Any Excuse to Party: How to Throw a Puppy Party

When your partner in crime (Kelly, duh) suggests throwing a puppy party for the June Any Excuse to Party shoot, you say yes. Yes. Yes. 100 times, yes. Her pup, Wally, is turning 21 (okay, 3, but in dog years that’s 21! Sort of. Don’t get too technical, just enjoy it.) this month and we had to throw him a birthday party. Sure, he might not have loved the adorable puppy party hat we made for him, but he did get a whole shot of peanut butter, so I think it was worth it.

Any Excuse to Party: Puppy Party for Wally’s 21st

While our Cinco de Mayo fête might be my favorite thus far, this one’s quickly moving up to number 1. What’s not to love when it comes to a puppy party, right? It’s like a whole afternoon of cuteness and peanut butter – and a spiked Oreo milkshake for the humans….so you really can’t go wrong. Here’s how to throw your very own puppy party with a custom DIY, cocktail, and more.

Decor: Red, White, and Black (and gold!)

Kelly, here (KG)! Any birthday party should be a reflection of the guest of honor, even when that guest of honor is your pup! Wally’s signature colors have always been black, white, and red (yes, you heard me right – my dog has signature colors) so it only seemed natural that we build our color scheme from there. Since this is Wally’s 21st (in dog years) birthday, what better way to incorporate red than mini solo cup shot glasses?! To add a bit of fun, we hung some gold foil letter balloons, because let’s face it, we all felt a little “ruff” after our 21st birthday celebrations. Some of Wally’s favorite tennis balls brought in another pop of color, and we had ourselves the cutest (and probably only…) little 21st birthday pup party you ever did see.

Eat: PB Shots With Biscuits

This has to be the easiest, yet most adorable snack yet. We picked up mini red solo cups (essential for a 21st birthday puppy party) and filled them with Wally’s favorite – peanut butter. We topped off the doggie snacks with crushed biscuits, because only the best for the birthday boy. For the human version, instead of the biscuits, we crushed up birthday cake Oreos! PB + chocolate = the winning combination.

DIY: Puppy Party Hats

KG: If there’s one things dogs love, it’s when you try to put a hat on their head. I honestly can’t think of a more perfect DIY than a little puppy party hat so that everyone knows just who they’re celebrating! Follow along for this super simple, but super sweet DIY for your own pup!

What you’ll need:

• Cardstock
• Hat template (we found ours on Pinterest)
• 1 sheet of tissue paper
• 10″ elastic string
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Scotch Tape
• Thin wire
• Hole punch

Directions:

1. Print your party hat template and cut it out.
2. Place template on top of your colored cardstock and trace using your pencil.
3. Cut along your pencil lines.
4. Fold your hat into a cone shape until the edges meet and secure with tape. (Before taping, I made sure that the hat was the right size to fit on Wally’s head comfortably and trimmed my cardstock hat as necessary).
5. Create your tissue paper pom pom. Cut 8 4″x4″ pieces of tissue paper.
6. Place each piece of tissue paper on top of each other and make sure the edges align.
7. Fold accordion style until the whole stack of tissue paper is folded.
8. Trim both ends of your folded tissue paper so that the ends are rounded.
9. Fold the folded stack of tissue paper in half so that the two ends meet. Secure the middle with wire, leaving a couple of extra inches at the end.
10. Unfold, and gently pull each layer of tissue paper apart from the rest of the stack. Be sure to pull in both directions to create a round “pom pom”.
11. Slide the extra wire into the small opening at the top of your cardstock cone. Trim the wire as needed, and secure inside of the hat with tape.
12. Punch two holes opposite one another into the sides of the cardstock cone.
13. Tie each end of the elastic string into the punched holes. Adjust as needed to fit your pup’s head.
14. Place the hat on your pup’s head and have plenty of treats on hand to distract them from the fact that there is a hat on their head (which they will inevitably hate). Enjoy!

Drink: Spiked Oreo Vanilla Milkshake

If your puppy party is happening in the summer, this is the drink for you. It’s tasty, spiked, and full of ice cream. AKA, the perfect warm weather drink. Here’s how to make your own:

What you’ll need for 1 drink:

• 6 scoops of vanilla ice cream
• 1/2 cup of whole milk
• 2 ounces of rum
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• Chocolate syrup
• Whipped cream
• Oreos (we went with the birthday cake flavor, of course)

Directions:

1. Mix ice cream, milk, rum, and vanilla extract in blender until combined/thick in consistency.
2. Line inside of glass with chocolate syrup.
3. Pour mixture into glass and top with whipped cream.
4. Crush oreos and place on top of whipped cream.

Flora: Ivy

KG: Let’s be real, here. Dogs don’t care about flowers. And more than that, some flowers can make them sick if they accidentally eat them! You know what dogs do love, though? The great outdoors. We embraced Wally’s love for a good adventure in the backyard, and it definitely didn’t hurt that my yard happens to have a pretty cool ivy wall. We used the ivy as our backdrop, and encourage you to embrace your own space when hosting your pup’s party!

And there you have it, the most adorable puppy party yet! Well, at least we like to think so. Have you ever thrown your pup a birthday party? What dog friendly treats did you find?

g.