Harry Potter 4:The Goblet of Fire Party Ideas

As many of you know, I'm part of the best book club EVER, Delicious Reads. We recently had a book club retreat where we read all seven books over an 8 month period and then met for a 24 hour BOOK CLUB EXTRAVAGANZA. We had moderators for each book, decor, costumes, food, and much more. I got to moderate Book #4. Here's my guest post for them (and links at the bottom to all the other amazing posts from each book to give you ideas for your next Harry Potter party or book club).

Moderating Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter #4) for Delicious Reads was EPIC. The whole weekend was perfection. Each moderator went all out with discussions, activities, decor, and costumes.

Start off with a Goblet of Fire and have each person put their name in. I created my own version of the Goblet of Fire. I just used wood glue to attach a large wooden candlestick to a ceramic popcorn bucket from DI (my local thrift store). Then I painted them a wood color. My plan was to use this recipe for blue fire. My brother also suggested getting blue cellophane, cutting it to look like fire, and putting a light and fan in the bottom of the cup, which I think is an excellent idea.

I decided to begin the discussion with our very own Harry Potter Triwizard Minute to Win It. I figured it would remind everyone of the main plot line of the book and it would be a lot of fun too!

Harry Potter Tri-Wizard Minute to Win It

In Harry Potter #4, the Triwizard Tournament is a contest between three schools in Europe: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Durmstrang Institute, and Beauxbatons Academy of Magic.  Each school is represented by one champion, but in the case of HP #4, Harry Potter is the 4th champion chosen by the Goblet of Fire. Selected contestants compete in three tasks that test their magical ability, intelligence, and courage. I chose to do three activities as part of our book club discussion.

TASK#1: Adult Maze (Task of Intelligence)

I know, technically this should have been last (if you are following HP#4), but I wanted a task everyone could participate in and would easily whittle down our 25 book club members to 4 champions. This one took several minutes longer than one minute, and it was hard! Just print off a copy for each person and have it face down. We had these fantastic wand pens created by our amazing Kellie. We all started at the same time and the first four to complete the maze were the winners. I was only going to give one minute, but it actually took over 5 minutes for the first person to solve it!

FREE PRINTABLE:
An "Adult" Maze
(and, no, that's not a dirty joke)
(more great mazes here)

TASK #2: Move the Dinosaur Eggs (Task of Magical Ability)

The first 4 to finish the maze puzzle became the contestants for the rest of the tournament! Since the champion in HP#4 had to retrieve a dinosaur egg, I thought it would be fun to use Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans as "eggs" and have our maze champions use wands as chopsticks to see who could move the most from one bowl to another in 1 minute. Again, we used the awesome wand pens created by our Kellie (see her tutorial here):



I then made the champions eat all of their Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans just for fun. The top three were supposed to go on to compete in the last task.

I made the girls eat all the Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans too!
None of them died, but I'm pretty sure they wanted to kill me!

Poor Summer had the most beans to eat. I was totally gagging with her. Bertie Botts are no good all together!

Bryn finished eating her Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans in record time!

TASK #3: Hold the Plank (Task of Courage/Strength)

In HP#4 the champions have to save someone they love by swimming underwater. I decided to do a play on word (i.e. walk the plank) and have the winners up to this point hold a fitness plank (i.e. face down on ground and only forearms and toes holding up your body). Who ever held theirs the longest was given the Triwizard Cup. I let any of the other girls in book club join in too so they weren't bored. But Summer ended up holding the longest out of the champions so far. I think she held her plank for 5 minutes and probably could have kept going! She was a true champion aqnd deserved the Tri-Wizard cup.

Summer (aka Cho) was our Tri-wizard Champion!
(she also took most of the pictures of the night - Summer Nicole Photography)
No one died during our contest, but I think several girls were sore the next day from doing a plank for over 5 minutes!

Make Your Own Tri-Wizard Cup

I created this simple version of the Triwizard Cup. I thought about adding getting three plastic snakes and painting them silver to add to the sides, but decided to keep it simple so the winner would actually use it afterwards as a candle holder or something.

1. I went to my local thrift store (DI) and bought a candlestick and a cup (I think the candlestick was actually crystal, but the cup/bowl was glass. I don't think it matters as long as it is clear and it has a similar cut to the triwizard cup from the movie).
2. I used this glass glue (yes, it's a thing!). It dries clear and is waterproof. I actually use it all the time to create fun serving display plates and such (for another post!).
   
