Dalmations -3yr- Puppy Cutouts all Over the House

Last year my daughter turned 3 and was set on a dalmatian party.  Not much was available in that theme so we winged it. 

I made invitations on the computer by using a picture I found online at "Judith's Disney Page."  I put that on the right side of a half sheet of cardstock, and on the left a big red heart with all the party info inside. 

For decorations I used a black plastic tablecloth and topped it with a white tablecloth cut into a wide runner the length of the table.  I lucked up and found "over the hill" confetti at walmart that contained big black and white dots which I picked out and scattered over the contrasting tablecloths (black on the white and vice versa). 

It was right after Valentines Day in Feb. so I bought a plush toy of two dalmatian puppies sitting on a red heart and used that, with black white and red balloons tied to it, for the centerpeice.  I used red plates, napkins and cutlery, and the rest of the table was filled with the food. 

I served Scooby-doo bone shaped graham crackers (walmart) in a large red plastic dogbowl (new of course!), and in a matching food/water dish I had beef jerky and nuts-- it all looked like real dogfood!  My best friends mom made a sheetcake with piped dalmatians on it she copied from a coloring page off the internet.  We put that at one end of the table. 

At the other end of the table we had a fabulous platter of chocolate dipped strawberries.  We dipped them in white chocolate, then used a plastic ketchup bottle to squirt on small spots in dark chocolate.  Lots of work but worth the oohs and aahs!  The adults used red plastic cups but for the kids I found dalmatian juice box holders at walmart and used those, which they got to keep.  

For the rest of the decorations, my mom and sister made 101 lifesize posterboard cutouts of the dalmatian puppies!  They got coloring pages off the internet and projected them on an overhead.  When they were colored and cut out we taped and stapled them all over the greatroom.  Some were playing the piano, climbing on the furniture, holding up a Happy Birthday sign over the fireplace, and even begging at the birthday girls chair for a piece of cake!  My daughter was ecstatic when she first walked in. 

As guests arrived I greeted everyone dressed as Cruella DeVil (the "nice" Cruella as my daughter says, from 102 Dalmatians).  I wore a long black evening gown and red long gloves and a black cape with a black boa and a white boa.  I found a white shaggy faux fur cap at kmart, which I taped off half of, then spray painted the other half black, then removed the tape for that two toned look.  I used a wand for a cigarette holder and wore flashy jewelery and fake eyelashes and tons of makeup. 

After everyone got there I got everyone's attention, thanked them for coming and suddenly became bad Cruella and announced the debut of my puppy fur coat, and that I had all the puppies I needed right HERE then I uncovered a dogcatcher truck we made out of cardboard boxes and spray paint, with the top open in back (like a pickup truck) with more (smaller) posterboard puppies inside.  I announced that I needed to go and find a furrier, and that I'd be back.  As I disappeared up the stairs with an evil laugh, I warned everyone not to let the puppies get away. 

After I was gone,  my mom asked the kids if they wanted to rescue the puppies, and they all screamed Yeah!!  So she gave each one a fishing rod (dowel with string and magnets attatched), and they fished the puppies out of the truck (puppies all had heavy duty paperclips on them).  Whenever they caught a puppy, they took it over to my sister, who put them in a small toy dog carrier of  my daughter's.  She then let them pick a prize or candy out of the dog bowl and they could go back and fish again.  When the puppies were all rescued, I appeared again at the top of the stairs, cackling.  I dramatically went to check on my puppies and found them missing. 

Frantically, I searched for the puppies and discovered them in the carrier.  Just as I picked them up and started away, the older kids attacked me with silly string (which my husband handed out during the fishing game), saved the puppies, and my oldest nephew slapped on the fake handcuffs and carried me back upstairs.  Everyone was cheering like crazy.  It sounds scary but all the kids knew me and some little ones were a little reserved at first but I was careful to be more silly than scary so they all enjoyed it in the end. 

After cake and chocolate chip ice cream and presents they were all sent home with a goodie bag:  White gift bags with a coloring page stapled to the front, and stapled to the corner of that a red heart with the childs name on it, which made a pocket for a 4 pack of crayons. Inside they had dog toys (balls and squeaky toys safe for kids), "kibble" treats from Birthday express, packs of scooby grahams, red bottles of bubbles, black and white M&Ms, black and white bangle bracelets for the girls and handcuffs for the boys. 

I also made blower covers by using the same picture as my invitation.  I printed them out on cardstock and used a blower I already had for a template to cut out around the design.  Then I used an extra large hole punch to do the holes in each end, and slid them over red blowers I found at the dollar tree (I just took off the covers they had on there and put mine on).  They said "thanks for coming to my puppy party! Love, Rebekah" and the date. 

The adults and kids alike had a blast and I think I'll have a hard time topping this one!