Violet turned four last week and we celebrated with the cutest Puppy Pawty, per her request. I can’t believe she’s ALREADY at the age where she’s able to choose her own birthday theme (cue the tears). I’m excited for this next chapter in our lives but it makes me so sad to think that she’s not my little baby anymore. Thankfully, she puts up with my extra antics (for now) so I was able to DIY to my heart’s desire after showing her some ideas and getting her approval!
The Invite
This year, I couldn’t find an invitation that I loved so I designed my own. You can find the editable template here (this will open it in Canva to edit). For the envelopes, I used these pink envelopes and grabbed a paw print stamp to customize them a bit more. I also made custom gift tags to match the invitation (download here) and I added those to the favors.
The Venue
We had Violet’s party at Play Street Museum, which is also where we had her second birthday. I love their modern tables and the blank canvas that allows any party theme to come alive. Plus, the kids always have so much fun and the staff is so helpful. The ONLY downfall is that you only have thirty minutes to set up, which can be stressful if you’re extra like me.
The Tables
As far as party supplies go, I ordered all of our partyware from Oriental Trading. They are a great one-stop-shop and had so many cute puppy-themed items that worked perfectly for her party. Since Violet’s favorite color is pink, I honed in on that and focused on pink, black, and white as her party colors. I always like to choose a color palette, despite the theme, so everything flows and looks cohesive. I typically like to stick to solid colors for the charger or bottom layers and layer the plates and napkins from there. Oriental Trading had these scallop paper placemats, which looked great layered under the plates. For the puppy plates, I bought this pack of 8 and only used the black and white puppy for the table settings to match the color palette (for reverence, each pack only comes with 2 of the b&w puppies). I alternated these with solid pink plates and then added polka dot dessert napkins and pink dinner napkins to each place setting. I then topped those with these puppy lollipops, which probably got more action than the pizza if I’m being honest. 😅
Custom Cups
I also found the cutest dog bone cups that came in a pack of 12. They came with red lids that I DIY’d to make them pink to match the theme better. You can find that tutorial here. I’d avoid using paint unless it’s food safe! I used these for the kids and they were a hit!
Party Favors
The favors are always my favorite part to curate for a party. I grabbed these pink treat boxes and altered them to look like dog houses by cutting an arch doorway in the front. Then, I used card stock to form a roof and attached those with tulle tied in a bow with a custom thank you tag. You can find the tutorial for those here. Then, I added a puppy to each box, which was so much fun. These were placed at the top of each place setting and ended up being the centerpieces for the tables.
The Wands
I also found these self-inflating number balloon wands, which I placed at each setting for the guests. I customized them by adding ribbon and yarn. This polka dot silk ribbon was my favorite addition to those and looked so good against the black placemats. I found the ribbon on Etsy from this shop.
The Buffet
Playstreet Museum has a buffet at the front of the venue that’s perfect for a party focal point. This is where I hung our custom 6’x4’ backdrop from Oh My Darling Party Co. I also made the balloon garland at home and brought that to the venue. To customize it a bit more, I added paw print floor decals to the larger balloons. I also added in a foil balloon, which always brings it to the next level. For the buffet top, I grabbed these bone trays and dog bowls from Oriental Trading, which I used for the cookies. I also made this DIY bone sign, which said: “Bone Appetit” (tutorial here). Under the buffet, I placed some extra paw print treat boxes next to a basket of pink poodle stuffies and added a custom sign (tutorial here) that said “Adopt a pup here.”
Cake + Cookies
Violet’s cake and cookies were made by Pink Petunia Baking Co. She always does amazing and really made my vision come to life. She even made a couple of cookies to match the puppies from the invites, which was so fun! For the cake toppers, I crafted up some mini party hats for these plastic dog figurines and added these mini balloons from Amazon. I also made a DIY pennant banner cake topper that said “four” using my Cricut.
The party was so much fun to plan and Violet was so happy with everything, especially since she was able to choose and help with the theme. It was such a sweet experience and truly filled my heart with so much joy to see her reaction after it all come together.
Have you thrown a Puppy Pawty before? What was your favorite element of the party? Tell me in the comments below!
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