3. Make sure your candlestick and bowl/cup is clean and dry. Apply the glue to the top of the candlestick and set the cup on top. Allow to dry overnight. It's that simple!
4. It only cost me about $3 to make because I already had the glue, but you can get some for about $3-4, so it's still an inexpensive prize. You could add Bertie Botts to it too if you wanted.

My simplistic Tri-wizard Cup

If you want to go all out, you can get this Tri-wizard cup on Amazon for about $40. It lights up too.

After out Triwizard Cup was won, we had some serious discussion! I got most of my questions here from Bloomsbury. They have great questions for every Harry Potter book. Here are some of my favorites.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Discussion Questions:

Bloomsbury created this great 12 page PDF guide with the book summary, questions, and activity ideas. 

1. The previous books have all opened at the Dursleys’ home, but this book starts instead in the Riddle House (Chapter 1). The pain Harry feels in his scar in Chapter 2 is an omen of what is to come. Soon after, the Quidditch World Cup is interrupted by a sinister attack (Chapter 9, ‘The Dark Mark’). Why do you think J.K. Rowling departed from the way she had started the other books?
2. Talk about the many ways in which Harry is helped through the tasks of the Triwizard Tournament by adults and fellow pupils alike. How much of his success is down to him, and how much to others? How does Harry repay the support he receives? Why does Harry take time to free others besides Ron during the second task? How does the relationship between Harry and Cedric develop through the three tasks of the Triwizard Tournament?
3. What do you believe causes the connection between Harry’s wand and Voldemort’s? How do the shadow figures that emerge from Voldemort’s wand during the connection help Harry escape? Why does Voldemort need Harry’s blood to regain his body? Is Harry learning to become a great wizard or is he just lucky to escape the forces that arise against him? Do you believe that Harry is living out a destiny or acting of his own free will?
4.  In what ways do we see the main characters starting to grow up in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire? What things are they experiencing that they haven’t in the previous books? What is Harry’s unexpected task in Chapter 22?
5. What is the significance of Hermione’s campaign for the welfare of the house-elves? Why is she adamant about improving their conditions? Why do the house-elves resist her efforts? Discuss what Sirius Black means when he says: ‘If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.’ (Chapter 27, ‘Padfoot Returns’, p. 443) 

Because every Harry Potter party needs a baby Dobby!

This is my little 4 month old Olive, dressed fabulously in a pillow case I found twenty minutes before I left for the party. I cut off the top to fit her body length (I could have gone shorter) and then I cut a little down the side so I could tie the shoulders together. I printed a little S.P.E.W badge and laminated it with clear tape, then hot glued a pin to the back to hook to her pillow case. (Summer Nicole Photography)

If you really want to play the part of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, you need to dress the part! You could go traditional as Harry Potter, but I decided to be a little more unique and be Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons. If you want to see how I made my costume, check it out here (link coming soon!)

Me in my custom Fleur Delacour costume. the Triwizard cup next to me. 

If you're interested in adding Hogwarts flags to your party decor, check out my tutorial here (link coming soon). I also made many of the Harry Potter-inspired spell books and magazines. Here's my tutorial and links to all the images I used (coming soon).

Don't forget to check out what we did for these Harry Potter books too:

Harry Potter #1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone Book Club Ideas

Harry Potter #2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Book Club Ideas

Harry Potter #3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner at Azkaban Book Club Ideas

Harry Potter #5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Book Club Ideas
Coming Soon . . . 

Harry Potter #6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Book Club Ideas

Harry Potter #7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Book Club Ideas

XoXo,

Robin aka Fleur

(and little Dobby too)

www.AuthorRobinKing.com

Van Gogh Painting Recovered! {with excerpt from my book}

It's been found! It's been found!

Stolen "View of the Sea at Scheveningen" by Vincent Van Gogh.
Recovered September 2016

You know how I wrote this book a while back (November 2015) called Van Gogh Gone. It's the second book in the Remembrandt series, the story of a 17-year-old girl, Alexandra. Because of her eidetic memory, Alex can't forget anything. When her Russian professor gives her an impossible puzzle to solve, she is catapulted into a life of cryptic codes, covert missions, and unexpected love.

