For Havana's 3rd Birthday, we chose an "Adopt a Puppy" Theme. She's absolutely crazy about puppies, and I stumbled upon this adorable theme on Pinterest when she was just 2. I instantly knew that someday, I had to throw her a Puppy Party! So, as her 3rd birthday drew near and she kept pleading for a real puppy, I felt it was the perfect time! Since I didn't have a big budget, I decided to DIY everything myself. Now, I'm excited to share all the details from our party so that if you're considering throwing an "Adopt a Puppy" bash, you can take inspiration from ours!
I've also included all signs, certificates, and more that I created for her party in a listing below for you to download and print at home!
Lets Paw-ty! Havana's Puppy Dress and Mason's Bulldog Tee are from Rock Your Kid. To start the party Planning I purchased some gorgeous little Puppy images off Etsy to create my Invites and went from there!
I combined a few themes together. I was really keen on having a pastel rainbow colour scheme to make it that little bit more "girly", but I also wanted to incorporate the puppies! Finding cute "Puppy" themed party decor was a bit challenging, so opting for a pastel rainbow palette made it much easier, and I think the combination turned out really cute!
The Puppies
I knew the Puppy plushies were going to be the most expensive part, but I stumbled upon these adorable little sitting dogs online at Target that were about 20cm tall, and they were exactly what I was looking for! (Target Plush Puppies) They were priced at $6 each, and they had three different breeds available: a Dalmatian, a Frenchie, and a Cocker Spaniel. Though I wanted a bit more variety, these three were super cute, so I headed to the store to grab some! I planned to pick up 3-4 each time I visited Target since I didn't have exact numbers yet, slowly building up my quantities over time. While browsing the plush section one day, I stumbled upon a random Pug Puppy, identical to the others, and it was on sale for only $3! After a bit of online research, I discovered there were three more different plushies that must have been from the previous season, all marked down to $3 each! These included a Pug, a Border Collie, and a Grey Schnauzer. I ended up purchasing a few of each of the six different ones, averaging around $4.5 per plush! Bargain!
(Mini 10cm Party hats fit perfectly on the puppies' heads! I found some in my local Variety store, and others online)
Activities
I wanted the "Adopt a Puppy" segment of the party to serve as the main entertainment, games, and party bag/gift. It was important to me that it was fun, and engaging, and could keep the kids entertained for more than just a few minutes. So, I spent a lot of time researching online, browsing through Pinterest, and gathering various ideas for the "adoption" process of the puppies!
So this is what we came up with...
Choose your Favourite Puppy. All the puppies were on display, adorned with their little party hats, waiting to be adopted.
Design a Collar. I set up a DIY Collar station. I found small 3cm wooden discs which I drilled tiny holes near the top and threaded through small key rings to create "Dog Tags". Then, I provided Craft Pipe cleaners, beads, and some Sharpies for the kids to write their pup's name on the tags. (All supplies from the discount store)
Decorate a Carrier. Another DIY Station, stocked with plenty of colouring pens, stickers, and gems for the kids to personalize their pup's new carrier. We used Large Treat Boxes for the Carriers.
Give your Puppy a Check-up. We set up a little vet table with some "Doctor" toys like these from Kmart. I also created a simple check-up checklist for them to go through.
Get your Certificate. Once their puppy was ready for their new home, they filled out their 'Certificate of Adoption' with their name and their puppy's name, officially becoming the proud parent of their new pup!
It turned out perfectly! All the kids loved going through the steps of "adopting" their puppies. It was so much fun watching them come up with names for their new furry friends and giving them check-ups. Once they were all done, they continued playing together with their pups!
Click the image below to take you to the listing of the printables we created for her Party. This includes all the Activity Signs (which I printed on A4 and placed into frames), the Adoption Certificate, and Vet Check-list cards, a blank version of the invitation with lines for you to fill out with your party details or you can opt for a custom Invite.
The Sweets, Cake & Cookies
Although the Puppy Plushies were the party gifts for the guests to take home, we also decided to have a fun sweets table with "Doggy Bags" for them to fill up and enjoy throughout the party! I kept with the pastel rainbow theme for the sweets table and coordinated it with the cake and custom cookies.
Cake by: Burleigh Bakes
Cookies by: Cookies Kitchen Co
I hope you enjoyed all our Puppy Party Ideas! If you have any questions please leave them below!
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Court x
Are we still able to get the printable's for free? Thanks!
Such a awesome party babe you nailed it! Indi still plays with her pup. You need to be a event galll and a travel planner !