Harry Potter Christmas Dinner At Hogwarts
Yes, even muggles are invited
If you're still salty about not getting that owl-delivered acceptance letter after all these years, Hogwarts wants to make it up to you: by cordially inviting you to a real-life Yule Ball.
For three nights in December (11 through 13), Warner Bros. is opening the doors to the London set of Harry Potter for its annual Dinner in the Great Hall. Witches, wizards and muggles alike will be welcomed at the entrance with drinks and canapés before being led inside Hogwarts, which will be meticulously recreated exactly as the Yule Ball appears in the films. We're talking snow-covered Christmas trees hauled in by a half-giant, dripping icicles and an "orchestra of magical instruments." You'll then sit down to a two-course feast that includes your choice of roast turkey stuffed with cranberries, pistachios and pork, or a roast squash Wellington.
Afterward, you'll be free to wander the entire film set, recreating your favorite scenes, whether it's waking up to presents in the Gryffindor common room, strolling down Diagon Alley or make-believing you're one of the Weasleys in their kitchen. You'll then finish with dessert (traditional Christmas pudding, chocolate and clementine bavarois with cream, or gingerbread and blueberry trifle) on Platform 9¾ against the backdrop of the Hogwarts Express. Just don't forget to pick up your complimentary wand before you leave.
Of course, with something of this scale, you can't just walk in.
Tickets go on sale on October 24 at 10 a.m. for £240 ( about $317) a person. If you're a Stateside wizard, you'll have to mount your broom and fly across the Atlantic. Or, you know, just take a plane.