Dora the Explorer -3yr- Backyard Adventure

RE: Fairytale Dora the Explorer Party 3yr  Dora was an easy choice for my daughter’s third birthday party since she loves Dora.  My daughter’s Halloween costume this year is the princess dress Dora wore in her Fairytale Adventure, so we decided to incorporate the fairytale into the party.  I made the invitations using a large castle background.  I placed clip-art of Princess Dora, Boots (dressed as a knight), the dragon, and of course, Swiper peeking around the side of the castle.  On the tall tower of the castle was a large 3. 

The invitation read, You’re invited to a Fairytale Fiesta!  Find your way to my fiesta!  Come on, Vamanos!  Everybody let’s go!  Please join us in celebrating along with Dora, Boots and the rest of the gang for Kaia’s 3rd birthday party!  Girls dress in your princess best!  I also included the date, time (2-4), and RSVP.  We had about 20 adults and 9 girls ranging in age from 2-7 with most on the younger end. 

My daughter wore her Princess Dora costume and as the girls arrived she gave each one a Dora temp tattoo.  I also had a craft table set up for the girls to make princess cone hats.  I couldn’t find solid pastel-colored cone party hats, so I bought Dora ones and then covered them with construction paper in pink, purple and yellow.  I then added tulle (in the same colors) to the top of the hats so that it flowed down the back.  I also trimmed the hats in marabou trim (I found this at Michaels and the dollar store).  The marabou was hot pink and white and I stapled the trim around the brim of the hat which also helped anchor the construction paper.  This was my craft designed to keep the girls occupied while everyone arrived. 

At the table, I laid out sheets of fairytale Dora stickers, foam stickers in butterfly and star shapes, glitter glue pins (washable), and gel pens.  Each girl got to pick her color hat and decorate.  These hats looked great before they were even decorated and the girls really liked them!  Once the girls had all arrived, gotten tattooed, and decorated their princess hats, we played our first game.  I had printed out different Dora characters and glued them onto construction paper and then taped them in a large circle to our living room floor.  The characters I used were Dora, Boots, Tico, Isa, Benny, Swiper, Fairytale Castle, Fairytale Dragon, Princess Dora on her unicorn, and Backpack.  As music from the Dora CD played, the girls walked on the pictures in a circle.  When the music stopped, I pulled a paper from a basket and read the character’s name.  Whoever was on that character got a glittery necklace (dollar store 5/$1).  This seemed to be a big hit especially with the younger girls. 

After everyone had received a necklace, I asked the girls if they wanted to see Kaia’s birthday cake.  They all screamed, yes!  I led them into the dining room, but the cake wasn’t there!  Instead there was a note from Swiper that read, I’ve swiped Kaia’s birthday cake! You’ll never find it now!  This started our adventure and I passed out their backpacks (goodie bags).  I purchased them on eBay and they were hot pink with a picture of Dora and Boots on the mesh front.  The back was nylon and it had a pull string top.  My daughter and I had put in a mini flashlight and binoculars (both from Oriental Trading) and a map that I had made on my computer and rolled up like a scroll and tied with pink and purple curling ribbon. 

Everyone put on their backpacks and I asked them who we ask for help when we don’t know which way to go?  They yelled, The Map!  They all dug in their backpack for the maps and we went over the three stops to get to Kaia’s birthday cake.  We had to go thru Spooky Forest, over Rainbow Mountain, and then to cross Crocodile Lake to find Kaia’s birthday cake.  We repeated the three steps like Dora does in the show, then I asked if everyone was ready to go.  They said yes, but wait, Boots needed help putting his boot on before we could go.  So we played pin the boot on Boots and the prize was a My Little Pony playdough stamper set. 

Then we headed to Spooky Forest, which was on the side of our wooded backyard.  My husband and I had hung two shades of green streamers and added two groups of green balloons.  Right before the entrance to Spooky Forest was a Backpack pail with Dora fruit snacks to add to their backpacks.  The girls got out their flashlights to help them find their way thru Spooky Forest and I warned them to keep an eye out for Swiper.  As they walked thru Spooky Forest, they spotted Swiper hiding in the trees and yelled, Swiper, no swiping!  At the end of the forest, I had placed a printout of Benny with a note in his hand that read, I was bringing some special treats to Kaia’s birthday party, but Swiper swiped them.  Can you help me dig in the sandbox for the special treats?  In the sandbox (lid off and free of toys), we had buried ring suckers.  The girls took turns digging for their treat. 

Then we were off to Rainbow Mountain, which was my daughter’s multi-colored jungle gym.  My daughter and I had colored a huge rainbow on poster board and taped it to the side.  At the bottom of the climber, there was a Pooh bucket filled with Dora Halloween stickers for the girls to add to their backpacks.  As they climbed up Rainbow Mountain, they used their binoculars to try and find Crocodile Lake and then slid down the slide.  On the way to Crocodile Lake, we passed my daughter’s playhouse and I noticed that there was mail in her mailbox.  So my daughter opened the mail and it was a note from Dora that read, Hola, Kaia!  Happy birthday!  You and your friends are missing one thing to make you a fairytale princess like me!  Look inside your house for a special present from me.  Hidden inside the playhouse was a Dora shoebox that had yellow lip-gloss bracelets (Wal-Mart). 

Then we were off to Crocodile Lake, which was my daughter’s kiddie pool.  I had placed blue bubble-wrap inside and added some dollar-store crocodiles.  The girls all walked over the lake, being careful of the crocodiles!  We then went back in the house and on a kid-size table there was Kaia’s birthday cake!  There was also a large inflatable with Dora popping out of a huge birthday cake.  The girls loved this and they all got a you-did-it certificate (printed off of nickjr.com).  Then we went back outside and the girls opened a pull-string Dora piñata. 

As the adults ate, the girls played outside many of them re-enacted the adventure.  We then had cake and ice cream and Kaia opened presents.  I did not serve lunch since that party started at 2 pm, but I did serve some munchies.  This included a hot Mexican dip with tortilla chips, cheese and cracker tray, vegetables and dip tray, and grapes and apple slices.  I also had placed around the party bowls of pink M&Ms, Dora graham crackers, and Cheetos (at my daughter’s insistence).  I ordered her cake from a local bakery (one less thing to worry about).  It was a 9x13 and in the upper right corner had a purple castle with a winding road and Princess Dora riding on her unicorn.  Boots and Swiper were also on the cake with the lettering, Happy 3rd Birthday, Kaia. 

I received lots of compliments on the party and my daughter loved it (which was the whole point)!  The girls all wore princess dress-up costumes and looked adorable.  Nickjr.com has some great printables I used a lot of these for decorations.  This is my first time adding party details, but I have relied on Birthdaypartyideas.com for the last 3 years to help me plan my daughter’s birthday parties!  Thanks for all the GREAT ideas!!!