vault number is 687)! You can use a number lock that opens a box with the pens inside. But I already had my son’s toy vault which I borrowed and reprogrammed with the number 0687 since it has to be a 4 digit number to open it. Then I found a Gringotts logo online and taped it on top of my vault for the full effect!
Once the kids figure out the combination and open the vault they will find the Revelio gadgets inside! As the hostess of the Escape Room I had to be there in case they needed help to figure out the clues. Which in this case, they did need a little guidance. So I said: If 5 was afraid of 6 it’s because 6 “ate” (8) something! They started trying all of the numbers after 068 until they got it right! But they were so excited when they figured it out and the vault opened!
Now that they have their REVELIO gadgets they can start finding clues!
SECOND SET OF CLUES- SORCERER’S STONE CHALLENGES
These invisible ink pens, aka Revelio gadgets, come with a special light that reveals the hidden clues. I already wrote down the clues beforehand with the invisible ink pens, so all they had to do was use the light to reveal them. In the letter from Hagrid there is a clue there for where they need to start looking. Hagrid mentions that the teachers worked hard to create challenges that hid the sorcerer’s stone from Voldemort and he would not want their efforts to go to waste.
The clue is in the challenges that the teachers created. In the movie you will remember that Hagrid provided Fluffy as the first obstacle. Devil’s Snare was placed by Professor Sprout to protect the stone. Professor Filius Flitwick used the flying keys challenge to guard the stone. The wizard’s chess challenge was created by Professor McGonagall. And in the book Professor Snape creates a potion riddle that must be solved in order to get to the room with the Mirror of Erised.
The children must remember these challenges from the movie/book and look for them. Each challenge they find will have a hidden number on it which will appear with their Revelio gadgets. You can explain this to them to make it easier. Once they find all of the challenges and write down all of the numbers they found they can try to figure out what the numbers are for. If you haven’t guessed it yet, they are page numbers. Give them time to figure that out, provide hints if necessary.
NOTE: You do not need to use these exact page numbers, I will explain what those lead to later.
DIY SORCERE’S STONE CHALLENGES
The order in which they find these challenges is not important as long as they find them all! Check out how I made the Sorcerer’s Stone challenges!
FLUFFY
For the first challenge I printed a picture of Fluffy that I found online and taped it onto my husband’s office door. I also taped another paper that read: “Out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death.”
Wise words from Dumbledore himself which I thought was quite appropriate to tape onto my husband’s office door. On the paper with Fluffy’s image I wrote a page number with invisible ink. The page number is 236.
DEVILS’S SNARE
The second challenge was the Devil’s Snare. This DIY Devil’s Snare was super easy to make. I did get inspiration from this YouTube video but I tweaked it for a much more budget friendly craft.
First of all, the bottle is a recycled vinegar bottle. And instead of using black raffia I used this black mesh tube from Dollar Tree. And honestly, it worked perfectly for the intended purposes. I didn’t use black moss. I used a combination of brown and green moss that I already had. The moss on top of my bottle was painted black with this acrylic paint from Walmart. I glued on some twine around the top of the bottle and placed a Devil’s Snare label on it with Mod Podge. On the label I wrote page number 85 with invisible ink.
NOTE: As you are writing these numbers make sure to use the light to be certain that they are visible. Sometimes I had to trace over the numbers a few times to make it thick enough to see, especially on this Devil’s Snare label. Also, it might rub off on certain surfaces so I suggest writing them the day before and checking them the morning of the game to make sure they are still visible.
FLYING KEYS
For the flying keys challenge I got these winged keys and used fish wire to hang them on circle rings. Then I got a lock and key that looked similar to my winged keys and added a wing to it as well! I placed it with all the others for the kids to find the right one. The key not only comes with a lock but with a latch system as well! So I screwed the latch onto a wooden box from Michaels! CLICK HERE to watch how I did it!
Finding the right key was easier than I thought it would be since it was the only one that had that specific shape. But the kids got super excited when they cut it off the string and it opened the box!
POTION RIDDLE
Since I couldn’t write a page number on the winged keys I decided to place a riddle inside the box that leads to another clue, a potion. The correct potion will reveal another page number on it.
In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone book a potion riddle is actually one of the challenges. Hermione figures out the riddle to the correct potion bottle. Then Harry goes on into the last room with the Mirror of Erised! Check out the riddle I made for Polyjuice Potion!
I had a Polyjuice Potion drink station with a label on it that I found on Pinterest. On the back of the dispenser I wrote page number 112 with invisible ink.
