My daughter wanted a dog-themed party for her 9th birthday. She was permitted to invite ten guests (all girls, as it turns out, except for her younger brother), since we were holding the party in our home. For our invitation, we used our computer to scan images of dogs doing different things, and we printed out a miniature "book" on our color printer that read: "SIT... (with a picture of a dog sitting), STAY... (with a cartoon picture of dog standing and wagging his tail), COME... (with a picture of several dogs walking single file), PLAY! (with a cartoon picture of dogs playing jump rope). PLEASE COME HAVE A DOG-GONED GOOD TIME AT BRIGETTE'S 9TH BIRTHDAY PARTY!" We attached a dog-paw sticker to the back of each envelope. For decorations, I taped posters and calendar pictures of dogs and puppies all around the house. We weren't able to find any dog-themed tableware, so my daughter picked out some bright, colorful napkins and tablecloths instead.  When the kids first arrived, we had them try to guess the number of dog biscuits in a glass jar. They had to write their name and their guess on a piece of paper and put it into a box. Once everyone had arrived, we headed to the dining table where I'd set up place settings with pretty glass and plastic beads and wire to make a choker necklace (supplies I got at a local craft store), and the girls used these to make "dog collars." My son used beads in the shapes of sports balls and dinosaurs to make his "collar." I divided up the beads into lots of plastic cups (good for recycling later!) and spread them around the table so everyone had access to various beads. When they were finished, I used flat-nosed pliers to close up the choker wire and the girls wore their creations right away. That project took about 30 minutes, more time than I had planned, but these girls were very particular about their "collars!" Next we did an obstacle course. Because it was rainy that afternoon, we held the party inside. Each child had to crawl through a pop-up climbing tunnel we have while pushing a dog ball in front of them. They crawled out of the tunnel and under a table, then stood up. My husband was there to give each child a plastic spoon upon which he placed a dog biscuit. The kids had to put the handle end of the spoon in their mouths (each one had his or her own spoon for sanitary reasons!)and balance the biscuit as they walked over to a bucket where they had to try to drop the biscuit into the bucket without bending down or using their hands. The kids loved this, and each guest took several turns going through the obstacle course! Our last game was a modified version of "Hot Potato" which I called "Hot Dog." The kids sat in a circle on the floor with one child in the middle (that was my daughter the first time around). The child in the middle had to wear a headband with dog ears and a dog snout attached to it (found at a local craft store), which the kids found hilarious! Then I handed one child a toy dog bone and started playing music. As the music played, the children passed the bone around the circle. When the music stopped, whoever was left holding the bone had to take the place of the person in the middle of the circle and put on the doggy headband. We did this until each child had a turn in the middle. After this, we had pizza for dinner, and were those kids chow hounds! We went through three large pizzas in no time flat! Finally, it was time for the birthday cake. My daughter wanted an ice cream cake, so we purchased the cake at a local grocery store and had the bakery department decorate it with dog paw prints. After we had presented the cake and done the whole "Happy Birthday" thing, my husband and I returned to the kitchen to cut up the cake, which we then served to the guests in dog bowls. This thrilled the kids! As an afterthought, I wished I had used folded up newspaper pages for placemats.  After cake, everyone sat in a circle on the floor again and my daughter opened her presents. Then we announced the winner of the guessing game, who received a dog calendar as a prize. Upon leaving, each guest received a goodie bag that contained a little furry dog magnet, a little stuffed dog (like a Beanie Baby), a dog bookmark, dog stickers and a pack of playing cards with pictures of dogs on them (all purchased at a local craft store), plus each guest got to keep a dog bowl. (We didn't include any candy in the bags, as Halloween was the following week and the kids would be getting tons of treats then.) Everyone had a great time at the party, and many parents I ran into for weeks afterward commented on how much fun their children had had and how clever the goodie bag prizes had been. Next year my daughter wants to have a cat-themed birthday party. We'll see...!