Meal Plan for August 13th - 19th

Weekly Meal Plan for August 13th - 19th

Sunday: Grilled Chicken Caesar Salads

Monday: Crockpot beef stew with carrots and potatoes

Tuesday: Tacos and Tamales

Wednesday: One Pot Garlic Parmesan Pasta with salad and garlic bread

Thursday: Hamburgers, broccoli and cheese, scalloped potatoes

Friday: Korean Grilled Chicken Breast, Basmati Rice, Grilled Zucchini

Saturday: Take Out Pizza

Adopt a Puppy Party with FREE Printables

Adopt a Puppy Party Fun! We did this theme for our dog loving 2 year old.

We broke our party down into 6 stations:
Adoption
Pet shop
Grooming
Vet office
Decorate a dog house
Agility course

All of the stations could be done in any order after going to the adoption station first. This helped keep the party flowing and the kids (all 5.5 and younger) occupied.

One awesome thing about this party was that it cost us very little to have it.
A great way to get free favors for your party is to hit up your local animal shelter and animal advocate groups in your area.
We wanted to spread awareness about these services as well as the importance of adopting your family pet.

The animal shelter had awesome coloring books that told a story of how to take proper care of your pets once you adopted them.
Our local animal league donated stickers, plastic cups, rubber bracelets, key chains,  a kid-centered animal magazine, canvas totes, and a couple care pamphlets for your new animal.
We also had kind donations from a pet sitting service of pens and magnets.
My additions to these favors were dog tattoos and rubber bracelets you can find at Party City.

Stations breakdown:

Adoption
Our stuffed dogs came from Amazon in a set of 12. I actually had one dog come with a small rip in its leg, but after a quick chat with Amazon they shipped me out another 12 set of dogs for free!

I whipped up some adorable adoption papers to make the adoption process more official.

Puppies in a borrowed basket

Pet Shop
It would be very easy to go overboard on stocking the pet shop. But being on a budget I chose to stick with the essentials -- frisbees from Party City, dog collars from Amazon, and Scooby snacks (since they look like milkbones).

The dog collars double as bracelets so they were a smidge big on the puppies I purchased.

I had someone "working" this station to insure each kid got one of everything, plus  our wonderful, donated favors.

Our Donated Favors

 

Grooming
This station was the biggest hit out of all of them!
I borrowed the tub from my sister (she said she got it at Dollar General), filled it with 600 cotton balls which is just 3 bags, set out a grooming brush we had from a vet kit, added in a washing mitt I found on clearance for a quarter from a local grocery store, and put out a real bottle of sugar cookie scented dog cologne that we had.

The kids loved rubbing their fingers through the soft cotton balls and spritzing their dogs. My house smelled like a bakery after that!

One thing you may notice in the pictures is that I tried to keep the most interactive stations kid level. The grooming station was on our girls' Melissa and Doug table. I covered the table top with a towel,  1.) To stay with the grooming theme and 2.) To cover up years of stained in pen and marker. 

Vet office
I was so excited about this station! We used an old tv stand that has since been used to house play food sets as the table, keeping it all kid level.

All of the doctor equipment, lab coats, and x-rays were scrounged from a vet set, Doc McStuffins kit, and a doctor's kit we had lying around the house.
Having an older child as well, you tend to accumulate things.

We were also fortunate to receive an LED light panel from my husband's work that was going to be trashed. I've also linked my check-up checklist!

Decorate a dog house
You know when you buy something on Amazon and it tells you what others bought with that item? Well, that's how I came across the gift favor boxes.

I wanted to punch a hole in the end of the boxes for a doggy door, but it just didn't turn out right and looked jagged so we chose to forego the holes. A more appropriate title should've been a dog carrier.

These boxes were almost too small for the dogs. Had I known I would've purchased a bigger box.

I set out washable markers and dog stickers to decorate their houses with. The markers did great on these boxes and didn't wipe off easily like some shiny cardboard can.
My birthday girl stayed at this station the entire time because she loves markers, but knows they're off limits for her cheeky hands.

Agility course
We had this station set up outside to give the kids something else to play with in the backyard.

All it consisted of was 3 sets cones from dollar tree, and pop up tunnel, and a hula hoop. Things we already had.

I had originally planned for the kids to weave their dogs through the cones, crawl through the tunnel, and jump into the hoop when they were done.
The 3, 4, and 5 year olds had other plans with the hoop and tunnel, and the 2 years olds loved stacking and unstacking the cones. 

Unfortuantely, out of all of us taking pictures, none of us got a shot of the agility course. Womp!
So here's a picture of our fire hydrants. 😄

The Bathroom -- obviously.

This party was a huge hit!
It was probably one of the biggest parties we've thrown as well as the cheapest! Clocking in somewhere under $100.

Leave me a comment if you'd be interested in a FREE customizable puppy party invite!

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