Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails Birthday Party: John Davis turns 3!

Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails: John Davis Turns three!

It is still hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that my baby is three. It seems like just yesterday that John Davis was born, yet I blinked and some how I have a three year old.

It’s true what they say: it goes by so fast. My motto when it comes to children’s birthday parties? Celebrate big and sweet while they still let us.

Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails Birthday Invitations

The past two years I had both of John Davis’s birthday party’s planned out well in advance. Well, fast forward to this year (and add in the busyness of having a toddler and a baby) and I found myself a month out from his birthday with absolutely no plans of what I was going to do.

While browsing around in search of ideas I came across these adorable invitations from Dixie Design and fell in love! The simplicity of the blue and white design and the timeless theme that is oh so perfect for little boys made my heart flutter a little bit ; ) It was from there that the sweetest “Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails” birthday party for the sweetest three year old came to be!

Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails Birthday Party

This party was so much fun to put together. It was right up my alley with all of the blue and white, puppies, and of course, gingham!

I spread out all of the food on our kitchen island on a classic white linen tablecloth. Our kitchen opens up to our family room and breakfast nook which makes for easy entertaining.

I created an inexpensive table runner with blue gingham fabric from Hobby Lobby by simply cutting the edges with pinking shears to prevent fraying. I do this for almost every party because it is so easy and inexpensive to buy a few yards of fabric. It’s something I will use over and over again whether it’s for another table runner, a fabric garland banner, or for one of my many sewing projects.

*If you’re ever buying fabric at Hobby Lobby, here’s a money saving tip: most of their fabric is marked 30% off almost every day. When having your fabric cut, ask them to write it up for the full price, and then you can use your weekly 40% off coupon at checkout.

The adorable cake, which also served as the centerpiece, was made by one of our neighbors. You may remember she also made John Davis’s construction truck birthday cake last year. She does not have a business, but if you are local you can send me a message and I will pass along her name.

She is simply the best and oh so affordable! Her cakes are absolutely beautiful but they taste even better than they look. Not to mention it was so convenient going only a few houses down to pick up the cake the morning of the party.

At one end of the table I made and printed a “Snips and Snail and Puppy Dog Tails” printable on cardstock and stuck it in one of my $3 wood craft frames from Hobby Lobby. And yes, these are the same white craft frames I have used for John Davis’s Peter Rabbit themed first birthday party, his construction truck second birthday party, as well as for Fletcher’s Baby Dedication. I use them for just about everything and switch out the ribbon on top accordingly. I’d say I’ve gotten my money’s worth out of them!

I wrapped up the utensils in polka dot napkins from Party City and tied them with a blue ribbon. I used these matching polka dot plates and napkins, and served the cake with these coordinating dessert plates and dessert napkins.

Taking a little extra time to tie your utensils is not only easy and practical (it makes it so easy for guests to grab them and go!), but it adds a little “extra” and instantly ups the cuteness factor.

One of my favorite things to do for children’s parties is create a special space just for the kiddos! What is it about a kids table that is so sweet?

Our white sofas and white table and chairs make the perfect backdrop for every occasion (see John Davis’s Valentine’s Day table here). I made the banner by simply cutting triangles out of craft paper and hot gluing them onto a white ribbon.

Old fashioned party hats make a cute table accessory and the kids loved wearing them too. Can you spy my sweet little birthday boy in the background? He was patiently waiting for the party to start while his crazy mama went around snapping pictures as fast as she could five minutes before guests started arriving 🙂

How adorable are these puppy dog lollipops from Oriental Trading?! I saw them and just had to have them!

I had originally planned to put them in the party favor bags, but when I saw how cute they were I decided to set them out on the tables instead.

They were so reasonably priced at just ten dollars for two dozen and they were the perfect finishing touch for the table. I didn’t taste them but judging by how the kids devoured them I’m guessing they tasted as good as they looked!

I ran into Hobby Lobby the day before the party (procrastinator) looking for small white metal buckets to put them in.

Of course it was the day before the party and of course my local Hobby Lobby had every color bucket imaginable except for white. Why does it always work that way?!

With no time to waste I threw these metal buckets in the buggy and was out spray painting them white in our backyard the night before the party.

I stuck some floral foam from the DollarTree down in each bucket and topped them with white paper shreds (also from the DollarTree). And obviously I just had to tie a blue ribbon around each lollipop stick.

Other adorable finishing touch details on the table included this Kraft paper dog confetti from Etsy and these scalloped edge Kraft paper placemats (they have a small border design on the “front” but I just turned them over and used the back side that was blank).

Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails: Party Menu

By far the most popular food item on the menu were these dog-shaped pb&j sandwiches. I used this cookie cutter to cut them into the dog shape.

