A Puppy Party & Oriental Trading Product Review

As someone who loves a good pun, I really enjoyed planning this puppy birthday party. From “Pupcakes” and “Lollipups” to “Top Dog Awards” and ice cold “Pupsicles”–it was a fun filled (pun-filled) party to plan! After making a list of all the dog puns I could think of, I came up with a color scheme of black, white and bold and started designing the printable decorations. I incorporated my new favorite pattern, Dalmatian print, and lots of pretty florals to give it a girly touch. While in the planning process, I was contacted by Oriental Trading Co. about doing a product review and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect! They carry a ton of items that were perfect for our event – it was hard to narrow it down. I chose a bunch of fun puppy favors & bold decorations. The result was the perfect party for our little girl– pretty, playful and filled with puppies!

Annabelle adores everything puppy. We can’t pass a dog in the park without her stopping to learn it’s name, pet him or her and then inevitably exclaim “Ahhh! He’s a cute little guy!” So you can imagine the lack of shock I felt when she announced she wanted to have a puppy birthday party this year.

The pink honeycomb decorations are from Oriental Trading and they coordinated wonderfully with the other honeycombs I had purchased from TomKat Studio.. the one’s I chose weren’t as perfectly round, but other than that I noticed no difference in quality. They added a fun pop  of color!

I found the adorable Gymboree Dalmatian Print Headband & Jack and Janie dress on Ebay. Doesn’t get much cuter!

I really enjoyed mixing patterns in a way I haven’t really done before– bold stripes, polka dots and Dalmatian print mingled together throughout.

The dessert table was the centerpiece of the celebration decorated with our printable backdrop, white ceramic pug, fire hydrant, pink tennis balls and flanked on each side with jumbo round balloons from The Sugar Confetti Shop.

I made and decorated the sugar cookies myself- something I’ve rarely dared in the past! Honestly, I love how they turned out! The key is a good sugar cookie recipe that doesn’t spread and the perfect royal icing consistency! I used Sweetapolita’s Perfect Cookie Pop Recipe and Sweetopia’s Royal Icing Recipe. The flowers were made from fondant icing.

I have to be honest with you and say that I was skeptical about ordering from Oriental Trading  at first… but when I saw their Dog-Shaped Suckers, I knew it was meant to be! I planned to make dog cake pops- but making cake pops is my nightmare! No matter how hard I try they crack, fall off the stick and cause me to have a melt down every single time I make them! So when I saw these, I had to have them! I mean… could “Lolli-pups” be any more perfect for a Puppy party!? And so much easier than cake pops!

One of the arty activities was face painting. I bought face painting crayons to keep it simple and gave all the kids puppy noses. They all lined up and couldn’t wait to get their puppy faces!

Premier Prints Best Friends Dog Fabric made a perfect backdrop for our Puppy Photo Booth. Sisters Fabric and More on Etsy was so kind to express ship it to me at no extra charge two days before the party! Our DIY polka dot Number piñata did double duty as a photo booth decoration. You can find our simple tutorial over on Project Nursery.

I decided to have the kids kneel at a “puppy table”. I simply covered our coffee table to protect it and turn it into the perfect little no-fuss dining area. I think the kids had more fun sitting like puppies and it freed up chairs for the adults to sit at.

Each little guest got a pair of handmade puppy ears we created with headbands, foam, scissors, hot glue and sharpie markers!

More bold pattern and product mixing brought the kid’s table to life with Target wrapping paper, TomKat Studios Black Bow paper plates for dinner and Oriental Trading Hot Pink Plates for dessert.

Our printable dog bone fold over labels served as place cards for each puppy!

Dinner included “hot dogs” “Paw-tato Chips” and “Paw-tato Salad”. Our printable Hot Dog Menu was displayed with suggested topping combinations like “the Chihuahua” (hot dog topped with pico de gallo), the “Golden Retriever” (hot dog topped with mustard only), and the “Great Dane” (a hot dog topped with everything!) It ended up being a very hot day so Ice-Cold “Pupsicles” were offered to help cool down guests.

I purchased white hot dog bags on ebay and ran them throw our ink jet printer with our printable “hot dog” design for fun food packaging. Hubby cooked the hot dogs on the grill and  then slipped them into the wrappers for guests to grab when they were ready!

Each little guest got to adopt a puppy! These were one of the best items I received from Oriental Trading and a huge hit with the kids. The puppies were larger than I had expected them to be and were good quality. The kids were all given one of our printable puppy tags to put on their puppy with their name on it!

Our printable puppy tags insured that each kiddo went home with THEIR puppy – very important as a mom of any five year old would know! Weeks later and Annabelle still plays with her stuffed puppies almost everyday.

Overall the party was a success! Even the littlest guest enjoyed himself.

One of my favorite items from Oriental Trading were the “Top Dog Awards” I stumbled upon these in their “office party” section and was super excited! They had a variety of funny trophies, but these ones hit the nail on the head! I originally thought I’d create some paper “Best in show” ribbons, but that idea went out the window when I discovered these.

The kids were each awarded one for puppy related accolades such as “best bark”, and the “roll over” award. We led a fun game of “Puppy Says” (just like Simon Says) and afterward the parents decided who received an award for which category. The “puppies” loved it!

Thanks to Oriental Trading Co. for helping me out with this party!

“This review is based strictly on my opinion. Others may have a different opinion or experience with the products listed above. I was provided the samples free of charge by Oriental Trading Company and I provided my honest opinion. No other type of compensation was received for this review.”

If you’d like to throw a puppy party of your own, you can order the printable party decor package or invitation in our shop!:

Thank you to all the wonderful vendors for this event!

Printables, desserts and Styling by Itsy Belle Studio

Favors, candies and Decorations from Oriental Trading Co.

Photography by Hollie Renner Photography

Backdrop Fabric from Sisters Fabric and More on Etsy

Bow Tie Plates, Striped Favor Bags, Black HoneyComb Decorations from TomKatStudio