Grab your popcorn as we dig into sharing some super cute puppy party ideas you too can use for your adoption party, and share a few laughs with us at the same time. Gathering puppy cousins together for Thorton Walter’s “Gotcha” adoption party was either going to turn out to be an epic success or a royal failure. I’m so happy to say it was a success, but with a little mix of obstacles to it.
This post is all about puppy party ideas. It contains Amazon affiliate links, meaning, I might receive a small commission, but at no cost to you.
The puppy adoption party idea came from my husband, of all people. Can you tell I was surprised to hear of such an idea come from him? My initial response was, probably not, but the more I pondered the challenge, the more I started to embrace the idea. My sisters are always up for a laughing-fest, so it was an absolute yes from them to have their participation.
Puppy “Gotcha” Party Tablescape
Planning for a puppy “Gotcha” party means you have to think a little differently than when you are hosting an event for humans. Adding duct tape and glue is usually not a part of the program when having your friends over for dinner. Lol! But, for fur babies, it was a necessity.
Tablecloth and Table Runner
My thought process behind this tablescape started with the color scheme. I knew I wanted lots of blue shades and puppy paw prints. When I found the “perfect” blue colored tablecloth, I was excited to start the layering process. It’s not easy to find a table runner with a paw print theme, so when I spotted a roll of wrapping paper that had the pattern, my heart was beaming.
If you can’t find the perfect matching table runner, keep wrapping paper in the back of your mind. Just roll it out along the center of your table and you will be stunned at how perfectly it works as table décor.
To incorporate a few extra colors on the wrapping paper table runner, we cut out puppy paws from poster boards and glued them on to brighten up the brown color a bit. This helped the table runner coordinate well with the other colors.
Since we were hosting puppies, I wanted to go with as many paper and plastic products as possible. That way I could roll it up and throw it out after the celebration. If you do this for your puppy party, it will make life much easier. Just remember to use the disinfectant spray in your cleanup process.
Puppy Name Tags
I found the cutest diamond print invitations and used them as our name tags. They had the blue colors I wanted to incorporate and a few other fun options to fully build the color pallet around.
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Place Settings
As for each place setting, we started with a cut-out poster board placemat and then added two blue plastic plates and a stainless-steel water bowl. Everything was secured to the table for safety and scratch-resistant purposes.
Centerpiece
I REALLY had to ponder the centerpiece for this one. I found three super cute wooden bowls at Homegoods and decided to place them in the middle of the table and tuck puppy treats inside. Not knowing if this was the best idea, as it might be very tempting for these “ferocious” puppies, I decided to just give it a try. Success! They left the treats alone for us adults to admire, except for one small incident with Ragnar. Lol!
Duct Tape and Glue
A puppy party idea MUST, is duct tape and glue. It is essential that you apply it to anything and everything that could possibly move when puppies are eating because everything has a tendency to slide. If it doesn’t have fur on it, it pretty much needs to be sticking to the table.
Doggie Bags
You can’t have a puppy party without doggie bags, right? A super fun puppy party idea for those take home treats is to use small plastic trash cans (minus the #2s). I taped the puppy name tags to the front of the bins and scooped tasty treats inside for the pooches to bring home and enjoy.
Pup Cakes
Wondering what to use for a puppy cake? Are you pondering if you should make one regular size cake and cut a slice for each, as we humans do? Nah! I wanted each one to have their own cute decorated masterpiece.
I found a dog-friendly recipe online and used four inch ramekins to make individual pup cakes so they would come out a little larger than regular cupcake sizes. After all, one of my fur nephews was a we-bit larger in size and if he had a regular size cupcake he would down-it in one bite. I needed a few extra licks to take place in order to get some cute pictures. Click here for the recipe.
If you are in need of a delicious cake for the humans at your puppy party, come check out our most amazing chocolate cake recipe here. It’s a crowd pleaser!
The Puppy Party Dynamics
“Group shot on the front porch, everyone. I need Thor in the middle sitting pretty and fur cousins on the sides for a quick picture, please.” Oh my, as if it was that easy! After a few “cat” fights and treat bribes, this photo was the best we could get. Lol!
“Ok, everyone! Let’s head to the kitchen for some delicious pup cakes.” (My sister, Angela, from Sweet Annie Co, worked wonders by frosting the cute cakes.) This was another fun time of corralling the pups from the front porch to the kitchen with more treat bribes. For little six-pound Jax, he was just picked up and placed in his chair stacked with books so he could reach.
“Today we celebrate Thor joining our family. We are so in love and so happy he is a part of our lives. Let’s eat cake!” As all the pups were positioned on the chairs, the feasting began. There was a lot of peace and quiet while they just licked and ate. That is until Ragnar fell off of the bench, twice. Rest assured; we had no injuries! He just slowly slid off the side, completely unaware of what just happened.
Ragnar was our fastest eater. When he was finished with his pup cake, he decided he wasn’t quite satisfied, and thought that little Jax was taking WAY too long. So, as any good cousin would do, he decided to help. He jumped up on the table and “helped” Jax eat his cake. I wish the picture was clearer, but it is totally worth posting, as Jax’s face tells it all. My guess from the photo is that Jax wasn’t too happy about the idea of cousin assistance. Lol!
As for Thor, he stayed calm and steady during the eating part of the celebration. He was overjoyed to have his new cousins join him while he indulged in a delicious, pumpkin and peanut butter pup cake. Thor didn’t let the shenanigans between Ragnar and Jax upset him in the least. He knew it was all fun and games and chose to look at the positive in the “helping” part of the party.
Afterward, Thor and Ragnar decided it was necessary to have “words” and for some reason, one of the pups didn’t quite concur. Needless to say, another “cat” fight ensued, and a good time of training the pups as well as the parents came into play.
All in all, when it was time for the fur cousins to go home, everyone was peaceful, ready for a productive #2, and a good nap. Including the humans!
I hope your popcorn was yummy while you were able to watch (read) our little “Gotcha” puppy party play out. We all had a blast! I can honestly say it was worth the added duct tape, glue, and obstacles because it gave us memories we will NEVER forget. I hope you were able to glean some cute puppy party ideas for when you bring your new puppy home. Don’t forget to laugh!
P.S. A Note of Encouragement
You know some things don’t always go as planned? Like with our puppy party. Nobody knew exactly how it was going to turn out. We were totally taking a risk in trying such a feat. It didn’t fully turn out the way I thought it would, but in the long run, we will have laughs that will last us for years.
I want to encourage you today to take a step of faith toward something you are not quite sure how it will turn out. It might not go as you had hoped. We will cross the bridge if it comes. But, look at it like this. Is it something that is in your heart to do? Is it good? Did you pray and ask God if you should do it? If not, why not include Him in your decision-making? He will guide your steps.
Sometimes, we have to step out, not fully knowing how things will pan out. It can be scary. None of us likes to make a mistake or fail. Nobody intentionally takes a step into the unknown for it NOT to work out. But, if it doesn’t, you will have one less option from which to choose in the future, and you can try something else. You will never know if you don’t try.
Today, I want to encourage you to try. Be brave and confident knowing that God is on your side and He wants only the best for your life. Have peace knowing He will go with you every step of the way. Just let Him into the journey.