Photo courtesy of: Grace Family

Here are some of the best ideas and activities to make your Dora party a great success!

First of all, to help get you into the Dora birthday party frame of mind, we've put together links to the best party supplies:

Dora Partyware, Decor & More
Dora & Friends Party Supplies
Dora Pinata & Party Decor
Dora The Explorer In A Box
Hot Times Fiesta Kit-N-Kaboodle Kit


DORA BIRTHDAY PARTY IDEAS FOR INVITATIONS

DORA TISSUE PAPER FLOWER INVITES - Cut an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of bright yellow cardstock into four pieces and put all of your party details on it. Hole-punch the upper left-hand corner. Make colorful Mexican tissue paper flowers and attach your invite to the stem by either feeding the stem through the hole or feeding a ribbon through the hole and tying it to the stem.

DORA THE EXPLORER MAP INVITATIONS - Cut up an old map into large squares. Put a sticker of "Map" or download a picture of "Map" (one of Dora's friends) and place on top of the map. On the blank side write all of your party details. If there isn't a blank side, then glue the map to a blank piece of paper and put all your party details on it.

DORA TREASURE MAP INVITES - Print your invites on brown paper. Crumple it up to make it look old. On the invitation say something like, Vamanos! It's Party Time! Come to (Name's) Birthday Party. Then add date, time, place, and RSVP info.

BOOTS OR DORA THE EXPLORER INVITES - Cut 8 1/2" x 11" yellow cardstock into four pieces and put all the party details on one side. Hole-punch the upper left-hand corner and run a ribbon through the invite. Attach it to a Boots or Dora the Explorer doll and hand-deliver.

DORA THE EXPLORER BOOK INVITE - Either type and print out or write all of the party details on the inside cover of a Dora the Explorer book or coloring book. Mail or hand-deliver your invites.

EMBELLISH READY-MADE DORA THE EXPLORER INVITATIONS - Buy ready-made Dora invitations and embellish picture. Use glitter, sequins, jewels, ribbons, buttons, wiggly eyes, etc.


DORA BIRTHDAY PARTY IDEAS FOR COSTUMES

Dora loves to play dress-up. Invite your guests to dress up as their favorite Dora the Explorer character, or as they arrive, provide them with brightly colored vests, hats, ties, scarves, hair bows, etc. for the kids to wear at the party.

Check out our visitor-submitted DORA THE EXPLORER COSTUMES photos and how-to tips.


DORA BIRTHDAY PARTY IDEAS FOR DECORATIONS

A Dora party lends itself to either setting up your main party room to look like Spooky Forrest or as a Mexican fiesta. For this party section, I am providing ideas for the Mexican fiesta. If you are interested in decorating for Spooky Forrest then check out my other Dora the Explorer Party Ideas.

For this theme, the more color the better. The following Dora birthday party ideas will help you create a festive atmosphere with a Mexican flair. Party colors should be bright and bold like orange, yellow, hot pink, blue, or purple. Choose from the following Dora birthday party ideas:

• Decorate archways and doorways with various colored streamers.

• Decorate wider walkways with brightly colored sheets tied back.

• Display painted maracas on tables as decorations.

• Use various colored or Dora the Explorer plates and cups.

• Dora birthday party ideas for colorful, homemade "woven" placemats. Cut 10 strips of 2" wide, 24" long pieces of purple construction paper. Lay them side by side and secure tops with a piece of tape. Cut 6 strips of 2" wide, by 22" long yellow construction paper. Cut 6 strips of 2" wide, by 22" long pink construction paper. Alternate and weave these pieces through the taped pieces to create the placemat. Secure all the ends with double-stick tape or glue.

• Make large colorful Mexican tissue paper flowers and attach them to yard stakes. Line your walkway with them.

• Hang a banner that says "Feliz Cumpleanos (birthday child's name)." This is "Happy Birthday" in Spanish.

• Hang Dora the Explorer posters on the walls.

• Cover tables with bright yellow tablecloths or any other brightly colored tablecloths. Tie the corners with curling ribbons.

• Keep your drinks cool in a fun inflatable cactus cooler, which also doubles as a ring toss game.

• Add vases of colorful fresh flowers, silk flowers, or tissue paper flowers.

• Create a fun and festive centerpiece using a sombrero. Attach some colorful helium balloons to it.

• Hang some fun chili pepper lights around the party room to instantly give the party room a festive look.

• Cluster balloons in party colors throughout the room or you could add clusters of Dora latex balloons.

• Be sure to create a special Dora Mylar balloon bouquet, that would make a great focal point on the birthday child's chair, hung in corners of the party room, or placed on the mailbox to alert guests of the party location.

• Bring Dora's World alive by using some Dora wall graphics. All you have to do is cover your main party room wall and it will instantly transform your party room into Dora-Ville.

• Hang a balloon bouquet from a ceiling fan.

• Hang twisted colorful streamers from the ceiling in all of your party colors.

• A really cool idea is to cover your entire ceiling with colorful twisted streamers.

• Create placemats by laminating pictures of Dora the Explorer characters.

• Make colorful Mexican tissue paper flowers to hang all over the party room to give it a fiesta look.

• Put tissue paper flowers in vases; hot glue them to a sombrero; attach them to your chili pepper lights; attach them to the backs of the kids' chairs, along with a helium balloon; etc.

• Get some large appliance boxes and paint them to look like Dora's Casa. The kids can play in them during the party.

The following Dora birthday party ideas will help you create Rainbow Road and Windy Valley:

• Create a Rainbow Road to your front door. Tape or glue various blocks of colored construction paper to a piece of butcher paper. Lay it down on your walkway to lead the way to your front door.

