My daughter just turned 8, and this year we decided on an Adopt A Pet (Beanie Boo Cats & Dogs) theme for her birthday party. I’m not sure what was more fun, preparing for the party, or the party itself. My daughter and I spent so much quality time planning and crafting together in the months before. Be sure to watch my video compilation (above) of the party.
Beanie Boos can be expensive so I started purchasing these little kittens and puppies early, taking advantage of the 60% off coupons from Michael’s as often as possible. We picked out 6 kittens and 6 puppies and then I set out to find a fence and fake grass. I used my Circut Expression 2 to make the “Adopt A Pet” banner and then did a little photo shoot to use as the cover of the invitations. #CommissionsEarned
I wanted to plan a fun activity for the beginning of the party while the guests were arriving, so I created a super fun game of Beanie Boo Bingo. I have included the pdf below if you want to print out this game to use for your child’s party.
Once all of the girls arrived, I let them choose their pet to adopt. I was a little nervous about this part because each animal was different and I wasn’t sure if the girls would get their hearts set on one and be disappointed. I asked them to think about 2 or 3 that they would love to adopt and then said we would draw numbers to see what order they would choose. We let the birthday girl have the first choice and then went from there. Thankfully it all worked out and everyone was happy with their pet.
The girls got to sign an adoption certificate to make it official.
Here is the link for you to use. pet adoption certificate pdf
I purchased a dozen white gable boxes to use as pet houses, cut a hole in each for a door, and the girls got to decorate a house for their pet. This was such a fun activity and I love watching all of their creativity as they designed a sweet little space for their pet to live in. #CommissionsEarned
I set up another station for the girls to make a collar for their pet using pipe cleaners and beads. These Dollar Tree veggie trays were perfect for holding craft supplies. I have used them over and over for several projects and they have held up really well. Amazon has a wonderful assortment of pony beads and letter beads. #CommissionsEarned
I also made leashes and blankets for each of the pets. Click the links to purchase paw print ribbon and gold rings and clips. One spool of ribbon made 12 leashes. 1 yard of paw print fabric, 1/2 yard of puppy fabric, and 1/2 yard of kitty fabric made 12 small blankets about the size of a baby burp cloth. #CommissionsEarned
We played a couple of fun games. “Give The Dog A Bone” and “Pin The Tail On The Kitty.” I used poster boards to draw a Kitten and Puppy. Then I made three bone shaped bean bags, mounted the puppy on one of our corn hole pieces and cut a hole for the bean bags. These old fashioned party games were so much fun!
I kept the food pretty simple because we also had hot dogs and fruit for dinner. I collected yogurt cups in the months leading up to the party, then used a sharpie to draw a “fish” on half of them and a “bone” on the other half. I filled the cat dishes with Goldfish Crackers and the dog dishes with Scooby Doo bone shaped graham crackers. I covered two pieces of styrofoam with pink wrapping paper to display them on. The Dollar Tree was a goldmine for decorations and pet themed items. I found the large black dog dishes there and filled one with pretzels (sticks) and the other two with Trader Joe’s chocolate Cat’s Cookies. I also purchased three paw print jars from the Dollar Tree and filled them with candy, but you can find similar jars here. #CommissionsEarned The pink and teal hanging paper lanterns were 2 for a dollar as well, making the table setting very affordable. I have included a pdf of the cupcake toppers, activity signs, and “DIG IN” sign for you to print off from home. (see below)
beanie boo cupcake toppers pdf
cats & dogs party signs pdf
A month later, my girl is still saying that her Adopt A Pet party was the “funnest birthday party ever!” I would definitely have to agree!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THIS WILL MAKE MY LIFE EASIER
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How large were your gable boxes?
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the gable boxes are about 8″ X 9″ once they are opened. Anything smaller would not fit a beanie boo. You could go a little bit larger though. these ones were almost too small.
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Hi Kerri, How did you cut out the hole in the fable boxes?
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Hi Maria! I traced a template out of cardstock and cut it out. Then I traced it onto each of the boxes and used a small crafting exacto knife to cut the holes in the boxes.
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Hi Kerrie,
Where did you purchase your Gabble Boxes? I’m in Australia and having trouble finding this size you have mentioned above. Can only find 16.5cm x 16.5cm ones.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Absolutely love your blog here. You did an amazing job on your daughters birthday.
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Thanks so much. I believe that I ordered the gable boxes online from Hobby Lobby.
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Thanks so much, Kristie! I believe that I purchased the gable boxes online from Hobby Lobby.
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wow! Excellent JOB! My daughter is turning 9 on sunday and she wants a plushies birthday! You were kind enough to share your supplies. everyone sells them. God bless you for that. Thanks for the great ideas.
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You are so welcome! Have fun celebrating your daughter’s 9th birthday!
