The past several months have been all about Harry Potter around our house. Mia started reading the books late last year and has since become a big fan of the boy wizard. So much a fan, that we decided to squeeze in a day at the The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios during our late December vacation to Florida.

Of course, we couldn’t just tell her about the trip to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, we wanted to surprise her with our plan. After giving it some thought I came up with the idea of making her a wand (every young wizard needs a wand, right?) and giving it to her for Christmas along with a little note about our trip to Universal Studios. While I was thinking about the design and picking out wood for the wand it occurred to me that I could make it in such a way that she could select and add a small item to the wand’s core. (For those not familiar with Harry Potter lore, wand designers place elements – a phoenix feather, dragon heartstring, etc. – within a wand to give it special powers).

Once I settled on a design, I headed over to the lathe and turned the pieces for Mia’s wand. For my first wand, I think it turned out great. The wand is made from three pieces: the body is made from maple, the handle from jatoba, and the core plug from maple. To access the wand’s core (or secret compartment), you simply remove the round plug at the end of the base.

I’m not sure who was more excited Christmas morning, Mia or us! When she opened the present and discovered the wand she was thrilled. She was ecstatic when she pulled the plug from the bottom and out popped a note informing her of our plans to visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando!

Below are some images of the wand (and Mia!).

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