Man's best friend becomes your party's best friend with these easy-to-make snacks, appetizers and desserts. Most involve some store-bought shortcuts, and all are easy enough for even the non-crafty among us to recreate. To nail these ideas, all you need to be is a dog lover.

If your game-day guests are more interested in the Puppy Bowl than football, this adorable take on cake pops will give them something to cheer about!

Crumble one baked box-mix cake into a bowl and stir in a tub of store-bought frosting. Shape the mixture into 2-inch round balls and football shapes, and insert lollipop sticks into each. Dip the sphere shapes into melted white candy wafers and immediately add two black sugar pearls for eyes and a single caramel candy piece for a nose. Stand the pops into a piece of styrofoam until firm. Make the puppy ears by piping melted chocolate chips onto parchment paper in oblong shapes (use a zip-top bag with the corner snipped if you don’t have a piping bag on hand). When the pieces dry, attach them the puppy's head with more melted candy. Draw cute smiles and whisker dots with a black food color marker. Thread red ring-shaped hard candies onto the lollipop sticks for collars, and attach with extra melted candy.

For the footballs, dip the pops into melted semisweet chocolate to coat. When the chocolate is dry, pipe on laces using some of the leftover melted white candy wafers.

Bone-shaped cookie cutters make easy work of creating cute party fare. Try deli slices of Colby, sharp cheddar, and provolone — they're quick to cut and easy to nibble. Use mini cookie cutters for bite-size pieces, like the mini bone and doghouse cutters pictured. Cheese is always delicious served with fresh apple slices and sea salt crackers, so they're great with this spread.

Get it? This aptly named bark is super-easy and super-fun thanks to loads of color. Melt one cup of semisweet chocolate chips and 1 cup of white chocolate chips. Pour each cup onto a sheet of parchment paper and swirl together using a knife or skewer. Immediately top with candy bones, candy caramel bits and multicolor sprinkles. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. Break the candy into pieces and serve.