Well, the title of that book was Van Gogh Gone for a reason. Alex is sent across the globe in search of a stolen work of art. One of those paintings was "View of the Sea at Scheveningen" (sometimes called "Seascape at Scheveningen"). In the book, I describe how the painting was stolen from the Van Gogh Museum in 2002 (true story). I also described (I totally made up) how the painting was being used by a European crime syndicate as a means of trade. Guess what? I was right! It was the Italian mafia. But that's not the coolest part . . . "View of the Sea at Scheveningen" has been recovered!

 Here is a little excerpt from my book, describing the stolen painting:

       “I don’t want you dead, Alexandra. What I want is Van Gogh,” Elijah said.
       “Van Gogh?”
       “Better yet, what I want is the painting View of the Sea at Scheveningen by Vincent Van Gogh.”
       Elijah leaned forward in his chair. “It is a scene as viewed from the beach with a—”
       “I know the painting.” I saw it in my head, along with the description below it from an art book I’d leafed through nearly five years before. It depicted a scene from the beach resort where Van Gogh apparently painted it. The wind from the day not only influenced how the artist painted the blowing flag of the ship on the sea, but it also blew grains of sand into the thick, oil-based paint, leaving some permanently embedded in the layers. “He painted it outdoors, which was nearly unheard of at the time,” I went on. “Most impressionists sketched on-site and painted at home to avoid . . .” I stopped myself from nearly reading all the words below the painting in my head.
       Elijah cocked his head to one side. “I knew you were your mother’s daughter. Art is in your blood.”
       Or in my mind. Elijah didn’t know about my eidetic memory and how, at that moment, it was flashing to every book, article, or website I had ever seen on Van Gogh or his paintings.
       “Sea at Scheveningen was stolen in 2002 and hasn’t been recovered by any of the agencies searching for it,” I said. “Why would you think it still exists?”
       “I have my reasons.”
       “Even if it does exist and I actually wanted to help you, what makes you think I could find it?”
       “You are forgetting how well I know The Company.”
       I cringed at his tone when he said “The Company.” It was an insider’s right to refer to the organization that way, and Elijah no longer had the right. In fact, it turned out he never had it to begin
with.
       “If you and that team of yours can stop a Russian terrorist organization from poisoning a water supply, you can find a minor painting.”
       “If it’s so minor, why do you want it? It’s not like you can hang it up in your jail cell.”
       A boisterous laugh rumbled from Elijah’s chest. A silver filling in one of his back molars caught the light. “‘There’s no art, to find a mind’s construction in the face.’” Then he winked. I knew what that quote meant, and it had nothing to do with art. Shakespeare was referring to the fact that you can’t tell what a person is thinking by looking at his or her face.
       My mind recalled the last time Elijah had quoted Shakespeare to me. It had been a clue to lead me to discover that Elijah was a double agent. If he really had something he wanted to tell me, he should just come straight out and say it. I’d had enough with his games.
       “You can quote MacBeth all you want” —my voice began to rise— “but it’s not going to convince me to do anything for you, let alone find a painting. You have no leverage here, Elijah. I can’t believe I’ve listened to you for this long.” I jumped up, nearly knocking over my chair, and headed for the door.
       “You’ll change your mind.” Elijah sounded so sure of himself that my grip on the door handle tightened until I felt my blood pulsing against the metal. I took a deep breath to keep myself from losing it completely, then gave up. I no longer cared about the camera in the interrogation room. I marched back to the table and bent over it until my face was just a foot from Elijah’s. The only way to keep the memories of him from haunting me was to prove to myself that I didn’t need to be afraid of him.
       “No, I won’t.” I glared at him.
       He returned with an icy stare that didn’t scare me this time. He leaned forward a few more inches and whispered in my ear. “Talk with your father first before you make a promise you can’t keep. Ask him what really happened after the accident.”
(Excerpt taken from Van Gogh Gone by Robin M. King, Chapter 4)

I'm so happy that these works of Van Gogh were recovered. I'd like to think my fictional character had a hand in it in some way . . .

Congrats to The Van Gogh Museum for getting back what was lost. I love the excitement showed by Axel Rueger, The Van Gogh Museum director. His smile is priceless.

Writing Van Gogh Gone has been such a great experience for me, which is kind of ironic because it is just a young adult spy novel. A few months back, I was contacted by a man in the Netherlands who is curating a library filled with books and DVD's all about Vincent Van Gogh. The curator lives near the Van Gogh Museum in Nuenen c.a. in the Netherlands. I told him my book was a work of fiction, but he still wanted it a part of the library. He even invited me to come to his town and he would show me all the special Van Gogh spots. Ha! If I ever make it that way, I will for sure stop by.

