Dora the Explorer has proven to be a phenomenon of mass proportion among young children. As with most things popular with children, Dora makes a great theme for a birthday party. Of course, planning and throwing a party is no small task, and a Dora the Explorer party is certainly no exception to that rule. However, the process can be made quite a bit easier (not to mention a good deal cheaper) with a bit of planning and creativity. The end result will be a Dora the Explorer party that your child and all of their young friends will remember for years to come.
The first aspect of planning a Dora the Explorer party, as is the case with pretty much any party that relies on a theme, is to work out how you are going to represent your theme. In the case of Dora, this can be accomplished fairly easily. You should be able to find paper plates, cups, and napkins that are Dora themed at any party store, or even the paper products isles of some grocery stores. This level of availability is one of the large advantages of working with a theme that is so popular with such a large group of children. Along with the supplies for the food, you may also be able to find other Dora themed items, such as piñatas, balloons, and even small party favors that you can give out to the guests at your child's party.
Beyond the simple supplies and favors, you should also work out decorations that go with the Dora theme. For instance, printing out treasure maps and hanging them on your walls (or fences, if you are holding the party outside.) Try creating some simple scenery out of cardboard or felt to make your home or yard look like a forest or jungle sort of area with added trees and such. Alternately, you may be able to get some of these props at party stores.
The highlight of your Dora the Explorer party, though, will mostly likely be your party games. This, obviously, is the area that children look forward to the most (with the possible exception of cake and ice cream) when going to a party. As such, you should be careful to live up to their expectations. Thankfully, young children are, for all their oddities, fairly easily entertained, so you should not have too much trouble keeping them busy.
The concept that fits most perfectly into your Dora the Explorer party would probably be a treasure hunt of sorts. Take a number of fairly distinct objects and attach index cards to each of them. Number the index cards, and then 'hide' the items around the house or yard. Hide is a loose term, as they will have to be fairly easy to find, and the numbered cards should be obvious, but try to make the objects at least feel a bit hidden. Then, print out treasure maps that show the way to the items (marked with their numbers.) Of course, the maps do not have to be particularly accurate. Then, give each child a number to find, and when all the items are found, have them come back to a treasure chest (or, more likely, a painted box) of Dora the Explorer party favors for everyone.
