Hola! It's a 1st Birthday Party with Dora!

What little kid (or parent, for that matter) hasn't seen or heard of Dora the Explorer? This little Latina has brought a fun and easy way to learn Hispanic culture and Spanish to the screen, making it a lot of fun for tots. The Dora birthday party is also a great theme for your one year old's birthday party.

You can buy or download Dora invitations and you can also make your own! Adapt the “Map” and create a hand-drawn map leading to the party place. Show three landmarks along the way to the final destination and incorporate the details of the party in the map, too. Roll it shut and seal it with a Dora sticker.

This is going to be a great fiesta and you can make it that way with the decorations! Choose bright, happy colors like red, pink, blue, yellow, and green for the party. Use silver curling ribbons for the strings and put them in odd-numbered groups all around the party area. And there can be no fiesta without streamers! Switch it from hanging them on the walls to suspending them from the middle of the ceiling and anchoring the ends to the walls. It will look just like a rainbow spiral when you're done. Suspend a colorful pinata from the center of the streamers as a terrific focal point.

The tables should be just as colorful with a bright, Mexican patterned tablecloth covering it. Use red plates and green and yellow tableware at each place setting. Set a blue napkin on top of the plate and use a contrasting colored ribbon to cinch it. At the center of the table, place a flowerpot filled with Mexican paper flowers in all the colors of the party.

The cake table should be just as magical and colorful. Choose another Mexican patterned tablecloth to go on top and set a cake stand in the center to elevate the cake. A simple yet impressive way to decorate your own cake would either be to go to the baker and order a cake with just the basic icing on or to ice your own cake with a crumb coat of buttercream first and then a second, smoother coat on top of that. Decorate the cake using the Dora candle available online and lots of sugar flowers and leaves to mimic the jungle. Pres MMs onto the edge of the cake and you're finished.

The Dora birthday party food should also be simple. A starter of cheese dip and corn chips in various colors is complemented by a simple chicken wrap and jelly sandwiches cut out in star shapes. Served with fruit kabobs and strawberry yogurt dip for dessert, everything gets washed down with a Dora birthday party special drink of strawberry juice and carbonated water filled with fruit cubes in ice cube trays topped with a bendy straw and a slice of star fruit as a garnish.

For favors, a terrific selection is a loot bag stuffed with a Dora fan, a bandanna, and a cap for exploring. Fill the loot bag with a bit of chocolate, since chocolate is Hispanic, too.