After adopting a dog, I became the most popular person at the park with every kid. Tiny squeals & requests of “Can we pet your puppy?” are everywhere (not that I or my dog mind). For her puppy-loving son, Shannon enlisted the expertise of Kelly Lyden of WH Hostess to help pull off this Cuddly & Adorable Puppy Birthday Party. The party had everything a dog-lover could dream of — from bone topped brownies to a stuffed puppy adoption! This would be a great idea for parents looking to stave off the constant (real) puppy requests. ;)

PARTY HIGHLIGHTS to look out for:

• Cameron’s Barkery dessert table with dog ball cake pops, red licorice fetch ropes & puppy cupcakes
• Dog bone drink bottles + a custom basket-weave bone pattern in printables, fabric & cake stand
• Amazing spotted party hat-wearing dog cake + matching dog cookies, printables & birthday shirt
• Clifford bounce house, puppy face painting & a ‘dog walking’ photo booth with life-sized dog silhouettes

PARTY DETAILS as told by Kelly…

One of my favorite parts of working with Shannon is that she loves to create an experience for the children attending the party. When she came to me with the Puppy Party theme for her son, Cameron’s 2nd birthday, I knew we could have a lot of fun with it. Staying true to the WH Hostess updated classic style, I created a brown, red and turquoise party collection with custom patterns that added my signature preppy pizzazz. A basket-weave pattern made out of dog bones, a bold chevron, and silhouettes of party pups (my favorite!) joined forces with accents of red and white striped ribbon, and THE cutest spotted dog in town.

Guests were greeted at the front door with two large balloons, a “Cameron’s Dog House” hanging sign, and a jumbo stuffed dog (all dressed up in a party hat).

They set up one long kids table in the family room, which was dressed with a red tablecloth and custom table runner in our bone basket-weave fabric and embellished with blue pom pom trim. Stuffed puppies (wearing party hats, of course), sat at each end of the table. Two different centerpieces were alternated down the center of the table: a grass plant holding centerpiece sticks and a silver bucket of red & white striped balls. Oversized balloons soared above the table, defining the vertical space. Puppy chair plaques were tied to the backs of the mini white Chivari chairs, and party hats dressed up with stickers sat at each place setting. We wrapped patterned labels around the dog bone sippy cups for each child, and bottled water was served to adults and kids alike.

The food buffet was set up in the dining room, and we accessorized the room by placing an oversized cling of our spotted puppy holding a banner that said “bone appetit” on the mirror hanging behind the table. Two white urns flanked the table, with red carnation pomanders to resemble red balls. The napkin rolls were housed in large silver dog bowls, and each item on the buffet table was identified by a coordinating food tent card.

The bar was set up on the kitchen island, framed by a pennant banner and a doghouse sign that exclaimed “Cameron’s Water Bowl.” Drink dispensers full of sweet tea and lemonade were labeled with dog bone tags, and paper cups were dressed up with puppy stickers.

Outdoors, the seating area was dressed with throw pillows made in our custom fabric, and the fireplace mantel was strung with a red ball garland. A tray of “fetch” sticks (licorice) sat on the coffee table for guests to nibble on, and a basket of red balls and frisbees dressed up with custom labels sat nearby with a sign that said “play fetch.” A bounce house and face painter kept the kids quite busy, and while they waited for their turn, they could “pose with the pups.” This was, by far, my favorite design element to the party: we designed life-size dog silhouettes in coordinating party colors that were printed on foam-core. We added ribbons to them to act as leashes and the kids could pose with them, as if they were walking the dogs. It was the most fun photo booth I have seen yet!

The children and adults were invited to “shop” at Cameron’s Barkery aka the dessert table! The table was dressed in a brown tablecloth and had a custom fabric backdrop to frame the table. It was laid out as if it were a bakery counter, and each treat had a tag on it with the ‘price.’ All white cake stands were used to highlight the sweets and were embellished with coordinating Cake Plate Clings and brown & white striped ribbon. Treats included puppy cupcakes, chocolate macarons, tennis ball cake pops, sugar cookies in the shape of our spotted dog and a bone, polka dot chocolate covered Oreos, and whoopie pies. Various candy jars added a pop of color to the table, and an official menu sign alerted guests to their options. Kraft paper bags held a “thank you for visiting Cameron’s Barkery” sticker, and guests could fill them with treats to bring home.

The life-size puppy cake from Cakes by Gina was downright AMAZING! It sat on it’s very own table, flanked by oversized balloons.

At the end of the event, the little guests were invited to visit “Cameron’s Puppy Shoppe” and adopt a stuffed puppy. The table was lined with artificial grass and a custom fabric backdrop featuring our puppy silhouette pattern. Wood crates held stuffed puppies and each child had their very own “adoption certificate” and “doggie bag” to grab.

This party was such a joy to plan and design! I think there are so many fun details that could be pulled out of it for any puppy party. Our Puppy Party collection is now available in the shop, for those readers that wish to incorporate our designs into their own party.