Photography: Eric Teoh
Styling and craft: Alexis Teasdale
It was a glorious Summers day in SA for our darling Gabe and his Hey Duggee themed second birthday party!
For those that don’t know the animated show on ABC Kids, Duggee is a loveable dog and the leader of The Squirrel Club – a Scouts-style activity class where the children earn a badge for each episode’s theme. It could be anything from the Puppy Badge to the Organising Badge, Comedy Badge and Dressing Up badge.
Gabe loves Duggee! We’re not 100% sure, but faaairly certain it was one of his first words. Ha.
The beauty of a Hey Duggee party is, you can tailor the ‘badges’ to suit your kids favourite activities. I had a Truck Badge, Colouring Badge, Bounce Badge (for the trampoline) Bubble Badge and Cake Badge – all you had to do is eat birthday cake for that one. I certainly earned a badge there.
These were really easy ones for 2-7 year olds, and inexpensive too! Make the most of what you have (like a trampoline or sandpit) and build the activities around it.
There was also the Super Squirrel Badge, for when the entertainer arrived. The kids just had to follow “Scout Leader Alec” from Spectacular Kids Parties and play games to earn their badge! When I spoke to the team, I explained the theme and they were more than happy for Alec to don a sash and create a new character for us.
Each station had a little bag with sticker badges that kids could add to their top, or sash that I’d made from basic green fabric with velcro sticker clasps.
To find the designs, I went to the official Hey Duggee site, which has everything you need from printables to badge images and more.
One of the first things I crafted were the Scouts-esque neckties, in every colour you can think of so the kids could choose their own. Spotlight sells bundles of pre-cut squares of fabric in the perfect size for this. You simply fold into a triangle, then do small folds over and over until you reach the tip. I tied each one in a matching coloured hair tie.
The show is super bright, so everything was rainbow themed from the Poppies For Grace DIY backdrop and plates to the Kmart goodie boxes and piñata.
Ruby’s Cakes created the most delicious sprinkle sponge cake, and we sourced a printable Pin The Badge On Duggee game from etsy.com
A bright kids party is always a cinch to style! You’ll find plenty of colourful wares in any party shop that won’t break the budget, plus the more colour, the more impact (with little effort if you’re time-poor.)
Enjoy the photos by Eric!
When I was little, my parties always featured Balfours Frogs!
The sticker badges were an easy alternative to badges with pins for little fingers.
An entertainer gives the party some structure, and mums and dads might even get time for a chat and some snacks!
Tip: have party boxes out with a note so parents know they can take them at the end without asking!
Cake by Ruby’s Cakes
Tip: when you’re making home-made stickers, cut a little extra ‘tab’ to make it easy for kids to pull the sticker off the backing.
Our home-made sashes and neckerchiefs
Don’t forget a mask and blu-tac for this one!
Bubbles are a cheap crowd-pleaser!
