Let me just get this out of the way…I hate Dora! And I don’t mean roll my eyes at the sound of her voice hate her, but seriously loathe everything about her: the way she screeches, her too-big head, and how her clashing neon ensemble burns into my corneas so that I continue to see it when I look away. However, Madeline is smitten, so if it’s a Dora party she wants…
Her backpack party invitations opened to reveal a map (who has an equally nauseating voice) with the party information.
It was a gorgeous, albeit windy October afternoon, and the guests arrived to play on the playset, our entire collection of Little Tikes, and our moon bounce ($100 at a yardsale, half the price of renting.)
I read the kids one of Madeline’s favorite books, Dora’s Spooky Halloween adventure- basically Swiper swipes their candy and they go on an adventure to find it. So….
this is where it came in really handy having land. I was able to recreate the story by setting up a spooky forest, a pumpkin patch where they each got to pick a pumpkin, and a haunted house- our Little Tikes climbing gym decorated like a haunted house where they eventually found the candy (the pinata).
We’re also lucky to have a willing and tolerant 7 year-old sister to play Swiper. I’ve never heard little ones scream, “Swiper, no swiping!!” with such conviction.
Of course the party couldn’t be perfect because la pinata plan back-fired just a tad. The stupid Dora pinata only allowed you to fill the body with treats. How silly is that when her head could easily hold another 5 lbs? So I filled the head too. I’m hoping the decapitation is long forgotten by now, but I still giggle when I see this pic of Madeline’s reaction.
And finally, we came back to the porch to paint the pumpkins and have cake and ice cream. Hopefully, this full and fun-filled day was enough to fill her Dora love-tank for a long time (read: forever).
Her backpack party invitations opened to reveal a map (who has an equally nauseating voice) with the party information.
It was a gorgeous, albeit windy October afternoon, and the guests arrived to play on the playset, our entire collection of Little Tikes, and our moon bounce ($100 at a yardsale, half the price of renting.)
I read the kids one of Madeline’s favorite books, Dora’s Spooky Halloween adventure- basically Swiper swipes their candy and they go on an adventure to find it. So….
this is where it came in really handy having land. I was able to recreate the story by setting up a spooky forest, a pumpkin patch where they each got to pick a pumpkin, and a haunted house- our Little Tikes climbing gym decorated like a haunted house where they eventually found the candy (the pinata).
We’re also lucky to have a willing and tolerant 7 year-old sister to play Swiper. I’ve never heard little ones scream, “Swiper, no swiping!!” with such conviction.
Of course the party couldn’t be perfect because la pinata plan back-fired just a tad. The stupid Dora pinata only allowed you to fill the body with treats. How silly is that when her head could easily hold another 5 lbs? So I filled the head too. I’m hoping the decapitation is long forgotten by now, but I still giggle when I see this pic of Madeline’s reaction.
And finally, we came back to the porch to paint the pumpkins and have cake and ice cream. Hopefully, this full and fun-filled day was enough to fill her Dora love-tank for a long time (read: forever).
