September 1 is a special day for all Harry Potter fans. At precisely 11am the Hogwarts express leaves Kings Cross station on its way to take young witches and wizards back to Hogwarts for the new school year. This year, without law school to take up all my time, I decided to throw a Back to Hogwarts Brunch. I invited over 16 people and everyone brought a dish to share!

I love a good potluck. We had a bruschetta with avocado, honey bourbon bacon and shrimp, a chorizo sweet potato hash, carrot cake cookies, ceviche, a lemon blueberry coffee cake, fruit salad, chocolate pancakes, eggs, sausage and bacon. I mean my fellow Hogwarts students brought their A-Game! Everything tasted delicious. I mean look at these dishes!

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

And of course, even though it’s not pictured we had plenty of butterbeer! Butterbeer is my favorite to make, and this year’s recipe is one of the best. It’s simple too! In a large pitcher pour Martinelli’s Sparkling Cider, Butterscotch Schnapps, Spiced Rum and stir! Now I don’t measure out how much precisely, but do it to your liking. Of course there’s more Cider than alcohol, but don’t worry, this recipe isn’t too sweet.

For decor, Amazon and my secret stash of goodies came into play. Most of this stuff I already owned. The Platform 9 3/4 backdrop (linked) was only $17 off Amazon. The candles $11.99 batteries not included. The Hogwarts Banner: $16.98. The Sorting Hat is from Target and actually will sort people! The rest have been gifts or came from the party section somewhere. Honestly, decorating for a Harry Potter party is pretty easy.

After we ate all the foods and drank all the butterbeer, the main event began! What was it? Watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone of course!

Not everyone is pictured here (panoramas and people moving make for some eerie images), but I know everyone had an enjoyable time! And this definitely won’t be the last Back to Hogwarts event! Just wait till you see what we are cooking up for next year!