Pet Party -5yr- Basket of Puppies Hunt

Invitations:  They were simple homemade cards and included: You are invited to a Pet Party.  Bring your favorite stuffed animal."  At the end it said: "It'll be a purr-fectly fun afternoon with lots of doggone fun activities!" I found Little Pet Shop stickers and added those to decorate the invites.  You could also find blank cards with pictures of a dog on front or shape a simple invitation to look like a bone. 

Decorations:  We lined the center of our dining room table with all of my daughter's stuffed animals like a table runner.  Around the cake in the kitchen we placed Little Pet Shop figurines.   Balloons everywhere. 

Activities/Crafts:  Upon arrival with each a pet we invited the guests in and offered them a snack of "dog food and worms" that they could share with their pet.  (Cocoa Puff cereal and gummy worms)  They were then escorted to the dining room table where we had coloring pages of a Little Pet Shop character and crayons.  They also could decorate a dog collar for a future puppy that they were to be getting as a takehome gift.  I precut long pieces of foam (just the right size to fit around the dog's necks) and the kids glued jewels to one side.   

Then I explained to them that a basket of puppies had arrived at our house yesterday, but today they were "dog-napped" and these kids were just who I needed to help find them.  They divided into groups and were given each a slip of paper with directions.  Each direction sent them to different parts of our house usually FAR ends of the house to make the activity last longer where they would find another paper with further instructions (ie: Look under the kitchen table).  After about 6 locations they all finally ended up finding the basket of puppies.  They got to choose one to keep. (I bought them at Oriental Trading small stuffed puppies)  

Then we played some games:  Penny toss into the dog dish Hot Bone (instead of Hot Potato) and Who has the Bone? Game where one person sits in the middle of the circle with eyes closed.  The bone is passed while music plays.  When music stops the one in center guesses who is holding the bone behind their back.  (Meanwhile my party helpers are gluing the collars onto the puppies and holding them on with clothespins temporarily and setting up for the next craft)  

They each came back to the table to find dog houses with each of their names written  above the doors (ie: Kylie's Puppy).  The houses were white cardboard kleenex box covers (from Oriental Trading) already assembled.  For a roof I bent cardstock paper to fit right on top and taped on.  For the door I cut a section out of one side just right for the puppy they received.  The craft involved decorating their puppy house with large foam stickers.   

Then we had more games outside with the pets that they brought.  We did a relay with their pet held between their legs. We played Drop the Dog with a stuffed animal with kids standing in a circle (also known as Drop the Hankie and similar to Duck Duck Goose except that you drop the dog at the selected child's feet).  Meanwhile my party helpers were hiding party favors dog bone candy (from Oriental Trading) tucked inside an Easter egg in the back yard.  I told them a giant bird dropped of some dog food for their new puppies and they had to find them.  Meanwhile my party helpers took their pets and hid them in easy places to find in our living room.  That brought them back into the house for cake and ice cream! 

Party Favors: Paper bags labeled "Sam's Doggie Bag" etc. for each child filled with Little Pet Shop Stickers Scooby Snack bone-shaped crackers more dog shaped candy along with their new puppy dog house and coloring sheet.  It was a lot of prep but the kids loved every minute!"