Did Hermione ever visit her parents on Christmas?

Yes! In both her first and sixth year at Hogwarts, Hermione spent the festive season with her parents. In Philosopher’s Stone, we imagine she just couldn’t wait to fill them in on all the adventures she’d had during her first term at a wizarding school. However, her trip home in Half-Blood Prince was under circumstances that were far less merry.

You see, that was the Christmas when things were rather frosty between her and Ron. Thanks to his relationship with Lavender Brown, some miscommunication about feelings and being divebombed by a flock of tiny birds, they weren’t talking. As Harry and Ron spent that particular holiday at The Burrow, we imagine she wanted to be at home rather than on her own at Hogwarts.

There was also the Christmas she nearly spent with her parents. In Order of the Phoenix, Hermione was supposed to go skiing with her family. However, after Mr Weasley’s attack (and realising taking to the slopes wasn’t her thing) she spent Christmas at Grimmauld Place instead.

Does Father Christmas ACTUALLY exist in the wizarding world?

Unlike the Muggle world, where we hang up stockings for Father Christmas to fill with presents, at Hogwarts it’s the house-elves that are responsible for delivering presents to the students.

However, that’s not to say he didn’t exist in the wizarding world – witches and wizards still knew about him. At the Yule Ball, there were statues of Father Christmas and his reindeer. Ron causally mentioned him in passing. And, rather gruesomely, during Christmas at Grimmauld Place, the stuffed elf-heads all wore Father Christmas hats.

There were also quite a few characters that had real Father Christmas energy… why not see for yourself?

How do they get all the food in the Great Hall?

This is a brilliant question and as you can probably guess… the answer involves magic. As we all know, thanks to Gamp’s Law of Elemental Transfiguration, food can’t be conjured out of thin air – even if it seems to have been.

At Hogwarts, it was (once again) the house-elves that were responsible for creating all the fantastic feasts. They prepared the dishes in the Hogwarts kitchens that were directly below the Great Hall. Once they had finished making the mouthwatering meals, the dishes were placed on long tables that were identical to the ones in the hall. The dishes were then magically sent up and appeared on the corresponding tables above.

Where would you rather spend Christmas. Hogwarts or The Burrow?

This is a question that we at Harry Potter HQ have often debated! Do we want to have a cosy Christmas with one of our favourite wizarding families? Or do we want to be dazzled by the towering Christmas trees and singing suits of armour at Hogwarts? To throw a curveball out there… would we want to spend Christmas at Grimmauld Place?

In fact, we spent so long discussing it, we even wrote about it. From Dumbledore in a flowered bonnet, to family fun featuring the dulcet tones of Celestina Warbeck… which team member do you agree with?

Is there a book containing the recipes for all the treats that Mrs. Weasley sent Harry for Christmas over the years? I am asking because... they all sounded delicious.

We agree – Molly Weasley’s collection of Christmas goodies always sounded extremely yummy. Luckily for us, we do know a few of the books that she kept at The Burrow! For example, there was Charm Your Own Cheese, Enchantment in Baking and also One Minute Feasts – It’s Magic!

Unluckily for us, as these books only exist in the wizarding world, we’ll never be able to try the magical recipes for ourselves!

What was Harry’s favourite Christmas present?

While we can’t definitively answer this question, we can make an educated guess… and we can certainly say it wasn’t the toothpick sent by the Dursleys.

Harry’s Invisibility Cloak must be up there as one of his favourite gifts. Not only was it an extremely rare magical artefact that helped him get up to all sorts of mischief, but it had once belonged to his dad. Having that connection to his father must have been extremely meaningful.

Then there was the Firebolt from Sirius. Yes, it might have been confiscated by McGonagall initially. And yes, that might have caused tensions between the trio… but to own the fastest racing broom in the world? How could it not be considered one of his best presents.

Finally, we have to mention Weasley jumpers. Harry hadn’t expected to get any presents during his first wizarding Christmas. However, he woke up to find that Molly Weasley had spent time and effort lovingly knitting him his own woolly masterpiece. From that moment on, he was an honorary Weasley and had found a place that he belonged – and that was priceless.

Did Hagrid celebrate Christmas by himself?

Never fear! Our favourite half-giant did not spend Christmas alone in his hut on the Hogwarts grounds. Instead, he threw himself into all the festivities in the castle. Hagrid brought the giant Christmas trees into the Great Hall. He ate Christmas dinner alongside the staff and remaining students. He thoroughly got into the festive spirit – even kissing Minerva McGonagall on the cheek! And who could forget him dancing with Madam Maxime at the Yule Ball?

Hagrid was all about Christmas and he brought the festive joy.