If you'd like to read Van Gogh Gone, I'd suggest reading Remembrandt first. You can get copies of either book on Deseret Book, Amazon or your local bookstore. Memory of Monet, the third book in the series, comes out November 2016 and is currently available for preorder!

The Remembrandt Series

Remembrandt (Remembrandt #1)

This young adult suspense novel is the first in a trilogy following the story of seventeen-year-old Alexandra Stewart. This Brown University student with an eidetic memory doesn’t walk down memory lane, she lives on it. When she solves an impossible puzzle for her Russian professor, Alex is catapulted into a life of cryptic codes, covert missions, and unexpected love.

Where to Buy: Amazon, Deseret Book, or ask your local store.

Van Gogh Gone (Remembrandt #2)

Summary: Alex finally has a life worth remembering—a Spanish tutor who gives perfecto a new name, a colleague who has her back, and a special role in a spy organization with secret headquarters at Brown University. After her recent mission in Moscow, Alex discovers that a Van Gogh painting may be the key to finding someone she loves.

Espionage isn’t just her job. It’s a work of art. 

Where to Buy: Amazon, Deseret Book, or ask your local store.

Memory of Monet (Remembrandt #3)

Coming October 15, 2016!

Summary: Brown University student Alexandra Stewart has to decide if her undercover life is the one she wants to lead.  When the CIA asks for assistance on a mission only she can complete, Alex agrees to travel to Mexico City as an exchange student at an elite art school, leaving behind her comatose brother and the man who loves her. This mission could be her final masterpiece.

Where to Buy (pre-order): Amazon, Deseret Book, or ask your local store.

**Audiobooks coming soon!**

LET'S DISH! SIX NEW PRODUCTS YOU HAVE TO TRY (BOOK CLUB GOSSIP)

In my latest post for Delicious Reads, I round up some of the products we are gushing about right now. I know, we should be talking books at book club. And most of the time we do. Really. But you can't get a group of gals together without dishing about the latest show, what 's going on in Whitney's life, where Kellie got those fabulous shoes, and what lipstick Jen is wearing. Which brings me to the point of this post - NEW stuff you can't live without. Shhh. Only tell these to your favorite people. We wouldn't want everyone to look and feel this fab.

For more info on each product, see the full article at Delicious Reads! Ooo, and send me some of your new favorites that you wish you could "dish" about.

Top 20 Books for Your Middle-Grader (ages 8-12, 3rd-7th grade)

I love book lists, especially when it comes to finding good books for my kids. I recently came up with this one for tweens or kids that are out of the picture book phase, but not quite ready for the young adult books.

For more information on these books including my personal comments and rating, check out my post on Delicious Reads!

Van Gogh Gone Book Launch

I know. I'm totally late in posting these, but they are finally here! Yay! I love this YA series so much and loved being hosted by The King's English Bookshop. They are by far one of my favorite places in Utah. Thanks to them for the location. A shout out to my friends Suzie and Bethany for the fabulous cookies. Thanks to the Durtschi's at Crio Bru for providing the amazing brewed cocoa bean drinks (yum!). Last of all, thanks to all my supporters for coming out and listening to me gush about this labor of love, Van Gogh Gone. You can still pick up a copy at your local Utah bookstore, Deseret Book, or Amazon. Don't forget to read Remembrandt first if you want to get the full story :)

It's go time!
I absolutely LOVE my cover to Van Gogh Gone (Remembrandt #2). It may be that I helped create it, but it's probably more because I got the gorgeous Marli to model for me and Summer Nicole Photo to take the cover photo.

My cheesy smile before the launch begins.

Thanks to my 7-year-old, these custom cookies were nearly gone before the launch even started.

Though some of these gorgeous cookies (made to mimic the symbol of the spy organization in the book) were damaged in transit, they tasted as good as they looked. Thanks, Suzie!

A launch wouldn't be complete without my biggest supporter, my daughter . . . and that child that I will not claim behind us :)

Crio Bru? Yes, please! You can't have a book launch on a chilly day without a warm brewed drink.

Bethany saved the day with these custom cookies she created just hours before the launch. It's a good thing we had them in addition to the others because every one of them disappeared minutes after the reading and Q&A.

There are so many people I love in this picture!

My cute friends from book club! Jen, Kara, and Julie - you guys are the best.

This mother-daughter duo are such good friends and great supporters. Love you, Krista and Shaustia!

Just waiting around with The King's English staff before I began.

