The arrival activity at the Fablehaven party was Tanu’s potion lab. As the guests arrived they were led to the potion station, where they found recipes and all the ingredients they needed to create their own potions.

During the development of this idea we went through a number of possibilities for creating potions that looked interesting, yet were still consumable. The final ingredients along with their ‘real’ identities are:

• Umite Honey - corn syrup
• Milch Cow Syrup - corn syrup
• Pixie Rain Forest Water - unsweetened invisible Kool-Aid
• Naiad Water - unsweetened invisible Kool-Aid
• Brownie Candy Apple Granuals - Red colored sugar
• Dragon Tears - blue food coloring
• Wizard Slime - green food coloring
• Swamp Hog Saliva - yellow food coloring.

Each recipe was some combination of corn syrup, Kool-Aid, and food coloring. The vials each had extra-fine glitter in them from the beginning.

Download printable potion-recipes .

Our very first potion, for photo purposes, was actually just colored hand sanitizer with the added glitter. Unfortunately, I brought it along for display purposes along with a few other early tests. When one of the kids lost his potions I told him he could take the displays…only to remember a few minutes later that one of them was Germ-X! Rather than simply smell each vial, I foolishly dabbed them with my finger and tasted them. A little Germ-X flavor goes a long way…ugh.

I had the most fun with the labels….

For our test tubes we visited www.testtubesonline.com. Imagine that! Plastic tubes and corks in all kinds of sizes.

I was thrilled with how well the potion lab entertained the guests. As the party was winding down many of the kids found their way back over to the potions to mix and shake some more. I hope you find an excuse to have as much with potions as we did!

Typically I like to save the best for last. Sometimes, however, the best just has to go first.

Obviously, having Brandon Mull attend our little party was amazing. Short of loading everyone in his car and taking us all to Disneyland he couldn’t have been a nicer guy. Super-cool, famous, best-selling author aside…my favorite part was the super-cool thank you note Liz and I received from the party guests. We couldn’t have thrown a party for a nicer group if we had hand-picked them. So, tremendous thanks to Brandon and the Owen family and friends!

As the guests arrived our fairy put them to work in the potions lab, where they could make their own potions using ingredients such as Wizard Slime, Umite Honey, and Pixie Rain-Forest Water.

When Brandon arrived the introductions were made…

and everyone got to show-off their potions.

Finally, we dispensed with the pleasantries and a spectacular game of Steal the Artifact ensued. I figure plenty of people get to meet their role-model….but how many kids get to be viciously tagged by their favorite author?

Following a solid 3-0 defeat by Brandon’s team, the kids had the opportunity to compare their own interests with those of the Fablehaven creator.

Who could have guessed that Brandon’s most coveted invention would be a device that takes the words right from his brain and puts them on paper? Or, that his favorite video game is Twighlight Princess? And, that he’d rather drive the Batmobile than an Aston Martin? Duh!

A silver dragon egg hunt revealed the password to the magic box containing the party favors. Brandon graciously identified the Fablehaven items as everyone opened their bags: a dizzy crystal, fairy cacoons, magic-knot bracelets, Nero’s gold, and assorted edible rocks.

With a little reluctance we cut into the Fablehaven cake created by Dippidee in American Fork. Fortunately the delicious taste helped us forget the pain of destroying such a marvelous creation.

If everyone had as much fun as I did the party was a huge success! Upcoming posts will detail the invitations, activities, and favors so you can throw your own Fablehaven bash!

For our next party give-away, I’m thinking pirates!!