One of the most magical moments in Harry Potter for me was when he first learned to play Quidditch. Learning about the Quaffle, the Bludgers and that little Golden Snitch really made the Wizarding World that extra bit of fun. I have never been much of athletic person, but I have always wanted to play Quidditch. When my daughter requested a Harry Potter party for her birthday this year, I knew that it was time to live out my Quidditch dreams.
DIY Quidditch Pitch Game
One of the activities for the party is going to be real live Quidditch. I mean, as real live as Quidditch can get when you can’t actually fly on broomsticks and the Snitch doesn’t fly on its own, but I am pretty sure watching kids run around with broomsticks is going to be pretty stinking fun anyway.
For a full Quidditch Pitch (6 Hoops) you will need:
- 6 hula hoops (I found them at the dollar store)
- brown spray paint
- 4 – 2×2’s cut at 38″
- 2 – 2x2x48 pieces
- 12- 2 inch screws
- 6 – 7.25″ cuts of 2×8
- Drill with 3/8ths bit
- long nails
Drill two holes in the center of each of the bases. You want to countersink or drill the holes about half way through the piece of wood. This way when you drill the screws into the 2x2s, they won’t stick out and make your Quidditch hoop wobble. After each of the bases have pilot holes, screw the bases and the 2x2s (long pieces) together.
Nail a hula hoop to the top of each 2×2. I have found that the easiest way to do this is to push the nail through the plastic of the hula hoop before you nail it to the wood. It makes it so the hula hoop doesn’t slip around when it is being nailed in.
Spray paint the hula hoops brown to give it all a more uniform look and you have a Quidditch pitch! We plan on laying a sand bag on each of the stands to make sure it doesn’t fall over during heavy play, but we have also talked about drilling a couple of extra holes through the bases and staking them down. It isn’t necessary to stake them, they stand up well on their own, it just might make it easier if you are playing on an uneven surface.
My daughter is absolutely thrilled with how the Quidditch Pitch turned out and keeps asking if it is time for her party yet.
Here is what you will need to play Quidditch:
broomsticks (see how I made affordable broomsticks here.)
Quidditch hoops
a quaffle (a slightly deflated volleyball works great!)
2 bludgers (Bludgers in our case will either be foam balls or balloons)
1 Golden Snitch (a golf ball painted gold)
Here are some guidelines to playing Quidditch on the ground.
- Each player must keep their broom between their legs at all times.
- There are three Chasers on a team. Their goal is to get the ball through the hoops of the opposing team for 10 points each.
- There is one Keeper. Their goal is to protect their hoops from being scored on.
- There are two beaters on each team. Their job is to knock people out of play with the bludgers. When a player is hit with a bludger they must touch one of their own team’s hoops before resuming play.
- There is one seeker whose job it is to find the Golden Snitch, that is hidden in the yard somewhere.
Now, tell the truth, would you play Quidditch?
DIY Quidditch Pitch
Real live Quidditch. Real live as Quidditch can get when you can't actually fly on broomsticks and the Snitch doesn't fly on its own
Materials
For the Quidditch 6 hoops you will need:
- 6 hula hoops I found them at the dollar store
- brown spray paint
- 4 – 2×2’s cut at 38″
- 2 – 2x2x48 pieces
- 12- 2 inch screws
- 6 – 7.25″ cuts of 2×8
- Drill with 3/8ths bit
- long nails
What you need to play Quidditch
- broomsticks see how I made affordable broomsticks here.
- Quidditch hoops
- a quaffle a slightly deflated volleyball works great!
- 2 bludgers Bludgers in our case will either be foam balls or balloons
- 1 Golden Snitch a golf ball painted gold
Instructions
- Drill two holes in the center of each of the bases. You want to countersink or drill the holes about half way through the piece of wood. This way when you drill the screws into the 2x2s, they won’t stick out and make your Quidditch hoop wobble. After each of the bases have pilot holes, screw the bases and the 2x2s (long pieces) together.
