modern + minimal paw patrol party

Okay could this party be my biggest challenge yet?? I feel like a few years ago I would never have considered planning a paw patrol party (or any other commercialized/character/overly-merchandised-theme party) BUT my son is absolutely OBSESSED with Paw Patrol - so I felt like I just had to do Paw Patrol. And by do Paw Patrol, I mean my own version of Paw Patrol… where I keep it a little simpler than the triad of primary colours… and barrage of pre-packaged paw patrol party decor! Instead - I focused on Ethan’s absolute FAVOURITE colour - yellow - and favourite pup - rubble - and sort of designed the party around that instead!

I wanted to find Ethan a little “rubble” costume, and this wood worker costume was PERFECT - and I immediately took inspiration from the little yellow vest, because it had a checkered pattern on the inside that I knew would be a cute nod to construction/road signs, and would be a fun print to use in the party decor + design as well!

I decided to host the party at The Park again (last year we held Ethan’s 2nd birthday party there too!) Because honestly - it’s THE BEST!! The kids absolutely love playing there, and its the perfect venue for a birthday party! This year - the addition of their new outdoor play area added even MORE fun, as we set up a beautiful white bounce house from Little Chic Parties! They even added a balloon installation to the front (in the most incredible colours to match the party!) and brought a Rubble standee as well! It was a beautiful sunny day for an outdoor bounce, and I felt so grateful to see all of his friends playing and running around together!!

For party decor - I decided to use my modified colour palette, and choose tableware that felt like paw patrol, without actually being “paw patrol” - I found these construction cone napkins, tree napkins, white cloud shaped plates and round solid colour plates (always my go-to!) in teal, coral and yellow from A Little Confetti and I loved the way the kid’s table came together! I added a little clear plastic plate to each place setting with a paw print vinyl sticker for a little pup detail! I also got these cute yellow straw cups and added a little pup tag to each one with the guest’s name on it so that they wouldn’t get mixed up!

For the cake - I couldn’t resist this dog bone candle, and then found the perfect yellow #3 candle…that I decided to keep the cake simple and just put a little rubble toy on top! Ethan told me that Rubble only eats “pup treats” so we went with dog-bone shaped cookies with no icing (I just made sugar cookies and coloured half of the dough yellow instead) and homemade graham cracker cookies that looked a little too much like dog treats! But they were tasty!! We also had mini “pup cakes” with custom rubble-inspired toppers and I put out little snack bowls that had a mix of “pup-corn”, paw patrol cookies and paw patrol fruit snacks. For lunch - of course we had to have “pup dogs”! The food was simple, but I like to keep it that way when you’re serving little kids at a party!

The pup pals! I love an an activity that doubles as a favour, so I made these little plush toys that the kids could colour in using fabric markers! I made a few of each pup character using my cricut to draw the outlines with an infusible ink marker that I ironed onto a beige cotton fabric, and then I just cut around the shape, used a checkered fabric for the back, sewed them up and stuffed them! I used iron-on transfer paper to make the little custom tags using the party logo I designed as well. Ethan loves tags on his teddies, so I knew these needed a special tag!

Another element that I was really excited about was the pup tags that I made for the pup packs! I I had these 3D printed at our local library and they turned out SO CUTE! I wanted to make little keychains to go with each of the favour containers, so I used colour-coordinating paracord and attached these black swivel clasps with a simple cobra weave.

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BOUNCE HOUSE + BALLOONS : Little Chic Parties

PLATES, NAPKINS, #3 BALLOON + CANDLES : A Little Confetti

MARKET CART, ACRYLIC SIGNS + BACKDROP STAND : Simply T Events

VENUE: The Park

STATIONERY : emelbe design