Giuseppe’s First Birthday Celebration
On March 27th, we celebrated Giuseppe’s first birthday with a get-together at Steven’s mother’s house. He got to open presents from friends and family, eat birthday cake and play games with his older cousins Watson and Widget. Let’s get into how we made this pup’s big day one to remember. And for those who are curious how I put everything together I’ve included all recipes, links to the party gear, and tips for your next doggie bash.
The Guests
Being that the party took place in late March, the theme was “Spring has Sprung!” I wanted to take advantage of the fun colors and floral patterns of the season. So Steven’s mother and I dressed in floral shirts, Widget and Watson wore Springtime plaid bandanas and everyone got a floral party hat. These small hats from Meri Meri were excellent because they can fit adults, children and even puppy dogs if you adjust their straps!
The birthday boy with Mommy
Uncle Steve
Steven’s mom was kind enough to pick us up some beautiful balloons that went perfectly with our birthday banner.
Giuseppe was so unbelievably cute in his party hat. Although he wasn’t the biggest fan of it. Check out the clip below to see what he did during his birthday photo shoot.
Gifts and Games
Giuseppe received lovely gifts from both sides of his family. These gifts ranged from toys, to clothes, to treats (including his favorite No-Hide Chews by Earth Animal. In front of his gifts, I displayed his birthday cake, as well as several festive treats for Giuseppe and his fellow canine party guests.
If you’re planning your next dog birthday party, I recommend having plates or platters that make it obvious what is for pups and what is for humans. My lovely Dachshund dog plates from Meri Meri worked perfectly. The dog treats we put out were Spring-themed yogurt cupcakes, yogurt dipped cookies, dog-friendly macarons and Bocce’s bakery birthday cake treats. All were purchased from Neon Dog.
When we first brought Giuseppe home, Steven told me to get him a small tent for the office. It has since become his absolute favorite bed in the house. So for his first birthday, we thought we’d get him a larger tent for our bedroom. Both of his tents have been from the pet lifestyle brand Huts and Bay. His new collection of crochet toys are from Ware of the Dog. And we picked up his Lamb Chops at the Puppets of New York exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York. But you can of course find them at most pet stores!
I thought long and hard about what kind of game the dogs could play that was similar to a child’s birthday party. And when I found Meri Meri’s beautiful bunny piñata, I knew that it was perfect to shower Giuseppe and his cousins with fun prizes. Being that the party was already snack and cake heavy for the pups, I decided to go the toy-route with the piñata, and fill it with Giuseppe’s favorite wool balls from Nooee Pets, a pet retailer based out of Greenwich. Giuseppe gets a really big kick out of rolling these balls around the house (and under beds, sofas and even the dishwasher at times.) Plus they are so light that I knew they wouldn’t hurt the dogs as they plummeted to the ground.
Food and Drink
For the adults, I went for a mixture of sweet and savory bites. I crafted a charcuterie board with cheese, pate, prosciutto and crackers from Savour Wine + Cheese as well as caprese skewers. I also made my favorite recipe for deviled eggs, as well as recipes that were new to me such as spinach and artichoke dip (not pictured,) and strawberry lemonade. I’d recommend any of this recipes for your next shindig.
I also picked up some gourmet pretzels and chocolate snacks to give some variety to the mix.
Charcuterie platter with elements from Savour Wine + Cheese
Dessert
When it came to dessert, I decided to keep things simple, and only make one cake from scratch: Either Giuseppe’s birthday cake, or the cake for the rest of us. I felt that since it’s his first birthday ever, I should make him his cake from scratch. I purchased the cakes for the other party guests at Caramel Patisserie in Salem Massachusetts. I made sure to adorn the table with dog-themed decorations and stick dog-shaped candles into each of the cakes to make them more festive!
Being that Caramel Patisserie also specializes in macarons, we knew we had to pick some up to add to the dessert selection. They looked adorable next to the dog-safe macarons by Bonne et Filou.