- Nail a hula hoop to the top of each 2×2. I have found that the easiest way to do this is to push the nail through the plastic of the hula hoop before you nail it to the wood. It makes it so the hula hoop doesn’t slip around when it is being nailed in.
- Spray paint the hula hoops brown to give it all a more uniform look and you have a Quidditch pitch! We plan on laying a sand bag on each of the stands to make sure it doesn’t fall over during heavy play, but we have also talked about drilling a couple of extra holes through the bases and staking them down. It isn’t necessary to stake them, they stand up well on their own, it just might make it easier if you are playing on an uneven surface.
Here are some guidelines to playing Quidditch on the ground
- Each player must keep their broom between their legs at all times.
- There are three Chasers on a team. Their goal is to get the ball through the hoops of the opposing team for 10 points each.
- There is one Keeper. Their goal is to protect their hoops from being scored on.
- There are two beaters on each team. Their job is to knock people out of play with the bludgers. When a player is hit with a bludger they must touch one of their own team’s hoops before resuming play.
- There is one seeker whose job it is to find the Golden Snitch, that is hidden in the yard somewhere.
My boys would absolutely love this. They are huge Harry Potter fans and Quidditch game is one of their favorite parts. I'll be putting this on our activity list for next summer.
We are huge fans of Harry Potter. What a fun game this is. I am going to borrow this. Thanks for sharing.
As a Harry Potter lover, I love Quidditch. A really fun game and to be able to play this in your backyard is awesome! I will bookmark this!
Girl, you have got the BEST Harry Potter themed ideas. I love these so much. Sharing them for when my kiddos are a little older, for sure!
haha this is amazing! Can't believe we didn't think of this as we are also great Harry Potter fans! I need to give this a go because our family is pretty competitive too :p
This is super cool!!! Now we need some guidelines on how you actually play 😀 I want to try this out myself at home lol!!
What an amazing diy! I really love Harry Potter themed.
This is a super clever idea. I love that you could use it for so many other games, too. Great idea. Anyone looking to do a HP themed party just got a fabulous game!
oh gosh. I am the world's biggest harry potter fan so this has my name written ALL over it. If I lived in an actually house with a yard and not an apartment, I would totally make it!
This is so cute!! Harry Potter fans will go crazy over this!
What a fun game to have at a party!! Those who love Harry Potter would love this!
How awesome is this! The kids must love this, well any Harry Potter fan will!
What a great game idea! It would be perfect for any Harry Potter fan! I could also see these hoops being used for other things as well!
My kids would love this backyard fun! What a great DIY idea!
I actually never heard of Quidditch Pitch before, but it sounds like a fun party game! I'll definitely have to try this sometime.
Very helpful blog. Thank you for spreading around the knowledge.
This is SOOOO freaking cool!!!!! I was obsessed with Harry Potter growing up–we would have totally loved our own little quidditch set!
These look so good and you have made them so easily. I'm gonna share your article with couple of friends who are crazy Harry Potter fans.
What a creative and fun game!! My Harry Potter-obsessed boyfriend would definitely get a kick out of this. 🙂
Wow this is too cool for any Harry Potter fan! I bet kids go nuts over these!
Suzanne | MaQ + Suz
http://www.suzannespiegoski.com
I made a quidditch pitch myself after I saw a picture of a school playgound in the U.K. were the school had made three hoops out of PVC pipe an attached wheels to the bottom to move them around. Mine are a more stable verion like yours but I buried the wooden posts I used about a foot in the ground and stuck it with concrete. And I think hula hoops are a bit flimsy so I used flexable PVC. I want mine to last a very long time and not get destroyed in a storm. Also you have no KEEPER. You listed all the playing postions in quidditch exept the keeper! lol.
My grandson turns 11 July 15. I snapped pictures of the directions (scared I would loose them). I also took pictures of all the great replies as helpful additional hints. My grandsons are 11,11,& 6. We will have a blast with grandparents (us)
Parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Thank you… we are huge Harry Potter fans! You just made this Arkansas family extremely happy.