Fun Frugal Dora Birthday Party

2 Years Old Already!!!!

My Little Sweets just turned two.  We had a Dora Party to celebrate.  It was a ton of fun. 

We went on a fun Dora Adventure for Little Sweets' birthday.  Basically the story was that Swiper swiped the goodies from the goody bags.  Little Sweets got a note in her goody bag that said that Dora had found their goodies and that she wanted them to meet her at Marshmallow Mountain.  Dora sent backpack and map to help the girls get to Marshmallow Mountain.  The girls had to go down the slide and collect shapes.  The slide was wet so they had to get something out of backpack to dry up the water.  They found a towel and we wiped off the slide.  Then they went to the forest, where they ran into Swiper the Fox.  They told Swiper not to swipe their shapes.   After they left the forest (a small patch of trees in our yard) they went to the front door where they had to match up their shapes to the shapes on the door.  When they came in the front door there was a birthday cake on the table that had Dora on top of a marshmallow mountain.  The goody bags were also set out for the girls. 

Here are some pictures from the adventure.

The girls getting the shapes off of the slide.

Oh, no, it's that sneaky Swiper.  He wants to swipe our shapes!

 

Swiper, No, Swiping!!!!

The girls matching up their shapes so they could get in the front door.

Dora at Marshmallow Mountain with the Goody Bags

We also danced to Dora music and a CD we had with Bible songs. 

The girls also made music with maracas.  Some of the girls used homemade Maracas that we made by filling plastic bottles with rice and popcorn kernels.  Here is Little Sweets making the maracas. 

Ways we saved money:

We used the Dora items that Little Sweets owned for the party/adventure.  (She had backpack,  a Dora figurine, and a Dora CD.)

We made a homemade game to go with the adventure. 

(The Shape Matching Game)

We also made homemade maracas.

I made my own birthday cake.  I am no Cake Boss, but I think it turned out okay for a 2 year old's birthday.  Plus I was able to incorporate it into the adventure.  ( If you use coupons you could buy cake mix and frosting for around $1.00)  I've done it before, but unfortunately I haven't been keeping up with the coupons so I did pay full price, probably around $6.00.  It was still a lot less than the $35.00 cake I bought last year.

I did buy invitations which I am sure you can make on the computer for less money, but I thought they were cute so I bought them. 

I also bought Dora napkin and cake plates, but I got pink dinner plates, cups, and a table cloth from the dollar store.  I wanted to have some Dora items, but saved some money by using the pink paper goods too. 

We also saved money by having the party at our house.  I looked into having it at a local park, but it cost a lot to rent the pavilion.  Overall, it was just easier to have the party at home.