My friend Dana at Neon Dog was kind enough to recommend a lovely recipe book for homemade dog treats, which included the dog-safe carrot cake recipe I used for Giuseppe’s birthday cake. Check out the recipe below!
Giuseppe’s Birthday Cake:
Carrot Cake:
1. Preheat your oven to 345° F.
2. Lightly coat two small ramekins or one 4-inch round cake pan in vegetable oil. I used olive oil.
3. Thoroughly combine the following ingredients in a mixing bowl
1 carrot finely grated
1 cup almond flour (Or substitute with whole-wheat flour like we did!)
2 eggs
A handful of diced berries (strawberries, blueberries and/or raspberries are great options. We opted for strawberries.
4. Pour the mixture into your ramekins or cake pan. Spread it out as evenly as you can.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Being that this is a dog-safe recipe, it doesn’t contain many of the ingredients typically found in human cakes, and thus won’t have the exact same consistency and appearance. But your dog will love it just the same, and you can always use frosting and other decorations to give it more of a pristine aesthetic.
6. Remove the cake from its baking vessel and let it cool on a rack thoroughly before decorating. Feel free to use a serrated knife to cut the domed top off the cake to give it a flat surface. If you used the two ramekin method like I did, you can layer one on top of the other with cream cheese frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
Combine an 8 oz brick of plain cream cheese and a teaspoon of 100% pure maple syrup with a hand mixer or stand mixer until fluffy. When your cakes have cooled, use cream cheese frosting to stack layers, and be sure to crumb coat the outside of each layer of cake with it to lock in moisture. Use a piping bag kit or plastic bag with one corner cut off to add details.
Puppy Bone Cookies:
This recipe is from Nordic Ware, for use with their dog treat pan. I purchased mine from Food52, but you can also find it on Amazon. This recipe can work with any other non-stick dog treat pan.
1. Preheat your oven to 325° F.
2. Prepare your dog treat pan with baking spray, evenly coating the wells with a pastry brush if necessary.
3. Whisk 2 eggs and 1/3 cup of dog safe peanut butter together in a bowl. (By dog-safe, I mean organic peanut butter where the only ingredient is peanuts. Many common peanut butter brands contain xylitol, which is toxic for dogs.) Then add 1 cup rolled oats and 1/3 cup corn meal. The dough should be pliable and easy to work with using your hands.
4. Firmly press the dough into each pan well. Be sure that you don’t overfill.
5. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, or until the treats are golden on the edges. Remove the pan from the oven and allow the treats to cool while still in the pan. Gently loosen the cookies out. Thoroughly clean the pan to repeat the steps with the rest of the dough.
This recipe yields around 32 treats.
The treats just so happened to be the same height as my cake, so I lined the outside of the cake with them, sticking the cookies on firmly with more cream cheese frosting. I then used a piping kit with a star tip to add swirls to the top of the cake.
Giuseppe loved the cake. And since it was way too much to finish in one day, I cut it into small slices, froze the slices in some tupperware, and brought them out to thaw whenever it was time for his nightly dessert.
I’m so proud of my little pup becoming a fully grown dog (although let’s be real - he will always be a puppy in our eyes.) And I am so grateful I got to throw him this party with loved ones in attendance. I couldn’t have done this all without Steven and his mother.
I realize that not everyone has the exact brand of enthusiasm as me when it comes to planning a dog’s birthday party. Many will find this party over the top. And that’s ok! Some people celebrate by making their pooch a special meal, bringing home a new squeaky toy, or even taking them to their favorite park. Every dog is different and every dog owner is different. But I wanted to share how I did things for those who want some inspiration for the next birthday or gotcha day celebration. Whatever you do for your dog, just make it personal to them and your family.
Thanks for checking out Giuseppe’s birthday celebration. Feel free to shop the party supplies and gifts below. And if you have any questions for me about party planning or shopping for your pup, leave a comment.
Until we meet again!
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