I checked this website and used everyone else's ideas. My daughter had her birthday party yesterday and I think it was a smashing sucess. As soon as my daughter decided she wanted to have a dog birthday party, I began scanning Craigslist for people that were selling Beanie Babies. I was able to purchase 22 dogs for $30. I bought small dog dishes at IKEA for .49 each. The first thing the kids did when they arrived was make dog collars" (they could also be used as bracelets) for their dogs they would be adopting. I bought beads and jewelry elastic to make them. I put one dog dish at each child's spot filled with an assortment of beads and a string with a knot in it. The dishes were perfect because we didn't have beads rolling all over the table. I also bought some extra dishes and had 2 filled with Coco Puffs and they looked just like dog food. Once their collars were done they came downstairs to the "Adoption Center" to choose their dog. I had made up personalities for each dog and printed them out on a card. I purposely wrote them in the first person. ex. "Herder I am a working dog. I will require lots of exercise since I have lots of energy. I like to play fetch and go for long walks and runs with you. I am very smart and can learn lots of new tricks. If you don't teach me new things I might bet bored and chew on your couch." This way the kids could decide their dog's gender. Then they got a ball for their dog (a bouncy ball from the party store) and a leash. I made the leashes by buying ribbon (I found a cotton shoelace ribbon at Walmart for $1.29 for 3 yds) and cutting it into 1 yd sections. I then got iron on velcro and cut it into strips small enough to fit on the ribbon. They could then attach them to their dog's collar. When I was making them I noticed the ribbon was starting to fray a bit so I painted the ends with clear nail polish which seemed to do the trick. Once all the guests had adopted their dog they had a chance to play with their new pet. I got a doctor's kit at the party store and the kids took turns examining their dogs. One thing I didn't plan for but improvised was having the kids watch a movie while everyone was adopting or playing. I should have rented a good dog movie but instead they watched old Disney cartoons whiich at least Pluto was in. The kids that were waiting to adopt or had already adopted needed a little distraction. This worked out fine. When everyone was done I had all the kids bring their dogs upstairs and sit in a circle. Some of the kids changed their dog's names so they each introduced their dog and told one fact about it. After each child took their turn I took a picture of them with thier dog. Since they were all nicely seated my daughter opened her presents. Then we had cake (I had grand plans of making something clever but instead I "found" a dog shaped cake at Fred Meyer the night before the party). They had a chance to play some more with their dogs before it was time to go home. So they left with a dog bowl (with their dog's name on it in permanent pen) a dog collar (bracelet) a dog ball a leash a package of Snoopy fruit snacks and a strip of dog stickers. Everything looked wonderfully impressive and it really wasn't that much work. I was also surprised that it was a reasonably priced as it was. My 4 1/2 year old wants a dog party now too!! "