Butterbeer for Harry Potter's Birthday

Some of you muggles may know that Harry Potter's birthday was the 31st of July. Some of you may have even celebrated it. But I bet none of you celebrated it by drinking Butterbeer in a tent.

We did.

And if you're wondering if drinking Butterbeer in a tent is actually fun - it is.

But that's not all we did. 

We "glamped" up our tent to make it a little more like the Weasley's tent that Harry, Ron, and Hermione camp in while hunting for horcruxes. This included putting a braided rug on the floor, setting up a table, and hanging a tapestry in the back. 

We also set up cots with sheets, comforters, and pillows, and brought two comfy chairs to put next to the table. 

 Anna designed crests based on our Hogwarts houses to hang over our beds.

Those wands are custom-made following the specifications of our wands on Pottermore, and yes, we carved them ourselves.

The best part? OK, probably the Butterbeer actually, but the next best part - setting up a laptop on the table and watching a Harry Potter movie every night in our tent. We also strung Christmas lights over the tent for a cozy and extra magical effect at night.

For those of you interested in brewing your own Butterbeer, here's the recipe. I've tried making several Butterbeer-like concoctions over the years, and I can honestly say this is the best (the other recipes I tried don't even come close - they were sickening), and it's pretty easy to make (also non-alcoholic). The recipe calls for root beer, but we used cream soda. Take your pick.

5-Ingredient Non-Alcoholic Butterbeer*

• PREP TIME: 5M
 
• TOTAL TIME: 5M

• SERVES: 10
 
• YIELD: 2 LITRES

INGREDIENTS

• 2 litres Vanilla Flavoured Cream Soda
• 2 tbsp. butter extract
• 2 tsp. rum extract

FOR THE CREME TOPPING

• 200 g (7oz) marshmallow creme
• 1 c whipping cream
• 1 tsp. rum extract

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Pour the butter extract and rum extract into the 2 litre cream soda bottle. Gently roll back and forth on the counter a few times to disperse the flavours without agitating the gas. Chill until ready to use.
2. To prepare the cream topping, combine the marshmallow cream, whipping cream and rum extract in a bowl. With an electric mixer, whisk on high till you get soft peaks.
3. To serve, place a tablespoon of topping cream in the glass, and pour the soda over the cream for a frothier topping. Else, you can spoon the frosting over a cold glass of cream soda for a creamier topping.

I guess you could say we're pretty big nerds.

'Til tomorrow.

*Recipe from Tina Dawson, Love is in my Tummy, http://www.loveisinmytummy.com/2016/05/5-ingredient-non-alcoholic-butterbeer.html