Get creative inspiration for Harry Potter fans of all ages. These easy DIY Harry Potter wands can be made with long chopsticks or wooden tree bark pencils and without hot glue or a glue gun.
You’ll have as much fun as I did making them either on your own or with a group of children. Keep reading for the full tutorial with product recommendations and helpful tips below.
Why You’ll Love This Craft
- Yield: 10-24 wands
- Prep time: 5 minutes
- Active time: 5 minutes
- Total time: 5 minutes
- Difficulty: easy
- Total cost: $25-$30
This simple craft for DIY Harry Potter wands was designed especially for a group of young children at a Harry Potter party or in the classroom to be able to both determine their Hogwarts house of choice and be able to put together a unique wand inspired by that house in a short amount of time.
Then, the children can play with their wands thereafter, or even use them for even more Harry Potter-inspired activities, such as casting Harry Potter spells with their “magic” wands or writing spells of their own.
Materials
- Long chopsticks and/or wooden tree bark pencils for the wands
- Star pencil top erasers (or brown duct tape) for the wand handles
- Acrylic paint pens in Hogwarts house colors to decorate the wands
- Washi tape in Hogwarts house colors to decorate the wands
Below are the exact products I used to create these DIY Harry Potter wands, with some tips to help you choose the materials that are best for you.
Wands
For the actual wand itself, you can use either these specific long wooden chopsticks (10 total in a pack; 8.8 inches long) or these tree bark wooden pencils (12 total in a pack; 7 inches long.
The chopsticks are easier to paint, and I like that they are multi-colored, but I also love that the pencils look like real Harry Potter-carved wooden wands and that they are usable after the craft is completed.
Both options work really well overall.
Handles
For the wizard wand handles, you can use either these specific star erasers (48 multi-colored pieces) or this brown duct tape.
The erasers contain enough colors to match all the Hogwarts houses, but they ONLY fit on the chopsticks (not the pencils).
The brown duct tape can easily wrap around both the pencils and the chopsticks.
Decor
You can decorate your Harry Potter wands with these specific acrylic paint pens and/or these rolls of washi tape.
The pens work best on the chopsticks, and the tape works well on both the pencils and the chopsticks.
I chose both of these specific options because they contain all the colors you need to represent the four Hogwarts houses.
Tutorial For DIY Harry Potter Wands
1. Give each child a long chopstick or wooden tree bark pencil to use as his or her own Harry Potter wand.
2. Help the child choose his or her Hogwarts house and make sure he or she knows the colors to use to symbolize that Hogwarts house.
3. If you are using long chopsticks, give each child a star eraser matching the color of his or her Hogwarts house to serve as a handle for the wand. Or, if you are using either long chopsticks or wooden tree bark pencils, wrap the thicker end of the chopstick or pencil with brown duct tape to create a wand handle.
4. Give each child acrylic paint pens and washi tape in the colors of his or her Hogwarts house, and then let the kids decorate their own unique wands.
5. Enjoy your DIY Harry Potter wands for casting spells and other magical tricks from the wizarding world!
Helpful Tips
Hogwarts House Reference Guide
- Gryffindor: Gryffindor’s colors are red and gold, which are connected to the element of fire. It is the house of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley, and its wizards are brave and daring.
- Slytherin: Slytherin’s colors are green and silver, connected to the element of water. It is the Hogwarts house of Draco Malfoy, and it’s wizards value ambition, leadership, self-preservation, cunningness, and resourcefulness.
- Ravenclaw: Ravenclaw’s colors are blue and bronze, connected to the element of air. It is the Hogwarts house of Mister Ollivander and Luna Lovegood, and its wizards value intelligence, knowledge, curiosity, creativity, and wit.
- Hufflepuff: Hufflepuff’s colors are yellow and black, connected to the elements of wheat and soil. It is the house of Cedric Diggory and Nymphadora Tonks, and its wizards value hard work, dedication, patience, loyalty, and fair play.
Popular Harry Potter Spells
- Expecto Patronum: (most popular) uses a happy memory to conjure something positive
- Wingardium Leviosa: (Hermione’s favorite) used for levitating objects
- Expelliarmus: disarms an opponent
- Lumos: create a blast of light
- Accio: summons objects at will
Frequently Asked Questions
Long chopsticks and/or wooden pencils
Star pencil top erasers (or brown duct tape)
Acrylic paint pens
Washi tape
Most frequently, wands are made from wood due to their robustness, ease of customization, and common availability. If opting for wood, purchase chopsticks or pencils or search for the perfect stick outdoors, aiming for one that is dry, solid, and well-preserved.
Start with a long chopstick or a wooden tree bark pencil as the base of the wand. Next, add a star eraser or wrap the base with brown duct tape to form a handle. Customize the wand with acrylic paint pens and/or washi tape. Finally, enjoy the crafted wands for casting spells and engaging in magical adventures.
Conclusion
Crafting your own DIY Harry Potter wands with chopsticks and pencils offers a simple and cheap, yet fun way for a group to enjoy some wizarding magic — without the mess and risk of hot glue.
Related Posts
If you liked this Harry Potter post, you will love these Harry Potter posts to pair with your wands:
- Read the Harry Potter series.
- Cook or bake Harry Potter-inspired food to eat while you craft.
- Use your wand to create this Hermione Granger costume.
- Wear your wand to a Harry Potter exhibit.
- After you make your Hogwarts House wand, paint Hogwarts house themed nails or make this Harry Potter Christmas ornament.
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