Dora Carnival Party -3yr- Booths Managed By Teens

My Goddaughter was having her 3rd birthday and wanted to have a Dora party. Because of the age group (3-5 years old), I wanted to do something different from the typical "Explorer Party", so I threw her a Dora Carnival. I used the "Dora's calling you" website and had Dora call each child to invite them to the party.

I also sent out "The Map" invitations to give them directions to our house. I used yellow card stock with invitation info on one side and The Map's face on the other. I rolled them up and sent them out. When the kids arrived at the party they got a V.I.T. (Very Important Toddler) pass. We used the top card (with Dora's picture)of the standard Dora invitations and wrote on the backs, "V.I.T. Exclusive Party Pass. Good at all Dora Party Booths." We laminated them and made two hole punches. We tied string to them to make necklaces, and the kids wore them like back stage passes. They loved them. 

The Carnival- I made up 5 different booths around my backyard so the children kept busy at all times. I made signs from poster board with block lettering and pictures to show what each booth was for. 

1.) Dora's Taco Stand- We set up carne asada, ground beef, shredded chicken and beans. All taco fixin's: lettuce, tomatoes, cheese etc. It was buffet style so parents/children could eat when they were ready.

2.) Make a Dora Bracelet- I bought elastic string and a bunch of yellow beads, and a few flower beads. I separated about 10 yellow and one flower beads into sample cups so the kids could sit down and make their own personal bracelets.

3.) Decorate a Dora Cookie- I bought the Dora Face cookie kit with the Dora head cookie cutter. I baked a bunch of cut out Dora sugar cookies and bought extra frosting tubes and sandwich baggies w/ twist ties. The kids were so proud of their work they didn't want to eat them.  

4.) Dora's Face Painting and Tattoo Booth- I bought a face painting kit and a bunch of tattoos from the dollar store. The tattoo's were more popular than the face painting, so if you do this make sure you have plenty of tattoo's. Each kid got approx. four or five tattoo's put on.

5.) Dora's Fishing Adventure- This was by far the most popular booth. We have a patio bar that we covered with a colorful tarp. My son, who is 13, hid underneath it with small toys, stickers, Dora pencils, Dora paddles and all kinds of little trinkets. The kids would take the fishing pole and toss it over the bar and wait for a bite. I loved doing this as a kid; and, I knew it would be a huge hit. We played a combination of Dora music and carnival music to help make it a party atmosphere. The kids got to do the booths as many times as they wanted.

After they completed a booth, they got a Dora sticker to put on their V.I.T. pass. I had teenagers working each booth and the great thing about this was, if there was a long line at one booth, they would just go to another one. None of the kids fought or cried, and were never bored. They did this for about 3 hours until I said time for cake.

When each child arrived at the party I made a point to take them over to show them the cake. The cake was the Dora Shaped Wilton Pan. After I was sure each child saw the cake I put in in the box and kept it covered. I also made an additional cake (that no one saw) that looked like Swiper out of the Wilton Dinosaur cake pan and I put it in a similar cake box. While all the children were playing at the carnival I switched boxes and had my son hide around the side of the house with the Dora cake. I called all the kids over to sing Happy Birthday.

They began singing when I took the cake out of the cake box and said "OH NO!" The kids fell silent shocked by what they saw. Swiper! They began chanting, "Swiper No Swiping" and on the 3rd time, my son popped out with the Dora cake and said "OOHHH MAAN". I grab the Dora cake just in time as all the kids starting chasing him. It was hilarious, I couldn't have planned their reaction any better. I put the cakes side by side in front of my Goddaughter who was visibly angry (remember she's 3) and I turned to go round up the kids again to eat cake.

As I looked back at my Goddaughter I witnessed her taking her fist and punching the swiper cake in the head priceless. The kids ate cake and watched her open her presents. When it was time to leave, the hit of the party was the party bags. I made "Backpacks" out of purple felt I got from Wal mart. I ironed on the eyes, mouth and eyebrows. I made yellow maps to fit in the side pocket that said "Thanks For Coming". I made mini Dora coloring books from pictures I printed on-line. I made personalized water bottle labels that said "Agua" and party date and time and put waters in each bag.

I made colorful Dora Soaps out of Dora candy molds and labeled them "Liempio". I printed pictures for Dora Pay Dough labels. I also put Dora pencils and stickers and gummy candy I got from the dollar store in each bag. Everything was labeled in Spanish and was very original. I started working on this party about 4 months in advance. I made pretty much everything I did which saved a lot of money, but was very time consuming. It was so worth it, I've never seen kids enjoy themselves like they did at this party, even the parents had a blast. I hope some of these ideas help make your Dora party a hit!