I've decided to do it. I'm throwing a Harry Potter party this summer to celebrate the release of the final book in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. What cultural event could be more worth celebrating than children and grown-ups reading the same, excellent books?

I told a friend of mine this decision today, and he said, "So, what does one do at a Harry Potter party?"

Simple! It's just like a Super Bowl Party -- dress up in costumes commemorating your favorite team/player/character, eat munchies, engage in bravado and verbal sparring about what led up to this event -- only bookier.

Actually, I'm coordinating with our homeowners' assocation's Events Committee to commandeer the community center, where we'll also have children's activities (like coloring, games, and snacks), costume contests (where top prizes will be copies of the newly released book 7), a book club chat, perhaps a brief open mic thingy like I've hosted in the past, and then a showing of the first Harry Potter movie.

Who knew children's lit could be so much fun? Yee-ha!