Planning your Dora party.

DORA PARTY IDEAS
Creative party planning guide for kids birthday parties.

DORA PARTY SUPPLIES
For easy party planning, order your DORA party supplies from Birthday Direct.

Then use this party planning guide for ideas on games, decorations and activities. Dora party supplies celebrate learning and building. Kids love Dora.
Order your Dora party supplies here.

WHO IS DORA?
Dora The Explorer is designed to engage pre-schoolers in a play along adventure. The series is designed to actively encourage pre-schoolers in a play along adventure.Each day Dora and her monkey companion Boots go on a high stakes journey – a quest filled with funny friends, puzzling problems and an arch villain fox…..How does Dora the Explorer teach Spanish?In each episode of Dora the Explorer, Dora solves a problem based on specific words and phrases in conversational Spanish, which preschoolers learn as they solve the problem with her. These words and phrases include a variety of basic nouns, adjectives, and commands, such as “azul” for “blue”, and “cuidado”, which means “watch out”.What does “lo hicimos” mean, from the song Dora and Boots sing at the end of the show?”¡Lo hicimos!” is the Spanish phrase meaning “we did it!”What does “¡vamonos!” mean? It means “Let’s go” and is a common idiomatic phrase in Spanish. Dora is bilingual, and she demonstrates that speaking Spanish is not only a valuable tool, but also a source of pride. Together you and your child can learn some basic Spanish!

BIRTHDAY PARTY PLANNING TIP
Taking lots of pictures and videotaping parts of the party is very important. Don’t feel like you have to tape every second.. Just the highlights. You will miss out on the fun if YOU are the photographer and videographer. Singing the Birthday Song, eating the first few bites of cake, and a shot of all the guests will be a fine memory. As the years go on, you may want to make a DVD with bits of each party streamed together. What fun it will be to see your child as they grow!

If you feel comfortable, let the kids take some pictures at the party with a digital camera. You may be surprised to see some good shots from a child’s viewpoint. And… it’s easy to delete bad shots.

DECORATIONS
Did you know Birthdaydirect.com has a matching set of streamers, balloons and curling ribbon for each pattern to decorate the whole room? That’s something else you don’t have to worry about. Wow! Check out all their room decorations for a fantastic fun birthday party area! Use lots of balloons. They shout “Party!” Oh! there are some really neat balloons in the Dora pattern. One is a singing balloon…If you tap it, it sings Happy Birthday! Also there is an unusual one that has Dora on it. It’s a balloon inside of a balloon.

GAMES

STEAL THE SOMBRERO:
Make copies of a picture of a sombrero - one for each party guest. Use velcro on the backs of each sombrero and each child’s back. The game begins when the children attempt to take the sombrero off of each others backs without losing their own sombrero. While music is playing, kids try to take and protect sombreros. When the music stops, any child without a sombrero is out. The rounds continue until the last two children with sombreros win! Birthdaydirect has some great treats you can give to the kids that are out. Give them little “Go Diego Go” notebooks with crayons. They can color while waiting for the game to end. There are also some really cute bracelets that have lip gloss attached to them.

JUMPING BEAN:
Play lively Mariachi music. Kids start jumping around like little jumping beans. When the music stops, the children must be perfectly still. Kids caught moving, flinching, twitching or otherwise,are out. The rounds continue until there is only one successful jumping bean left. Diego also has neat stickers that the kids can have when they are out. Some consulation prizes you could order are: twisty turn toys that have the words yellow blue and red in English and Spanish, another cute prize they have is star shaped bubbles in different colors.

PINATA FUN:
This is the perfect party to have a Pinata. Hang by a strong fishing line. If its a pull string pinata have each child pull a ribbon until the treats fall. If it’s a stick pinata make sure all the kids are away from the pinata. Blindfold the birthday child, give them a special stick and let them swing. Play lively music during this fun activity.

WHERE SHOULD WE PARTY?
Why not rent the local ZOO for the day? Well, if your budget is somewhat limited..How about a local recreation center? They are inexpensive and you don’t have to worry about cleaning up. Do you have a big basement or living room? Just move your furniture out for the day. Put up anything that may be accidently broken. Remember, birthday parties ARE fun!

BIRTHDAY PARTY FOOD IDEAS
CAKE- Have you checked out the awesome DORA shaped cake kits? Practice making a cake long before the party so you can see what you will be getting into. The easiest way to cut a cake is with dental floss or even fishing line. Knives cutting through icing and cake can get very messy. If you want to forget a cake, go with easy cupcakes with fun little Dora rings that you set on top of each cupcake. There are also really cute little figures of Dora with a birthday hat that are perfect for cupcakes. They come 6 to a pack and are called party toppers. Birthdaydirect has a really neat cupcake holder too. You need to check it out!

TACOS- Have cheese, ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes and anything else kids might like. Let them make their own taco. Birthdaydirect has some cool taco holders and chip dip holders that have a hispanic look. It will go great with Diego too!.

JELLO JIGGLERS- are always fun and kids love them! For extra fun, slip a gummy fish in blue colored Jello Jigglers before it sets.

REMEMBER- When kids are excited they don’t eat much. Have simple fun foods. Also, we all know that sugar will get kids MORE hyper. Unless your birthday party is in a gymnasium, or a playground, think about the foods you will be serving! Also, this party should be FUN! Don’t make a huge ordeal over the menue. You are not putting on a wedding, it’s your kids birthday party. FUN is the key word here!

FUN SANDWICHES-Use simple shaped cookie cutters to make cute little finger sandwiches. Kids are so excited at birthday parties. Don’t expect them to eat a 3 course meal.

SWEET PRETZELS-Dip pretzel sticks in warm white chocolate and sprinkel with colored sprinkels

FRUIT TRAY- Cut up fruit and place on a DORA plastic serving tray with a yogurt dip. YUMMMM

BIRTHDAY PARTY PLANNING IDEAS
You could hire a birthday party planner to put together all your kid’s parties… But it really is not that hard to do yourself. There are so many ways of having a fun birthday party full of great memories without spending alot of money. FUN is the key word. You know your child, and what he/she likes. Let them be the major planner. It is THEIR party. Of course setting ground rules is important. But let them choose the pattern. Birthdaydirect has so many kids favorite characters and theme party ideas. Shop with your child and let them show you their favorite ones. Let your child pick their favorite friends to come to the party. Let them help with what kind of food should be served. They will remember the planning, as much as the party, if YOU allow them to help. One more tip… If you can get someone(maybe gramma, auntie, or dad) to commit to helping you set up, help kids during the party, clean up spills, take extra photos, and help you clean up afterwards, it would be great. YOU need to have fun at the party too with your child.

Let’s start shopping for your party at BirthdayDirect.com!