We all dream of having a white Christmas but the best we can usually hope for is a dull, grey, soggy one – unless, that is, you head along to the Harry Potter studios in Leavesden from this week.

The most magical snowfall of the season returns to Warner Bros Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, as the breathtaking Hogwarts castle model is covered in a blanket of snow. Visitors will get the chance to see the castle’s festive makeover – as well as the iconic Great Hall decorated for Christmas – from this week until February 1 next year.

For the first time at the studio attraction, the film series’ special effects department will use coloured lights and a special vapour that flickers and dances to create ‘fire’ in the Great Hall and Gryffindor common room fireplaces. Meanwhile, real flames will lick the plum puddings on display in the Great Hall.

Most of the snow used on the Hogwarts castle model throughout the Harry Potter film series was a mixture of paper and dendritic salt. It was used because it clumps like snow and even squeaks when walked on. During filming, a member of the crew climbed aboard an elevated work platform and sprinkled the mixture onto the model by hand with a sieve – like dusting sugar onto a cake. The same process will be used in the studios, and samples of the different types of snow used in the film series will be on display.

The Great Hall will be decorated with the original props seen during the Christmas feast in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Eight Christmas trees will line the iconic set and two long dining tables will be dressed as they were for seasonal feasts with prop versions of turkeys, hams, fruit, vegetables and snow cakes. An interesting bit of insider knowledge for you, here: while the food featured in the feasts throughout the early films was real, the set decoration department later used artificial food created from powder and resin.

Visitors will see the hand-knitted jumpers that Molly Weasley gave Ron and Harry for Christmas in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Other costumes on display will include one of the first Christmas presents Harry ever received at Hogwarts, his invisibility cloak, and the dress Luna Lovegood wore to the Slug Club Christmas party in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

So, whatever it’s doing outside over the festive period, it’s definitely going to be a white Christmas inside the Harry Potter studios.

  • Hogwarts in the Snow will be at Warner Bros Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, Aerodrome Way, Leavesden, from Friday, November 14 to Sunday, February 1, 2015.