It seems like everywhere you go, Dora the Explorer can be found. She is a fun and popular character. Now that her cousin Diego has appeared in several episodes and has a new spin-off show, the Dora franchise is loved by both girls and boys. What better theme for your young child’s birthday party.

Special invitations and party supplies for this theme can be purchased at local retailers and online. Plates, cups, napkins, and even goodie bags can be found with fun Dora designs! Hanging streamers, paper lanterns and a piñata or two will make any birthday party a true “Fiesta”. Make sure those piñatas are filled with something and you can add them to the game portion of your party.

Food at a Dora themed party can be extensive and healthy. Dora has been known on several occasions to eat blueberries and Boots loves bananas. You can have the party guests help you make a fresh fruit salad which is both yummy and good for them. For the cake you can try making the chocolate nut cake Dora made for her mommy on Mother’s Day, or maybe have a banana cake like they made for Boot’s on his birthday. Letting the kids have some fun (and something sweet), you can always bake some “cowboy cookies” like Dora had in the west and let them use icings and sprinkles to decorate them.

After the cowboy cookies, but before game begin, you can always hire someone to offer the guests pony rides! Ponies and horses are often found in Dora shows and many of them give her a lift to where she needs to get.

Some fun games you can play are “Musical Chairs”, “Simon Says”, “Bobbing for Apples” and “Hide and Seek”.

• The musical chairs can be played to one of the many Dora the Explorer CDs now available.
• Simon Says can be played saying “Dora Dice” (which is Spanish for Dora Says).
• If you buy some star-shaped carambola fruits, bobbing for apples can be changed to a “Catch the Stars” game!
• Hide and seek is a favorite game of Dora and Boots that you can do indoors or outdoors.

You cannot have a true Dora the Explorer party without including a map somehow! Why not hide the presents after they are collected in a prearranged spot and have the children follow a “map” you created beforehand? Simply have the map show three areas of your home or yard and have the children find something fun in each area.

To make your party a little educational for the guests, you can label many of the items around your home with what they are called in Spanish. Many of the words the children probably already know from Dora! Have someone who speaks Spanish fluently available to help out with the hard words.

After all the fun games are done and the yummy food has been eaten, why not let the kids sit back and relax to a Dora video or DVD? There are so many to choose from that your party guests will never have to watch the same one twice.

Fun things you can send kids home with (as prizes from the games or as favors) are playing cards with Dora designs, Dora character figurines, and Dora books!