• If you want to create Rainbow Road in your home, just cut and paste large pieces of butcher paper together to create the winding road and cover with various colored blocks of construction paper.

• Create Windy Valley by hanging blue streamers in a doorway. Position a fan behind the streamers to blow them outward creating the wind.

PRINTABLE GAMES - Here's a great site for some fun print and play toddler party games that would be a perfect party game add-on!

PopShops™ affiliate stores

If you're in the market for a pinata or some Dora the Explorer party games, here's an entire page with nothing but Dora Games and Activities as listed below:

• Pin the Backpack on Dora
• Musical Sombreros
• Hot Dora or Hot Boots
• Boots See, Boots Do
• Dora, Boots, Swiper
• Jumping Beans
• Name That Animal
• What's In The Mochilla (Backpack)?

TACO BAR - Provide all the taco fixins' and let the kids make their own tacos, perhaps with a little help from the adults or teen helpers. Ideas for filling: Shredded chicken, hamburger, sour cream, shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, chopped onions, salsa.

DIEGO'S CHICKEN QUESADILLAS - A quesadilla maker is great for making the perfect quesadilla that you can easily cut into pieces like a pizza. All you do is lay a flour tortilla shell in the quesadilla maker, fill it with your favorite fillings, add another shell, close the lid and the quesadilla maker fuses it all together. Then all you have to do is cut it with a pizza cutter. Filling suggestions: shredded cheese, chopped green chilies, chopped or sliced black olives, shredded chicken, and chopped onions.

BOOTS' BURITTOS - Make mini burritos filled with beans and topped with a little slice of banana.

BEANS AND RICE - Serve refried beans and Mexican rice as side dishes.

CHIPS AND DIPS - Tortilla chips with salsa.

DORA'S TRAIL MIX - Either buy prepared trail mix or make your own. Ideas for ingredients: raisins, chocolate or carob chips, pretzels, and granola. Place in colorful bowls.

CHURROS - Sometimes called the Spanish donut. Churros are fried until they become crunchy and then they are sprinkled with sugar. You can serve them with chocolate dipping sauce or vanilla ice cream.

PINK LEMONADE PUNCH - Combine 1 large can of frozen pink lemonade and 2 quarts of 7-up or Sprite and mix in punch bowl. Add 1 quart softened raspberry sherbet, stir, and serve.

RUBY RED SPRITE PUNCH - The day before the party fill ice trays with red fruit punch. Serve punch cubes in clear cups with Sprite.


DORA BIRTHDAY PARTY IDEAS FOR CAKES

TRES LECHES CAKE - For a more authentic cake, to truly tie into your Mexican Fiesta theme, you might consider trying a tres leches cake which is a moist Mexican treat that is available at most Mexican bakeries.

BOOTS THE MONKEY CAKE - Bake one round cake and two cupcakes. Cut the cupcakes vertically in half. Place a half cupcake on each side of the round cake for your monkey ears and one in the center of the cake for the nose. Frost your cake with lilac/purple frosting. Outline the eyes with black cake gel and the mouth with red gel.

DORA THE EXPLORER SCENE CAKE - Make or buy a sheet cake and place a Dora the Explorer cake topper or plastic Dora characters on top of the cake to create an instant festive scene.

DORA THE EXPLORER PHOTO CAKE - Have a bakery put a picture of your child dressed in their favorite Dora character costume and place it on a cake.

DORA THE EXPLORER SHAPED CAKE - Use a Dora-shaped cake pan to bake your favorite cake. Then all you have to do is follow the decorating directions that come with the pan to create your birthday masterpiece.

DORA BIRTHDAY PARTY IDEAS FOR A BACKPACK CAKE - Make a cake in a 9" x 13" pan. After the cake cools, wrap it in wax paper and then in a piece of foil and freeze it overnight. Remove the cake from the freezer and cut off the corners of the cake to create a backpack-shaped cake. Then frost the cake purple. Using white, black, and red icings make white eyes, black eyeballs and eyebrows, and a red mouth. You can also use a red fruit leather for the mouth.

DORA BIRTHDAY PARTY IDEAS FOR CUPCAKES - Make or buy cupcakes. Either buy Dora cake picks or create some picks by taking two identical Dora stickers and sticking them together with a toothpick in between. Then place a toothpick into each cupcake.

Check out our visitor-submitted DORA BIRTHDAY CAKES photos and how-to tips.


DORA BIRTHDAY PARTY IDEAS FOR FAVORS

Put all of your party favors into small backpacks. Things like Dora stickers, puzzles, Dora coloring book and crayons, storybooks, Dora toys, candies, finger puppets, compass, binoculars, Dora bracelet, mini Dora and Boots dolls are all great party Dora birthday party ideas for favors.

MORE DORA BIRTHDAY PARTY IDEAS

Just in case you're still on the hunt for some more Dora Birthday Party Ideas, here's several ideas to check out. There are lots of options and ideas for creating invitations, decorations, party food, favors, and games.


DORA BIRTHDAY PARTY IDEAS FOR PARTY SUPPLIES

Here's some teriffic Dora Partyware, Decor & More to consider.

Here's some wonderful Dora & Friends Party Supplies

Here's some great Dora The Explorer party supplies including ideas for partyware, invitations, favors, and lots of decor!

This party won't be complete without a fun colorful Dora The Explorer pinata, along with some other party decor options.

Here's a great Hot Times Fiesta Deluxe Kit-N-Kaboodle Kit that is an all in one party package.

Dora Birthday Party Ideas

Do you have some favorite Dora birthday party ideas? Do tell! Please share all your party tips and ideas for invitations, decorations, games, etc.