For my son, Liam's 3rd birthday, I planned a pretty elaborate, very fun Dora the Explorer party. As the kids arrived, they decorated different colored, cone-shaped party hats with Dora stickers and foam shape stickers from Oriental Trading.  Then, we sat down and sang a name song to introduce everyone. I asked all the kids if they would like to see Liam's Dora cake.  Of course, they screamed "yes" for cake, but when we got there, the cake was gone.  There was a picture of Swiper (a printable from Nick Jr.com taped on some bright poster board) and on the back it said,  "Ha ha ha!  I swiped your cake! You'll never find it now!"   I asked the kids if they knew where to look and they said "no", so I asked, "Well, who do we ask for help when we don't know which way to go?"  They all yelled,"MAP!"  me-"Where do we find our map?"  kids-"In the backpack!"   Then, I got out the backpacks that I had ready for everyone. They were drawstring backpacks from Oriental Trading that I had drawn "Backpack's" face on. Inside was a pair of maracas, a magnifying glass, binoculars, Dora fruit snacks, and a map (I drew the map on printer paper, made copies for everyone, and rolled one up for each bag.)  The map said, "Visit all Dora's friends, cross Crocodile Lake, and that's how you'll get to the birthday cake!   Say it with me, Friends, Lake, Birthday Cake!" I wrote out and added pictures of all the friends to find in order for them to follow, drew a picture of Crocodile Lake, and the birthday cake with confetti all around it.  I also drew "Map", so it looked like he was saying the directions.    Dora was #1, so they had to look around and find the picture of Dora (another printable or coloring book page on poster board). This one said, "Uno, dos, tres.  1,2,3!  It's Liam's birthday party come and dance with me!   Look in your backpacks for something to shake.  We'll dance with maracas and find Liam's cake!"  I played the Dora theme song from the Nick Jr. CD and all the kids danced with their maracas. When the song ended, we all checked our maps to see where to go next.  Boots was #2. His picture said, "I lost my boot! Swiper swiped it- Oh, no! Can you find the boot that is rojo?  Look inside and you will see A surprise that's waiting for you from me!"  They found the red boot and inside was a bottle of Gymboree bubbles and a blower. I played the "Happy Happy Birthday" song from Bear in the Big Blue House and blew bubbles for the kids to pop.  #3 was Tico the Squirrel. His picture said,  "Tico will help us find the cake.   He'll give us a ride in his car.   But, we'll have to cross the puzzle bridge  if we want to get very far!"   I had made a puzzle bridge out of 2 pieces of foam board. I used an exacto-knife to make them fit together and to cut out some shapes out for the kids to put back in their places- just a triangle, square, and a rectangle. I also decorated it with markers and Dora stickers to make it look cute. So, the kids told me how to put it together and then they all got to walk across it. Then came the Big Red Chicken as #4. It said, "Get on your feet and take a chance.   Let's do the Big Red Chicken Dance!  Bawk, Bawk, Bawk,  Flap, Flap, Flap Shake your tail feathers and Clap, Clap, Clap Then, I led the kids in the "Mack Chicken Dance" by Greg & Steve from their "Big Fun" album.  It's a great dance song for kids! #5 was the Grumpy Old Troll.  His picture said, "I'm the Grumpy Old Troll who lives under the bridge. I'm the Grumpy Old Troll who lives under the bridge. If you want to come over, all you have to do is this… All you have to do is this… Solve my riddle: He is very tall, his name starts with an "L" He loves elephants and you know him well. Who is he?" They all yelled, "LIAM!"  I put on some music, had them all sit down to take turns, and helped them each walk across a balance beam.     The last friend to visit was Benny the bull.  Benny's note read, "It's parachute time with Benny the bull! Just grab a handle and shake, twist, and pull. You won't need any sticky tape- This parachute is in perfect shape." We played with a parachute (Discount School Supplies- about $30) singing songs, etc.  The adults all helped give the kids a ride around on it and to make an umbrella above them. Next, the map told them to cross Crocodile Lake. It was a blue gymnastics mat, but a blue sheet would work, too.  I had made lily pads from green poster board, covered them in clear contact paper, and taped them to the "lake". The picture of Crocodile Lake said, "Cross Crocodile Lake and you'll have fun! Just jump on the lily pads- one by one!" They all took turns jumping across. On the other side was a big box that Liam got to open. Inside was the cake, a stuffed Swiper the fox, and tons of dress-up clothes/ costumes.  I took the cake over to get it ready for cake time and they spent about 20-30 minutes playing dress-up. Then, we had cake and it was already time to go. I gave them each a Dora stamp on their hands as they left with their backpacks of goodies.  The party was a big hit!