A Go, Dog! Go!-themed birthday party

After celebrating our daughter’s first birthday with a A Very Hungry Caterpillar-themed party, we kept it pretty simple this year — just a few tots and their parents, some light fare, and a couple of simple activities. Plus, I was nine months pregnant and just didn’t have the energy to go too crazy. I liked using a book theme last year, so we went with another book. This year, it was Go, Dog. Go!, one of Penny’s favorites.

I ordered the invitations from Graham Cracker Designs on Etsy. They were designed to be printed and mailed, but I just emailed the pdf out to the party guests. Green. Simple. Lazy.

If you’re familiar with the book, you know that hats play a key role. There is a fabulous over-the-top hat on the last page that I recreated for Penny.

We did a reading of the book and colored dogs made by tracing little hands.

We had a simple table-scape with pink punch and some healthy snacks. I made a round, pink layer cake, just like in the book. This cake is relatively healthy and super yummy. It is my go-to healthy cake recipe, and it totally passes for breakfast food at a 10am birthday party.

All the kids got party hats with dog ears in bright colors and party blowers, just like at the big dog party in the book.

It was a fun and sweet little party!