Have a child that loves animals? Then this dog party theme is for you! By using the ideas in this article, you'll have a great party for your child in no time at all. Always remember to plan ahead, and consult the guest of honor before making any firm decisions.
Dog Party Theme – The Dog House:
Make paw prints from construction paper, or using sidewalk chalk, and have them going up the driveway. Make a doghouse out of a large cardboard box. Put it in front of the open door, and have the guests crawl through to the house.
Make dog faces on filled, helium balloons. Use construction paper for the ears, and let them float through the party room.
Use a washable black marker to draw a dog face on your guests as they arrive. Make signs that say things like “Beware of dogs”, “Cat free zone”, and “Wipe your paws”, and hang them around the party room.
Play dog music. Some good choices are “Who Let the Dogs Out?”, “Hound Dog” and “BINGO”.
Cut dog bones from construction paper. Write the guests names on them and use them as place cards.
Dog Party Theme – Dog Food:
Serve food in new, clean dog bowls. Personalize them with the children's name using paint or permanent marker.
Serve sandwiches cut out with a bone shaped cookie cutter. Make sugar cookies in the shape of dog bones.
Make a dog birthday cake by baking a round cake and four cupcakes. Frost them all the same color. The large cake is the paw pad, and the cupcakes are toes, when arranged around the top half of the cake.
If you don't want to make a big cake, make paw print cup cakes. Ice the cupcakes, and then use a Junior Mint as the paw pad and brown M & M's as the toes.
Dog Party Theme – The Activities
Choosing activities for a dog party theme doesn't have to be hard. Have your guests play “pin the tail on the dog”. This game is just pin the tail on the donkey, but instead of using a donkey you'll use a dog. For older guests, blindfold and spin them to make it harder. For younger guests, just a blindfold will do just fine.
Give every guest a piece of paper and some crayons or colored pencils. Set a timer for one or two minutes and see who can draw the best dog drawing in that amount of time. After the drawing time is over, have all of the guests vote for their favorite. Of course, no voting for yourself!
If you have the ability, going to an animal shelter to look at the dogs available for adoption is a great activity. If you contact the shelter, you may even be able to arrange for your guests to meet or walk one of the dogs. This is a great way to teach kids about the tough lives that many dogs face, and about the amazing work that animal shelters do to help them. Getting to interact with a real dog is a great way to wrap up a dog-themed party!
If you've been planning on getting a dog and want it to be a surprise, this is a great way to do it. Have the parents of the guests pick their children up at the shelter. Once everyone has gone, let your child know that they'll be staying extra time so you can adopt your own dog!