If you have a cowboy in your house who has a birthday coming up, then you need to throw them a cowboy party! We've got a full guide right here on how to do just that, so sit back, relax, and read on.
What Age is This Party Theme Best For?
This cowboy party theme is great for a wide variety of ages. Having access to a wide range of decoration options helps make this theme great for both young and old children. We think a good age range for this party theme is 5-11.
Children younger than five may not be able to fully appreciate all that this great theme has on offer. For example, they won't be able to help you with s'mores, nor will they be able to fully enjoy taking pictures in the fake jail. If you want to throw a cowboy party for a child younger than five, consider keeping it simple. Buy cowboy hats for everyone, grab a rocking horse for the guest of honor, and make a cowboy-themed cake.
Once a child enters middle school, they tend to lose interest in themed parties. We think a cowboy-themed party can still work for a child as old as 11, but not beyond that unless your child specifically requests it. An alternative that still fits with the cowboy theme is taking your child and two or three of their closest friends horseback riding. Older children will appreciate that a lot more than a themed party.
Cowboy Party Theme – Home on the Range
Use toys you already have on hand to decorate the party room. Stuffed horses, cowboy hats and boots, and toy trains work great. Use a red and white checked table cloth. Decorate the tables with mini bales of hay with red and blue balloons tied to them. You can get the hay at the craft store.
Make signs the say Welcome Buckaroos, Welcome to (your child's name)'s Rodeo, Park Your Horse Here, and No fightin' and No spittin'. Hang them around the party room or throughout the house. Make cowboy vests out of brown paper grocery bags for your guests to wear.
Make and hang wanted posters for each of the guests. Give them aliases like Naughty Nick, or Fighting Freddie. Under the “wanted for” section, make up goofy crimes, like laughing too loud, having too much fun, or being too smart. Let the children take home their posters when the party is over.
Using a refrigerator box, make a jail. Paint a brick design on the outside, and cut some bars out so the children can look out. Decorate it with some of the wanted posters. It will be a fun spot for taking pictures during the party. Use bales of hay as seating. You can buy them at your local nursery.
Play western music. The theme from The Lone Ranger or Bonanza would work well, as would a Roy Rogers album. If it's available to you, some riding gear would work well as decorations. Saddles, bridles, horseshoes, and cowboy hats are great ideas.
Cowboy Party Theme – The Victuals
Serve food in small aluminum pots, or on tin pie plates. Serve “campfire” food, such as chili, hot dogs, baked beans, grilled burgers, coleslaw, chips and salsa, and chicken drumsticks.
To go along with the cake, serve s'mores. You can buy them ready made, or if you have a fireplace, make them yourself. It's best not to let the children make them unless they're older, for safety's sake.
Make “cactus juice” using green punch and ginger ale. Make or buy star shaped cookies, and pipe “sheriff” on them with icing.
For a cowboy birthday cake, bake a chocolate 9 inch x 13 inch cake and frost it with vanilla icing. Use upside down pretzel twists to make a corral fence around the top edge of the cake. Use green sugar for grass, and shredded wheat to make hay bales. Crush up some graham crackers for dirt, and put some plastic horses on top of the crumbs.