*Tip from Mother: When preparing sandwiches for an event, your bread will dry out very fast. Once you have prepared your sandwiches, put them in between two damp paper towels and place them inside an airtight ziplock back. When you are ready to set your sandwiches out on your serving tray, place the damp paper towels on top of your sandwiches until your guests arrive. This will keep your bread nice and soft and prevent it from drying out before the party starts. 

These little dog shaped sandwiches were so simple, but everyone went crazy over them! Even I have to say they were so cute! I’m all about the details.

Also on the menu: puppy chow. You can’t possibly have a puppy themed birthday party and not have puppy chow! I made a HUGE batch of this (even doubled the recipe) and it was gone in no time. Note to self: next time, quadruple the recipe! It’s so easy to make and everyone loves it.

Also on the menu: pimento cheese and crackers. This Palmetto pimento cheese is to die for. I used to be of the mindset that pimento cheese is one of those things that you just can’t buy pre-made (we’re picky about our pimento cheese here in the South!), but this pimento cheese is so good! We bought two big tubs from Costco and every single bit of it was gone. (Also… if you haven’t figured it out yet we like to eat a lot 🙂 )

I made all of the coordinating food labels and printed them on white cardstock. This is another one of those things that is very inexpensive and very easy to do, but adds so much.

We also had chicken fingers and honey mustard dipping sauce, a veggie tray with ranch dressing, a fruit tray, and chicken salad and croissants.

All of the fruit and veggies came from Costco. I cut them up and placed them on white serving trays the night before the party. They were ready to go and all I had to do was pull them out of the fridge the morning of the party.

I had originally planned on making a big batch of chicken salad (what was I thinking?!) but ultimately opted for the pre-made rotisserie chicken salad from Costco.

For drinks we had water, tea and apple juice boxes for the children.

Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails Party Favors

One of my favorite things to do for a party is put together cute party favor bags for the children, and these puppy dog bags did not disappoint!

I started with a plain white craft bag from Hobby Lobby. I cut out the shapes for the ears, eyes, nose and hat from cardstock and used a hot glue gun to glue each piece onto the bag. I tied the top together with raffia which makes the perfect finishing touch!

I set them out on our entryway table so that guests could see them when they entered and grab one to go when they left.

I created and printed the “please take a doggie bag” printable on cardstock and put it in another one of my favorite white craft frames.

Inside, each goody bag was filled with  The Poky Little Puppy Golden Book, puppy chow, and some plastic creepy crawlers from the DollarTree.

I love the Little Golden Books because they are so classic. I made a printable tag for the book and for the puppy chow and tied them on with raffia to coordinate with the bags. I used this scalloped circle punch to cut them out.

While I was cutting out the shapes for the party favor bags, I also made a puppy dog garland banner for the mantel.

This puppy dog banner just may have been my favorite thing from the entire party!

I think it is so cute that I just can’t stand the thought of taking it down. It is still hanging on our mantel as I sit here and type this 🙂

One great thing about having a neutral home is that when you decorate with color it stands out so well. I love the way the baby blue stands out against all of the white!

Here’s a view from the foyer looking into the family room as you first walk into our home.

Another thing I decided the day before the party? That we needed a door hanger for the party! (insert eye roll here)

So I got out in the garage and used our jig saw to cut out the shape of the door hanger from some thin plywood we already had leftover from other projects. Then I got to painting with white craft paint and used a blue paint pen for the lettering.

One of my other favorite things from the party was the giant dog wearing a party hat and holding balloons in his mouth. He greeted guests outside as they walked up to the front door.

Mother drew the shape of the dog onto paper (because you should have seen my attempt to draw a dog… yikes) and then I traced it onto 1/4″ plywood. I used our jigsaw to cut out the shape and attached it to stakes to stick down into the ground.

A few days before the party I had to run into Target to grab a few things. Obviously I cannot go into Target without checking out all the cuteness in the dollar spot. Lo and behold they had this cute little wooden snail! Obviously it was just meant to be : ) I painted him green and he looked so cute next to the dog.

Happy 3rd Birthday John Davis!

Here’s a picture overload of some of my favorite photos from the party. I’m too embarrassed to tell you how many photos I actually took, but I tried my best to narrow it down to my favorites.

How cute does my sweet boy look in his puppy dog birthday shirt? Mother made his and Fletcher’s precious matching birthday outfits, including the pants and the jon jon! How lucky am I to be able to call up Mother and place an order for custom clothing?? 🙂

Aren’t they cute? Fletcher was ready for a nap before the party even started and Mr. Serious wasn’t about to give me a smile!

