In the fall, when most of our birthday parties were, our little one asked when the dog (Holly's) birthday was. We explained that she was a rescue so we don't know when she was born. He told us to guess, so we guessed March (thinking he probably won't remember about it and if he does, not much happens in March, little did I realize then that Easter would be in March this year, not to mention court baloney, sport things, etc.) Oh well. lol
So at the end of February, he asked what month was next, we said "March" and he got excited and said, "That's when Holly's birthday is! We need to have a party!" Oops. So much for forgetting about it...lol
Somehow it became quite an event. We can't show many of the photos because of privacy, but here are some of the ideas I came up with. Ok, ok, I didn't come up with most of them, I found them on pinterest...lol
I had help making paw prints on the sidewalk to guide our guests to the party. (Pay no attention to the dead grass! lol)
Our "Welcome Sign"!
I'm not sure how much I liked how this idea panned out, but others seemed to like it. I wanted to make felt dog ears for everyone to wear but I couldn't find brown/black/white felt! Every place I went either didn't have felt at all or were out of those colors. I also didn't really look for them more than one day, so I didn't try really hard on that one. So I just ended up using colored paper and taping them to stretchy headbands. Looked kind of cheap, but who cares?
I also had the little one come up with "Best" awards for each guest. He came up with them on his own (we came up with his....Best Kite Flier) Some of them were--Best Science Teacher (my husband who is a science experiment geek), Best Play Friend (my niece, they're buddies), Best Spoiler (my mother, that's what grandmothers are for), Best at Minion Hockey (my father in law, apparently he uses his cane and a stuffed minion to play minion hockey...um ok?), Best Pancake Maker (my sister, she adds chocolate chips), and mine was Best Party Planner! LOL He really put thought into those awards and he helped me cut them out. Nothing like working on fine motor skills without it seeming like work! Ha ha ha! Sneaky! ;)
And the slips of paper in the little green bowl are for a game, I'll talk about down further.
Our "spread"!
Drink station, I got a big "EWWWW!" about the Toilet Water. Children love "potty jokes"!
The people cake in the back (chocolate cake and chocolate icing, what else???) and the dog friendly cake in the front. She was afraid of the lit candle, but we had a volunteer to blow out the candle for her.
Our precious birthday girl enjoying her doggy ice cream!
To put the "adoption" idea in his head a little just in case the process takes him there, we had an "Adoption Center" for furry friends in need of loving homes. We tried to find stuffed dogs but the dollar store didn't have ANY! So we used the excuse that not all people are dog people, so we have a variety...lol Whatever works. The bears were the last to go, everyone liked the unusual animals. :)
We had several dog themed games planned, unfortunately I can't show you those pictures, though they are hysterical!
We played Hot Potato with one of Holly's dog toys, but instead of being "out" if you're stuck with the toy when the music stops, you had to pull a slip of paper from the green bowl (from the photo above) and do a dog trick! We had "Roll Over", "Shake (your whole body like a wet dog)", "Fetch", "Wag Tail", etc. Shake and Wag Tail were definitely the funniest! ;) If the music stopped on you a second time, you chose someone else to do a trick so everyone got a chance.
Another game was balancing a Scooby Snack (small round sugar cookies with paw prints on them) on your nose, then throwing them up in the air and catching them in your mouth. I don't think anyone actually caught it in their mouth except my mom who just kind of slid it off her nose and into her mouth. She didn't throw it up from her nose, so I don't know if that counts......hmmmm
In the last game we put Puppy Chow (Cocoa Puffs) in a bowl and everyone had to eat out of the bowl without using their hands, like a dog. Whoever ate it all first, won!
It was a super fun party, I'm kind of hoping the munchkin chooses a themed party we can make ourselves for his next birthday instead of wanting Chuck E Cheese, bowling, arcade, or those kinds. I'll probably save money and I think these parties are much more fun! I'm not sure if that makes me sane or not.....
How my sneaky cheffing started was with pancakes. This kid loves any breakfast food that comes with syrup! Pancakes are common in this house so I make a bunch at one time and freeze them, which makes for much faster mornings! I had some extra broccoli from leftovers so I pureed it up and just tested one pancake with some mixed in. They turned green and they were a little denser but taste-wise, they were great. Unless I added a LOT of broccoli puree, I really couldn't taste it. Well the little stinker is way too smart and saw the green pancakes and asked why they were green. I had a "story" prepared already, I was just going to say I made them special because it's his favorite color...lol He accepted that but then asked if I put broccoli in them. Really?! I said yes, of course, everybody puts all kinds of things in pancakes. LOL At first he was all "Ew!" but after tasting them he accepted that they didn't taste any different, so he was fine with it. Ever since then, he actually enjoys helping me be a sneaky chef! He helped me put carrot puree (yes the dreaded carrots that he hates!) in meatloaf and ate it without any problems. I tell ya, once becoming a mom, my creative-thinking-on-my-feet part of my brain is really getting a workout!
