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Invite each girl to come and bring her pet, which can be a toy or real-live animal. If you decide to include living pets, you may want to keep your guest list small to avoid problems. One or two adult helpers who are good with animals will make things easier as well. Ask the kids to bring their real pets in a kennel, cage, or aquarium, or on a leash.

You might also ask guests to bring a wagon or stroller to show off her pet during the parade, or consider borrowing such items from around the neighborhood.

Invitations: Take a picture of the birthday-girl with her pet to include with the invitation. If the animal in question can wear a little hat or coat, that would be great. Be sure to include the time the party will end, so that parents will know when to pick up the kids and animals.

Arrival: As the party begins, provide a place where the pets can be displayed, either indoors or outdoors. To start things off, have a “show and tell” session so each child can tell about her pet.

Main Event: The girls will be getting their pets ready and then having a pet parade. If you can provide some doll clothes or hats that may fit cats or small dogs that would be good. The girls can make scarves or capes out of fabric that their pet (even stuffed ones) can wear. They could also decorate the cage or kennel for the parade, or embellish the wagon the pet will ride in, so provide some streamers or balloons for this. When all the pets are costumed and have some form of transportation, start the parade. The best parade has an audience, of course, so if you can recruit some neighbors or grandparents for this function, the kids will love it. You can parade around a park, through apartment lobbies, or down the sidewalk. Be sure to take plenty of pictures or video that you can replay when it’s over.

Refreshments: A cake with an animal theme would be good, or cupcakes or muffins with animal crackers on top would work. Be sure to provide some dog or kitty treats, too.