NOTE: I also had a Butterbeer station. For tips on how I did that check out How to Throw a Magical Harry Potter Birthday Party Kids Will Never Forget!
WIZARD’S CHESS
On this mini Wizard’s Chess game I wrote 2 page numbers on the black and white squares under each of the queen pieces. The page numbers are 4 and 93.
Once they have found all of the challenges and written down all the numbers they revealed the kids will be ready for the third set of clues!
THIRD SET OF CLUES – PAGE NUMBERS REVEALED
As I mentioned earlier, the numbers are page numbers. From what book? Well Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone of course! I chose these specific page number because they have a specific word in each that will be the next clues they need to find!
The specific words in the pages are:
- Page 236 – Harry’s Scar
- Page 85 – Albus Dumbledore
- Page 112 – Bezoar
- Page 4 – Muggle
- Page 93 – Professor McGonagall
Now you may be asking how will the kids find these specific words in the book?! That’s the best part! You will need a piece of cardstock paper and cut out where those words are in the pages! Let me show you how!
MAKING THE CUTOUT PAPER
First, I got a regular sheet of computer paper and cut it to fit the the letters on the page of the book. This will help the kids to perfectly align it to the book and find the correct word. Then I went to each page and drew a box around the word. I am using computer paper first since it allows me to see through the paper. Once I had all the boxes I carefully cut them out.
Then I did the same thing with a cardstock paper. I cut it to fit the words on the page. Then I traced the cutout boxes onto the cardstock paper and cut them out carefully using an X-Acto knife on top of a cutting mat.
This is where the kids who hadn’t seen the movies were able to participate. They lined up the paper to the page number and copied down the word they found!
Once they find all of the 5 words in the book they will need to find those 5 things for more clues! Don’t worry they are almost there! The next clues will be letters that they will have to unscramble at the end which will reveal where the Sorcerer’s Stone is!
And like I said, you do not need to use these exact words or page numbers! You can get creative with other simpler words for things they can find around the house that doesn’t even have anything to do with Harry Potter! But in case you are wondering what I did for the words I chose, keep on reading!
FINDING THE WORD CLUES FROM THE PAGES
For Harry’s Scar I wrote the letter C on that back of a Harry Potter puzzle, right behind Harry’s Scar!
The Albus Dumbledore clue was on a picture frame of Professor Dumbledore which was part of a Harry Potter Portrait set that I purchased on Etsy! I placed them in Dollar Tree picture frames and replaced my existing gallery wall with these! I wrote the letter O on Dumbledore’s picture frame.
A Bezoar is a small stone that can be used as an antidote to almost any poison. I made DIY Potion bottles with these printable labels which include a bezoar label! You can check out exactly how I made all of my DIY Potions here! I collected tiny rocks in my backyard for my “bezoars” and placed them in a small box with the bezoar label on top! Finally, I wrote the letter A on the inside of the box.
Muggle was the funniest clue in my opinion. I had my husband wear a Muggle shirt because he’s not a Harry Potter fan. In fact, that was his Halloween “costume” as well! Then I wrote a letter L for loser (just kidding) on his enormous bicep! 🙂
Last but not least we have Professor McGonagall! Again, this was Halloween time so I was able to find a black cat at Michaels. I put a witch hat on her and boom! Professor McGonagall was in the house!
The kids first looked at the portrait of Professor McGonagall on the wall but my little one figured it must be the cat! I wrote the letter K on the bottom on the cat.
FINAL CLUES
Congratulations on making it this far! This is the finish line! Let’s figure out the last two clues!
UNSCRAMBLE THE LETTERS
Now that we have found all the clues and wrote down all of the letters, C, O, A, L, K, we can unscramble to find where the Sorcerer’s Stone is! Did you figure it out yet? If you said cloak then you are correct!
Once they unscramble the word I gave them this last letter telling them they will find the cloak in the boy’s dormitory of the Gryffindor tower.
CONGRATULATIONS LETTER PDF FILE
I had my husband sneak into my son’s room which was out of bounds as well during the escape room challenge. He placed a Gryffindor cloak which has a pocket inside. This is meant to be Harry’s cloak! Harry forgot the stone was still in his pocket!
PASSWORD PLEASE!
But to enter the Gryffindor common room you need to know the password! The letter provides one last clue for the password that is require by the Fat Lady in order to open the door! And yes I did tape a portrait of the Fat Lady to the door!
The answer to the riddle is Pig’s Snout which is actually one of the passwords in the first year!