Just giving a little back story on how Remembrandt and Van Gogh Gone came to be.

I know I was saying something super interesting here.

I'll be honest with you, I don't even remember what part of my book I read for the reading! Does anyone remember?

Either I said something really funny here or someone in the audience did ;)

My handsome hubby and youngest daughter totally enthralled by my words.

Some of my favorite people came!

Marissa from Rae Gun Ramblings came! She is amazingly cute blogger, crafter, and reader. Her etsy shop (cute and hip baby and toddler clothes) is TO DIE FOR!

See? Totally enthralled . . . 

I'm so funny! (and I was so 16 weeks pregnant too and no one knew)

I told you I was funny. Love you, Amy!

Whitney and Alix came too.

They couldn't wait to get reading.

Angie is my soul sister and seriously should not stand next to me because she's so gorgeous.

Signing time! The King's English has this cute little nook upstairs where authors sign their books. I love it.

I like to personalize my books before I sign my name. 

Finally, I got a chance to sit back and relax.

and drink some Crio Bru.

This was not posed. If it was, I wouldn't have a double chin :)

Kelly from Delicious Reads and LitJoy Crate is one of my favorite people and has supported me from the beginning.

Some of my Delicious Reads friends. I love you guys!

I love that you'll do crazy jumps in the air with me.

 I vaguely remember someone making an inappropriate comment here about my the placement of my books. Thanks to all my supporters (no pun intended) .

Seriously, this was the best book launch I could have asked for!

XoXo,

P.S. The final book in the Remembrandt series will be coming out fall 2016! I'll be announcing the title at an event this coming Saturday,

Giveaway: Remembrandt Series & Ring!

Who's ready for a fast-paced read to get your heart pumping in more ways than one? My book, Remembrandt is a young adult romantic suspense with a Alias/Covert Affairs-like feel, perfect for fans of Ally Carter or just those who wish they could live as a spy.

Photo credit: Folded Pages Distillery

I've partnered with @deliciousreads and @foldedpagesdistillery on Instagram to giveaway the first two books in the series (Remembrandt and Van Gogh Gone), along with a custom ring, only worn by members of the spy organization in the book,The Company. Head on over to Instagram (@AuthorRobinKing) or Facebook (Author Robin King) to enter! 

Here's a synopsis of each book:

"I don't walk down memory lane. I live on it."

Summary: Alexandra Stewart doesn't just walk down memory lane, she lives on it. Her eidetic memory records her experiences and plays them back, DVD style. It's great when you want to ace a test, but not so great when you topple over a cute boy in the hallway and the humiliation plays back over and over and over . . . Brown University seems like the perfect place for the seventeen-year-old to forget her past. Hope for a normal life comes in the form of a handsome new running partner who makes her heart race and body perspire even before she laces up her shoes.

When her Russian professor gives her a puzzle that seems impossible to solve, Alex discovers that he has a secret – one that will catapult her into a world of secret codes and covert missions. As she tries to find a balance between the two different worlds vying for her attention, she wonders if she can have relationships with the ones she cares about while hiding a clandestine life, uncovering the truths of an underground enemy.

One thing is for certain, whatever happens will be forever etched into her memory. And some things are better left forgotten.

Remembrandt #2

Summary: Seventeen-year-old Alexandra Stewart finally has a life worth remembering - a Spanish tutor who gives perfecto a new name, a roommate that could double as her sister, and a special role in a secret spy organization that exists in the basement of Brown University.

But when her colleague, Daly, returns from a recent trip to Moscow accompanied by a man she never thought she'd see again, Alex is ripped away from her life in Providence and sent across the globe in search of a stolen piece of art.  In desperate need to find the Van Gogh painting, she will do anything to find it. Anything.

From Barcelona to Paris with only Daly at her side, the bonds of friendship are stretched as the duo uncover a truth neither one of them saw coming. Finding the painting could mean discovering a part of Alex she is ashamed could even exist, but without it, she could lose everything. The world around Alex threatens to corrupt the memories she holds most dear and the person she loves the most is at stake.

Make Your Own Rings

Hey Bookworms! Yes you. I just put together my latest post for Delicious Reads and I thought I would share it with you. Check out how I made "The Company" rings that I like to give out at book launches and signings. I really want to make more of these in different themes. I think they would make the perfect custom gift for a book lover.

Here's a link to the article: DIY Custom Book-Inspired Rings and Jewelry. Enjoy!