HOME TOUR

Kai turned 5 the middle of November and it’s taken some getting use to. He’s a whole hand big and this one feels like it snuck up on me. Throwing a party during a pandemic definitely had its challenges but we were thankful the weather cooperated and his little shindig could happen in our backyard with the classmate pod from school. Kai loves dogs. All things dogs and, after watching 101 Dalmatians when we were on a Disney kick, declared this to be his party theme. And so it was, raise the woof: a puppy party for a dog-loving boy.

Planning Kai’s parties are always a joy. It’s a place for me to be creative and celebrate wildly the gift of these kiddos. You can see his Brown Bear party here, Rocket Ship Party here or the darling Race Car Party here. I had to rethink many aspects of party planning because of COVID. No one wants communal food anymore or a slice of breathed-on birthday cake. In addition, I wanted to throw a festive party completely without balloons.

BALLOON-FREE

Why? Partially for the challenge and partially because I know balloons are a sore spot for many because of their environmental impacts (they’re only ever single use and often non-biodegradable). So here is a non-balloon option (no judgment here just inspiration for those who care) that is just as festive and lovely. To be honest, going balloon-free was definitely more expensive. It’s costly to buy paper honeycomb balls in different colors and sizes. But I bought them from a small shop on Etsy and, especially during a pandemic, felt like that was a worthwhile investment in a small business.

I also bought too many. You need less than you think. I ended up using about 30 in various sizes to make the garland off the dessert table. I plan on using these for many different events and lending them out to friends as able.

STATIONARY

I’ve truly enjoyed designing the stationary for parties. It takes a little time but saves money and online sites like PicMonkey, which I used to make all the stationary for Kai’s party, make it easy to make a lovely invitation. I bought this clipart by JuliaDreamsCo. They’re all so cute it was hard to pick a single dog. I sent the invitations out via Paperless Post as they let you upload your own images to make an ecard.

DESSERT TABLE

Always my favorite to scheme up, I envisioned a Milk Bone backdrop and it was adorable. I bought medium and large-sized Milk Bones and alternated sizes when hot glueing them onto a painted plywood backdrop, the same one from Cade’s Airplane party. The tablecloth is fabric yardage I bought online, Lacefield Designs Best Friends in Bluebelle. I bought 2 yards and draped it over a cheapo white tablecloth.

I had to rethink the dessert table because all foods needed to be packaged. Luckily there are some adorable options. Instead of a cake we boxed (these ones are my favorite) individual homemade “pupcakes” and decorated them with a cute bone cookies, turned pudding cups into “Pudding Pups,” and put out “lollipups” by Leccare Lollipops (Kimberly is a jewel to work with). What party is complete without the most gorgeous of sugar cookies made by Eileen at Honey & Lou Baking Co. Eileen is a cookie artist. They’re almost too pretty to eat.

The “Pudding Pups” were easy to make with card stock, hot glue and googly eyes. I found them in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. The vanilla cupcakes are homemade but I saved a step by buying buttercream frosting from the bakery at our local store. I made sugar cookies using this 2″ dog bone cookie cutter. A light layer of powder sugar glaze and sparkle sugar made them the perfect topper.

THE KID’S TABLE

Holy cuteness! This table is so stinkin’ adorable. I picked up flowers from The Floral Reserve and made these sweet little arrangements in shades of browns and tans. I cut out the bone-shaped placemats from the kiddos craft paper and used inexpensive navy paper dinner plates layered with a cute puppy plate on top. From the paw print table runner (just fabric cut to size) to the puppy plates & dog bone cups (I painted the lids blue), it’s all just perfect for the littles.

The felt dogs were made by different shops I found on Etsy. And I love supporting “mom and pop” shops and other’s creative talent.  Most of the little ones were felt ornaments I cut the strings off of and others, more expensive toys that turned into Kai’s birthday present after the party. And all of this looked so cute under the homemade washi tape garland hanging over head. I bought washi tape online and folded 3-6″ strips over a piece of white cotton twine. Easy, inexpensive but time consuming.

LUNCH MENU & DOGGIE BAGS

Boxed lunches are easy to prep ahead of time and give party goers more peace of mind in these odd times. We’re all craving normalcy and fellowship but we want to do it safely. For the adults we pre-made sandwiches and skipped catering this time around (more work clearly but we felt like the best route at that time).

We bought frozen croissants and baguettes that we baked the morning of to prep sandwiches, prepackaged salad in jars and portioned out individual bags of chips tied up with the cutest ribbon. No plastic with these containers for fruit cups and wooden cutlery yet a whole lot of cuteness. Speaking of cute, how cute are these glass jars for the salad!? I found them at Hobby Lobby and plan to use them again and again.

I found these cardboard boxes that we turned into the “Little Pups” lunches. We filled them with kid-approved yogurt squeezies, fresh berries, string cheese and then gave the kiddos the option of PB+J bones or a mini Turkey and Cheese croissant. Tied with velvet ribbon and a cute 3″ wooden dog bone, it elevated a simple lunch.

ACTIVITIES

We had a couple activities up our sleeves to entertain the kiddos. Your standard dog piñata, a DIY “Pin the tail on the pup” game (for which I cut out an individual tail for each kiddo), and bean bag toss game into dog bowls. But the big hit was just letting them run wild with inflatable balls.  We got several confetti filled beach balls and three large 4′ soccer balls for them to kick all over the yard.

FAVORS

We sent each kiddo home with a small goodie bag filled with dog and paw print crayons, bubbles, a snap wrist plush doggie and treats from the dessert table.

These beautiful pictures were captured by Ruth Eileen Photography. Oh my goodness Ruthie, this are cute! What a joy to celebrate another year with sweet Kai. I hope you’ve enjoyed this Raise the Woof: A Puppy Party for a Dog-Loving Boy.

DETAILS AT A GLANCE:

Photography: Ruth Eileen Photography

Cookies: Honey & Lou Baking Co

Lollipops: Leccare Lollipop

“WOOF”  T shirts: Inkopious

Aubrey’s Dog Dress: Winter Water Factory

Honeycomb Tissue Paper Balls: (Tan in 35 cm, Beige in 20 cm + 30 cm, Dusty Blue in 25 cm + 35 cm, Taupe in 25 cm + 15 cm, Sun Gold in 20 cm + 35 cm, Ivory 20 cm) The accordian paper balls are from here.

Inflatable Soccer Balls: Amazon

Dog Ears: Oriental Trading

Wooden Dog Bones: BayberriesStudio (3″ in length)

Kraft Lunch Boxes: Amazon

Velvet Ribbon: Silkfabric in 1.5″

Kid’s Wooden Table & Chairs: International Concepts (we bought the three piece set which appears to be sold out. You can by the chairs and the table separately though)

Dog Fabric: Fabric.com