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Hi, any chance you have the file for the Cornhole game and want to share?
Thanks!
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I don’t have a file for it. I just googled “beanie boo coloring pages” and then projected the image of the dog onto a piece of poster board. Then I put the poster board on the corn hole game and traced the circle to cut out the hole. Hope that helps 🙂
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Wow! What a fun party! Can you please give me a little more information on what type of fence you used? Was it found in the garden section at Lowe’s?
Thank you!
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Hi Jennifer! Yes, I found the fence in the garden section at Lowe’s. It’s actually 4 short plastic pieces that connect together and it was fairly inexpensive. My daughter still uses it in pretend play, as a backdrop for fairy gardens, and whatever else her imagination comes up with 🙂
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My daughter is about to turn 8, and has been asking for a ‘baby animal’ birthday party where everyone gets a beanie boo. I have chronic fatigue, and will have house guests as well on her party day so have been unsure of how to pull this together. Stumbled upon your post. THANK YOU!!!!!!!! Thank you for all of the details, FREE PRINTABLE, and pictures. This now feels so doable. Thank you so much for sharing your hard work for free!!!
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Erika! Reading your message made my day! I am so glad that I was able to help make party prep a bit easier for your daughter’s birthday. When my boys were little, (before my daughter was born) I had adrenal fatigue. It took me several years to feel like myself again, so it brought me so much joy to know that I was able to help make this party a little bit easier on you. I hope you and your daughter both have so much fun celebrating her 8th birthday!
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Thank you for sharing your ideas. I love the beaded collars. The leash idea is so cute. I am going to put some together. My daughter is excited for her 10th birthday, Adopt a Pet party.
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I hope that your daughter had a really fun 10th birthday party!
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What an amazing effort! Thanks for sharing your hard work. We are having a Beanie Boo party on Saturday and I have printed the bingo. I just wondered what the free space is for? Also, did you play to fill a board or just to get a horizontal/vertical row? There’s only 7 playing at our party…
Your ideas were very inspiring and organised. Thanks again.
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Thanks so much! The free space on the bingo is just there because that is typically found on most bingo games. We played “fill a row” horizontal or vertical for a bingo so that we could play several rounds and have lots of wins. I just filled a bowl with little trinkets and candy for the winners to choose from. Have fun at your child’s party!
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What size beanie boo did you get. Regular or medium?
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regular size beanie boos
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This is so cute! Where did you find your dog bowls? The plastic and paper ones.
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I found the plastic dog bowls at the Dollar Tree.
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Wow I am so happy with this post – it has given me the exact ideas I need to help pull my daughter’s puppy themed party together. Thank you so much for providing free printables as well as exact information of where to buy supplies (great tip on using the Michaels coupons for beanie pups!) I’m very appreciative of your post, thank you for making my life easier!
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I’m thrilled that my post helped you in planning your daughter’s puppy party. I hope that she has a wonderful birthday and that you have a blast planning her party!
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where did you get that fencing?
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I purchased the fencing in the garden section of Lowes or Home Depot.
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hi, im planning my little sister birthday and she loved the idea, but how do i do de bones for the feed-the-dog-a-bone
any advice?
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Happy Birthday to your little sister! For the bones, I purchased the fabric from Joann Fabrics. I printed a bone template that I found by googling “bone coloring pages.” I cut 2 “bones” out of the fabric for each bean bag. Sewed them together inside out, leaving a small opening. I turned them with the right side out and filled them with rice. Then I sewed up the hole, making sure to seal it really well so the rice didn’t come busting out when they were thrown. Good luck and I hope this helps with your party planning 🙂
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thanks, and also how did you do de boxes for the houses?
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I purchased the white gable boxes from Hobby Lobby. Be sure that they are the correct size for whatever stuffed animals you are using. They should be a couple of inches bigger. Assemble the boxes and then cut a “door” in each one before the kids decorate them so that their animals can have their heads sticking out. Provide art supplies, stickers, markers, sequins, glue, etc and let the kids create away.
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Thanks, love your creativity
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Do you have a link to the water bottle wrapper printable?
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Unfortunately, I don’t have the link to that printable. I must not have saved it. So sorry. It would be pretty easy to make your own. Just measure the wrapper on one of the water bottles you purchased and search for a couple of cute images to add to it.
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Thank you so much for taking the time to share all of your hard work! My daughter and I absolutely LOVE all of your ideas and are excited to use them at her adopt a pet bday party next week 😻
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So happy to hear that you are getting some fun ideas for your daughter’s party from our blog. I’m sure her adopt a pet birthday was super fun!
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OMG LOVE IT!!! pitched this idea to my soon to be 9 year old! and loves it.
thank you
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Thank you! I am so glad that you 9 year old is excited for an Adopt A Pet Party. Have so much fun party planning 🙂
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