Planning a child’s birthday party doesn’t have to be a stressful event, especially if you’re working with a theme as cute as puppies or dogs! Whether your party is for a baby’s 1st birthday, a school-aged child, or anything in between, we’ve got 30 great ideas for your puppy-themed birthday party.
1. Send Out Cute Puppy-Themed Invitations
Every great party starts with an invitation! Head over to Minted to pick out and personalize your favorite party invite. We love this “Puppy Line-Up” party invite, as well as this online invite to a “Puppy Pawty!” Be sure to send out your invites 3-4 weeks in advance to ensure all your guests have enough time to plan and RSVP.
2. Spruce Up Your Venue With Dog Balloons
Welcome your guests to your party venue with puppy-themed balloons! Amazon sells these black-and-white paw print balloons, while Etsy has a slew of options, including this 14-pack of “walking” dog balloons. If you want to get creative, you can even make your own!
3. Decorate the Venue with Paw Prints
Oriental Trading sells large packs of these paw print decals that are perfect for decorating your party venue. You can have your paw prints lead towards fun stuff, like the food table, or the necessary stuff, like the bathroom.
4. Serve Water in These Bone-Shaped Water Bottles
Oriental Trading Company sells packs of a dozen bone-shaped water bottles that are just perfect for keeping your party guests hydrated throughout the fun.
5. Set the Table With Party Hats and Bowlers
Set the main table with puppy-themed tableware, placing a party hat and bowler on each plate. Your little party guests will love putting on their hats and blowing their bowlers. We love this set from Target!
6. Invite Party Guests to Wear Puppy Costumes
Your little party guests can get into the puppy spirit by donning puppy ears and tails like these available from Oriental Trading.
7. Have a Puppy Petting Zoo!
Petting zoos are always popular birthday party entertainment, so why not have a puppy petting zoo for your puppy-themed birthday party? Do a good deed and contact a local dog rescue group to see if they have any puppies they’d be willing to bring to your child’s birthday party. Not only will kids (and their parents!) enjoy playing with the pups, but the dogs themselves are sure to adore the attention. One puppy may even find a family!
8. Set Up a Puppy Adoption Station!
A fun activity at any puppy-themed party is a puppy adoption station! Party guests can choose their puppy and fill our their own adoption certificate. Search Etsy for fun themed printables, and purchase 24 small stuffed puppies here!
9. Serve Lunch or Snacks on Puppy-Themed Plates
Have fun picking out plates, cups, and napkins for your guests to enjoy their lunch or snacks. Options for cute puppy-themed tableware are practically endless. We love this complete set from Target! Or choose solid color plates and cups in the colors of your child’s favorite type of dog. For example, choose black and white for your little Dalmatian lover. Is the family dog brown and white? Pick out the plates to match!
10. Display Takeaway Snacks in Dog Bowls
Offer easy takeaway snacks like granola bars, apples, or candy bars in dog bowls placed around your venue or on your food table. Get creative by re-naming potato chips “paw-tato chips,” Twizzlers “chew sticks,” or a pretzel mix “Kibbles & Bits.”
11. Hot Dogs for Lunch!
Get it? Hots dogs are always a hit for kids, and they’re never more appropriate than at a puppy-themed birthday party. Bone Appetit!
12. Pupperoni Pizza
Need an alternative to hot dogs? How about pupperoni pizza?
13. Play “Pin the Paw on the Puppy”
Put a puppy-themed twist on the classic game of Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Simply find a picture of a puppy, print out paw prints, and have each blindfolded child attempt to get their paw print closest to the dog’s foot.
14. …Or Pin the Tail on the Puppy
Pinning the tail on the puppy is another great option, should you want a more traditional feel to the classic game. Etsy has lots of great options and variations from which to choose.
15. Toilet Water is Mighty Refreshing
Invite your guests to help themselves to some refreshing toilet water — that is, blue Kool-Aid served in a lemonade dispenser.
16. Toss the Bean Bag
A traditional bean bag toss is a great birthday party game! Each child can toss the bean bags into colored dog bowls marked with points. The child to collect the most points wins a prize!
17. Have a Photo Station
Have a designated photo spot to capture all of your guests, and the fun they’re having at your puppy-themed birthday party. Your photo spot can be anything from dog-shaped cutouts with leashes to hold, a doghouse cutout with a place to stick one’s face through, or a simple backdrop with photo stick props like these ones from Oriental Trading.
18. Get Creative with Puppy-Themed Cupcakes
Or do we mean “Pup”cakes? Either way, get creative with this favorite kid dessert by decorating each cupcake top with a puppy face? Want something a little easier? How about an Oreo and four brown M&M “toes” to create a paw print? Even easier is a dog bone-shaped cookie topping the frosting.
19. Top The Cake with Puppy Cake Toppers
These puppy-themed cake and cupcake toppers from the Etsy vendor Chapel Lane Paper are the perfect finishing touch for the dessert. The 24-pack of toppers comes with eight copies of three different dogs. Toppers can be personalized for “girl puppies” and “boy puppies.”
20. Dress the Birthday Boy or Girl in a Personalized T-Shirt
Every birthday child needs a special outfit to wear on his/her big day. Etsy is full of fun customizable options like this one.
21. Carry the Theme to the 1st Birthday High Chair
If you’re planning a puppy-themed 1st birthday, then don’t forget to decorate the birthday boy or girl’s high chair for their traditional “cake smash!” This Etsy vendor creates puppy-themed highchair banners just perfect for the occasion.
22. Display Cupcakes on a Fire Hydrant
Everyone knows that dogs love fire hydrants! Display cupcakes or other fun treats on a fire hydrant like this one from Oriental Trading. You can also make your own using a two-liter soda bottle, some card stock, and red spray paint.
23. Play with a Puppy Pinata
Party goers love pinatas, especially when they’re shaped like cute Dalmatians like this one from Target. Fill the pinata with candy or small gifts like pencils, erasers, stickers, or temporary tattoos.
24. Have a Painting Station
Younger guests will love a painting activity like the ones offered by the Etsy vendor Preschooler PLAY Plus. Each child receives a small packet including a paint brush, a small tray of paints, and a wooden dog house or dog to paint as they wish.
25. Don’t Forget a Birthday Banner!
Decorate your party venue with a birthday banner! Etsy is the place to go for any banner, as most options are full customizable.
26. Brighten Up Tables with Confetti
This dog bone-shaped confetti from Etsy is perfect for brightening up the main table or the food table. Simply sprinkle it over a table cloth to add a little more puppy theme to your decor!
27. Put Together Puppy Party Favors
Before your guests leave the party, have them choose a party favor bag filled with fun, puppy-themed treats from places like Party City, Target, WalMart, or Oriental Trading. Some of our favorite ideas for puppy party favor bags include:
- A small stuffed puppy of their very own
- Paw Print Pencils
- Dog Action Figures
- Puppy-themed stickers
- Dog nesting dolls
28. Pack Party Favors in a Puppy-Themed Package
Whatever you choose to include in your party favors, pack it all up in a cute puppy-themed package. We love this dog house favor box from Oriental Trading, and these doggy bags from Tacky Nut Party Store.
29. Attach Puppy-Themed Tags to Your Party Favors
Keep things consistent with party favor tags from Minted. Tags can be personalized and designed to match your original party invitation, and adds a nice touch to your child’s gift to their friends.
30. Send Puppy-Themed Thank You Notes
Finally, don’t forget to have your child send thank you notes to their guests. Thanks to Minted, your party invitations, party favor tags, and thank you notes can all match your puppy birthday party theme.
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