Fletcher slept through almost the entire party, which actually worked out well because we were able to give John Davis our full attention.

It was so fun celebrating our sweet boy, and it was even more fun to watch his joy and excitement this year as it was the first year he really “got” the whole birthday thing.

It was so cute to hear him talk about his “birthday party” all week leading up to the day of the party.

This is John Davis’s “blowing” face and it cracks me up!

Too bad his dumb Mama got a sparkler candle which apparently doesn’t actually blow out and sends sparks everywhere flying into the air (oops… it looked cute when I bought it).

He is definitely my child… couldn’t wait to sneak a piece of cake!

And he definitely enjoyed that piece of cake! Who needs utensils when you can eat icing with your hands?

Love these rare pictures of just me and my big boy!

And my little boy, too!

These pictures of our little family might just be some of my favorites of all time.

They are blurry and out of focus, and there’s not one where we are all looking at the camera.

But they so perfectly depict our lives right now: fast and furious with two energetic boys, but more full of love and joy than I could ever describe!

You can see just how much John Davis loves his “bubba.” He is always loving on him and it makes this Mama’s heart so happy!

Oh and here’s a picture of handsome Hubby. Isn’t he cute?

And look at my beautiful Mama. When she’s around John Davis won’t pay attention to anyone else. But thats okay because she loves him and spoils him like only a Grandmother should.

See these firemen boots? They are the only shoes John Davis will wear right now. He’s about outgrown them so he got a new navy blue pair as one of his birthday presents.

I tried to snap a few pictures of just John Davis before the party, but most of them are just a big blur of movement. This boy is always on the go and doesn’t have time to stop for pictures.

I know he is mine, but that little face still takes my breath away.

I love these sweet pictures of John Davis with his cousin Riley. How cute are they together?!

His mama and I were inseparable as cousins growing up and I hope Riley and John Davis are the exact same way. It’s so special watching them together and seeing the little bond they are forming.

And would you just look at my Grandmother and how beautiful she is? You probably won’t believe me when I tell you she is about to turn 85 years old. I sure hope I got her genes and I hope I look half as good as she does when I’m 85!

We sure do love our Mamaw.

And this is my bestest cousin I talked about earlier, who also happens to be Riley’s mama.

We are so grateful for family that drove over from Alabama just to spend the day with us for John Davis’s birthday. It truly means the world to have us all together for special days like these.

Candid Hubby… he loves birthday parties ; )

And my two beautiful and sweet Aunts!

Love this picture of my Mama and my Mamaw.

And I love this one with all three generations all in one picture. They have been there by my side through all of life’s major milestones, from picking out a wedding dress to the birth of both of my babies.

Some more of our sweet party guests who helped make John Davis’s birthday so special.

Tayler and I have pictures of us together at their age holding our baby dolls. Now here we are together holding our own real-life baby dolls!

Just as the party was about over Fletcher finally woke up from his nap and came down to say hi to everyone.

Look at that sweet sleepy face. He’s such a mama’s boy that he normally won’t let anyone else hold him but he absolutely loved his TayTay!

The kids barely stopped the entire afternoon and they had so much fun playing in the bounce house.

Santa Claus brought John Davis and Fletcher this bounce house for Christmas. It’s an investment but we have already gotten our money’s worth out of it in the three months we have had it.

It came highly recommended from my sister in law who has the same one for her kids. It has held up great over time, and even though her kids are older now they still love to play on it. So if you’re in the market for a bounce house, this one is great!

John Davis especially loves the slide and he must have gone down it at least 100 times. Another bonus? The kiddos get ALL of their energy out!

I love this picture of Daddy and John Davis. It’s not possible to put into words how much Mother and Daddy love these babies.

These were my best attempt at getting a picture of John Davis and Fletcher together. Photographing a toddler and a baby together is a challenge like no other!

These sweet boys were worn out as the party was over. We had such a great time just sitting around and spending time with our family for the rest of the afternoon. I happened to look over and snap this picture of two sleepy boys holding hands watching TV together before they crashed for the night.

And since Fletcher was finally awake, I had to take the opportunity to get a few pictures of him with the puppy dog and the snail. Would you just look at that big ole’ bald head? He will probably never get any hair because we rub on his head so much!

Just three more months and this little guy will be having a FIRST birthday party of his own!

Happy, Happy Birthday John Davis!!! We are so thankful God gave us the opportunity to be your Mama and Daddy. We love you more than we could ever put into words!

“The Lord bless you and keep you;
 the Lord make his face shine on you
    and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
    Numbers 6: 24-26

Want to remember this? I would love for you to save “Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails Birthday Party” to your favorite Pinterest board!