Plan the Perfect Puppy Bowl Party

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Invite your friends and their pets over to watch Puppy Bowl III. Creating the perfect Puppy Bowl party is easy! Assuming your event is going to be pet-friendly, you can create fun food and activities that adults, children and even animals will love. Plan your party and watch the show!

Invite Your Guests

Create Paw-fect Decorations

Make Festive Food for Guests & Their Pets

Games & Entertainment

Send Them Home With a Doggy Bag

Send your guests a Puppy Bowl e-card to invite them to your Puppy Bowl party. Is your party pet-friendly? If so, don’t forget to address the invitation to the pets as well.

Next: Create Paw-fect Decorations

Get your guests in the spirit of the game with these fun decorations:

• Draw large paw prints in chalk leading up to your house.
• Hang a sign on your door that says "Welcome to the Dog House."
• Make dog and cat hats for the children to wear.

Next: Make Festive Food for Guests & Their Pets

Make fun food for your friends, family and any furry companions that decide to stop by.

FOR HUMANS:

In keeping with the theme, some of the food should be related to puppies. For example, serve hot dogs and make cookies in the shape of dog bones. Children will enjoy eating ice cream out of their own personalized doggy dish.

However, in a nod to more traditional game-watching fare, we've also provided some classic party recipes.

These delicious recipes from the Discovery Home Channel will keep your human guests from feeling hungry.

• Atomic Chicken Wings
• Thunderbolt Chili
• Homemade Salsa and Chips
• Hummus

FOR DOGS:

Watching the Puppy Bowl may make some of your furry friends hungry for some homemade treats. These delicious recipes will keep the pups busy while the human guests are eating. These recipes are courtesy of Two Dog Press (you will be leaving AnimalPlanet.com).

Peanut Butter Bones

1 package dry yeast 1/2 cup lukewarm water 1 cup mashed potatoes 1 cup milk 1/4 cup molasses 1/2 cup chicken stock

1 cup chunky peanut butter 1 cup whole wheat flour 1/2 cup rye flour 1/2 cup rice flour 1 egg 2 cups all-purpose white flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 ° F (165 ° C).

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water. In a large saucepan, mix together the potatoes, milk, molasses, stock and peanut butter. Heat, stirring frequently until boiling. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Add yeast mixture. Gradually blend in the egg, wheat, rye and rice flours. Add enough white flour to form a stiff dough.

Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead until smooth (about three to five minutes). Shape the dough into a ball and roll out to 1/2-inch thickness. Using cookie cutters, cut out biscuits. Place on ungreased baking sheets, spacing them about 1/4 inch apart. Gather up the scraps, roll out again, and cut additional biscuits.

Bake for 45 minutes. Let cool overnight. Makes several dozen bones that freeze well, with the consistency of pizza crusts — a favorite snack for most spoiled dogs!

Parmesan Herb Treats

	1 package dry yeast 1/4 cup lukewarm water 2 cups chicken stock 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk 2 tablespoons dried parsley	1 teaspoon oregano 2 teaspoons dried minced garlic 1 cup whole wheat flour 1/2 cup rye flour 1/2 cup rice flour 1 cup cracked wheat
	For the Glaze - 1 egg, 1 tablespoon milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 ° F (165 ° C).

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in lukewarm water. Add stock, oil, cheese, dry milk, and herbs. Gradually blend in the flours and cracked wheat. Add enough wheat flour to form a stiff dough.

Transfer to a floured surface and knead until smooth (about three to five minutes). Shape the dough into a ball and roll out to 1/2-inchthickness. Using round or crescent-shaped cookie cutters, cut out treats. Place on ungreased baking sheets, spacing them about 1/4 inch apart. Gather up the scraps, roll out again, and cut additional biscuits.

Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and milk for the glaze. Brush the biscuits with glaze, turn and brush other side. Bake for an additional 30 minutes. Let cool overnight.

Makes about four dozen 3-inch treats.

Harry’s Party Pupcakes

1 large apple 1 1/2 cups wheat flour 1/4 cup oatmeal 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 cup plain yogurt 1/2 cup water 1/4 cup vegetable oil 2 tablespoons honey

2 eggs 1 cup grated cheddar cheese For the Frosting 8 oz. Neufchatel cheese (low-fat cream cheese) 2 tablespoons plain yogurt 2 tablespoons honey 2-3 tablespoons flour carrot shavings grated carrots

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 ° F (200 ° C). Grease muffin tins.

Core, slice and mince the apple (use a food processor if you have one). Set aside. In a large bowl, mix together flour, oatmeal, baking powder and baking soda. In a medium bowl, blend together the yogurt, water, oil, honey and eggs, then stir in the apple and cheese. Add to the flour mixture and stir until mixed.

Spoon into the muffin tins, filling each cup about three-quarters full. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let rest in the muffin tins for a few minutes, then remove and set aside to cool.

For the frosting, combine the Neufchatel cheese (at room temperature), honey and yogurt until smooth. Add enough flour to thicken the frosting to a good spreading consistency. Frost the pupcakes, sprinkle them with finely shredded carrots as garnish, and you're ready for a doggone good party!

Makes 16-18 pupcakes. If you prefer a single-layer cake, spoon the batter into a sheet pan and bake for an extra 15-20 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean). Let the cake cool, then frost and decorate with carrot shavings.

Next: Games & Entertainment

 

The adults and children will be entertained by the Puppy Bowl and food. The Kitten Half-time Show will gather a big crowd. But just in case the kids get a little restless, here are some fun games to keep them busy:

Pin the Tail on the Puppy – Just like Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Have your favorite dog image blown up and tape it to the wall. Create a tail with heavy paper or use a feather or bow. Have the children take turns trying to pin the tail on the puppy with their eyes shut or blindfolded.

Puppy, Puppy, Kitten – Just like "Duck, Duck, Goose." This game involves the children sitting in a circle. One child goes around the circle lightly tapping the other children’s heads, saying "Puppy." When the child taps someone’s head and says "Kitten," both children must run around the circle in hopes of being the first to sit down. Whoever is left standing is "it."

Puppy Trainer Says – Just like "Simon Says", only the "Puppy Trainer" tells the crew of children to do different dog tricks. He or she always starts with "Puppy Trainer says" and adds the trick, like "Puppy Trainer says sit" or "Puppy Trainer says roll over." If the puppy trainer doesn’t say "Puppy Trainer" before the trick, and children do the trick anyway, they are out of the game. The winner is the child who outlasts all other game players.

Next:  Send Them Home With a Doggy Bag

No, we don’t mean leftovers! Put your Puppy Bowl party favors in a doggy bag. Use basic brown paper bags and decorate them with markers. You can put treats in the bags for everyone to take home. Here are some paw-sibilities:

• Puppy bone cookie cutter

• Tennis ball or Frisbee for the puppy guests

• Cat treats for the furry friends that stayed home

• Puppy treat recipe cards (print the recipes we provided on heavy stock paper and include them in the doggy bag)