Again, you don’t need to be a Harry Potter whiz to figure this one out! Once they say the right password you may open the door for them. It’s also a cool idea if you have someone on the inside of the room open the door! Once they were in the room they were so excited to see the cloak hanging there! I told the birthday boy to search it himself. In the pocket he found a red diamond Lego piece which was of course, the Sorcerer’s Stone!
This Harry Potter escape room was a HUGE hit with the kids. The moms were eagerly watching and taking pictures which I appreciate so much because I was too busy hosting the challenge!
The ages of the kids who did this escape room challenge were 9-12 years old. I had 8 kids doing this escape room. Meanwhile, I had 5 younger kids between the ages of 5 and 8 doing another shorter and simpler escape room!
BONUS MINI ESCAPE ROOM FOR YOUNGER KIDS
This mini escape room challenge was also a big hit and I LOVED watching the little ones eyes light up every time they found a clue! So without further ado let’s dive right in!
MINI ESCAPE ROOM PLOT
The plot for this mini Harry Potter escape room is that Harry lost the key to Hedwig’s cage and now she can’t get out! Help Harry find the key before Hedwig goes berserk!
The kids will receive an owl from Hermione with a letter explaining this along with a box of invisible ink pens.
In the letter they receive they will find instructions to everything they have to do. This way the moms can easily help them while I help the older children figure out the harder clues.
First the kids will need to solve a crossword puzzle that I passed out to each one. I also provided pencils for them to write with. The words in this crossword puzzle will be the clues they need to find!
HARRY POTTER CROSSWORD PUZZLE PDF FILE
The words in my puzzle are rat, potion, pumpkin, snake, and broomstick.
If you want to use this exact crossword puzzle then you will obviously need these exact objects for the kids to find. Or you could get creative and print images of them instead! Otherwise you can make your own handwritten crossword puzzle! You could even tell chat.com to make one for you!
CROSSWORD CLUES
I will reiterate, since it was Halloween month I was able to easily find these objects. So I wrote a letter V on a rubber rat from Dollar Tree. A letter L on a broomstick, a letter U on a pumpkin, and letter T on a toy snake from Walmart and a letter A on one of my DIY Potion bottles. The potion labels are from Etsy. To see how I DIYed these Potion bottles and more check out How to Throw a Magical Harry Potter Birthday Party Kids Will Never Forget!
CLICK HERE to see how I made these Potion Bottles!
UNSCRAMBLING THE LETTERS
Once they wrote down all their letters they were able to unscramble it with the help on their moms. Have you figured it out yet? It’s VAULT!
FINDING THE KEY
I used the same vault with the same code and riddle so as soon as the older kids got their invisible ink pens from the vault I put the key in there that opens up Hedwig’s cage.
This key is from the same lock and key set I got for the flying keys challenge in the first escape room, it brought two so it was perfect for my intended purposes!
Once the younger kids figured out the word is vault I gave them one last letter from Harry himself! In this letter they will be congratulated for figuring it out. It will also explain the reason for the key being there, and a riddle to help Harry remember his vault number.
Remember, in the book his vault number is 687 but I added a 0 in front because it has to be a 4 digit code that opens the toy vault. They might need help figuring out the riddle. First help them figure out that the first number is 0 and then ask: Why was 5 afraid of 6? Because 6 “ate” (8) something! Once they try 068 with all the numbers and they get to 7 you will see them scream for joy when that vault snaps open!
Honestly the little kids expressions and excitement was my favorite! They were all SO EXCITED to let Hedwig out of her cage! It was so fun and special and I know it’s something they will remember forever. One mom expressed this to me herself and it made me so happy to hear because I worked hard on this but seeing how successful it was, was the best reward! And speaking of rewards! Check out my DIY Certificates of Completion for these Harry Potter Escape Rooms!
EXTRA BONUS!!! HOGWARTS HONOR ROLL
The kids all worked hard to find the Sorcerer’s Stone or the key to Hedwig’s cage and they deserve recognition! Apart from the usual favor bags given out at birthday parties I wanted to congratulate them in Hogwarts style. So I made special Hogwarts Certificates for each child!
HOGWARTS CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION PDF FILE
The kids told me they felt like they were actually in Hogwarts school after giving them these certificates which made the whole experience even more magical!
I hope you guys enjoyed this post. I know these Harry Potter escape rooms are VERY specific and you might not be able to follow it exactly but I hope you enjoyed these escape room ideas and make it your own!
Let me know what you think in the comments below! And if you have any questions I will be happy to help! Happy Hunting everyone!
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