Cowboy Party 5th Birthday

by Amy
(California, USA)

Decorations



1.) Homemade "Happy Birthday" sign (made with cowboy scrapbooking papers, twine, and paint).

2.) "Wanted" posters for each attendee with photo, name, nickname and reason for being wanted.

3.) Cloth checker board (made with cowboy fabric). Checkers were bottle caps and washers.

4.) Hobby horses placed in a carboard box with a fence drawn on it, and a sign with "Okay Dokey Horse Corral."

5.) Homemade cardboard "Williamtown Jail" for "bad guys." I wanted to make an entire cardboard western town but didn't get to it. I needed big refrigerator/washing machine-size boxes so the kids would fit inside.



6.) Centerpiece Idea- cowboy boots, snakes, scattered plastic western toys on checkered table cloths.

7.) Lots of balloons- mylar blue stars, red, yellow, blue, and white latex.

8.) Unique Serving Bowls- cowboy hats turned upside down with bandannas in them. Snacks included licorice rope, pretzels, BBQ chips, and popcorn.

9.) Little signs held by rocks- "CHUCK WAGON" and "COME AND GET IT" on the food tables, and "SALOON" next to the drinks, "OUTHOUSE" sign for bathroom.

10.) Head-in-horse photo opportunity.

11.) I used a denium patchwork blanket to place gifts on and a quilt for extra seating on the ground.

12.) Having the guests dress up really "made" the look. I asked everyone to come in their cowboy clothes and dressed them further once they arrived. Although, I loved the
little boy who had to come dressed as Darth Vadar instead. He was willing to wear a badge. :)

Dress Up



1.) Upon arrival say "HOWDY" to all guests.

2.) Give each guest a cowboy hat and badge.

3.) Brand with temporary tatoos.

4.) Draw mustaches on anybody who wants them with a new, clean, brown eyebrow pencil. Stubble added by making dots.

Games



1.) Stick Horse Race: I asked guests to bring their own hobby horses if they had them so we had plenty.

2.) 3 Legged Race: Tie legs with western hankerchiefs.

3.) Calf Roping: Have the kids try to "rope" a small rocking horse with a hula hoop for a roping contest.

4.) Sheriff Says: Just like Simon Says.

5.) Cow-Cow-Steer: Played like Duck-Duck-Goose.

6.) Hokey-Pokey

7.) Plastic Horse-Shoe Game

8.) Clothes Pin Drop: Kids stand on sturdy park bench/chair and drop wooden clothes pins into a glass mason (canning) jar. Whoever gets the most out of 10 wins.

Games we didn't do but are cute and low-cost:

1.) "Yikes! There's a Snake in my Boot!" or "Rattlesnack Round-Up": Kids toss 10 small rubber snakes into a cowboy boot.

2.) Shoot Out at the Okay Corral: Nerf Gun or Squirt Gun target practice. The kids shoot at plastic bottles or aluminum soda cans painted black.

3.) Rattlesnake Ruckus: Played like the "Hot Potato Game." Use a plastic snake or make a rattlesnake by filling a tube sock with newspapers. Add a rattler to the end of
the sock made from a small plastic container (such as a film canister) and dried beans. Add plastic google eyes for a fun touch! Seat guests in a circle. As music plays
(use cowboy music), the rattlesnake is passed around the circle. When the music stops, the one holding the snake (bitten by the rattlesnake), is out of the game.
Continue game until one player is left.

4.) Jello Eating Contest: Use lime Jello, set in pie tins, and put them on the tarp. The kids lean over and chow down. This is one of the most amusing games for the
adults to watch!

5.) Pan for Pennies: Use any container filled with sand (you can buy playground sand at the hardware store), add pennies and dig for "GOLD" using hands, beach sand
sifters, etc.

6.) Pass the Pony: like Hot Potato but use a toy horse!

7.) Cowboy Hat Toss: Kids try to toss a cowboy hat onto a rocking horse or stuffed animal!

8.) Pin the Tail on the Horse, Pin the Badge on the Sheriff, or Pin the Hat on the Cowboy: For this, an enlarged photo of the birthday cowboy can be used.

Prizes



1.) Rubber, plastic or wooden snakes

2.) Box of malted milk balls with "rattlesnake eggs" label

3.) Little fabric bag of "Gold" (Corn Pops cereal)

4.) Craft to make little covered wagons (bought at Michaels for $1)

5.) Western coloring book

6.) Giant lollipop

Crafts

1.) Decorate grocery bag vests with stamps, crayons, pens, and stickers.

2.) Decorate balloon cowboys (from Oriental Trading Co.)

Music

1.) Boom box with country music.

2.) Home on the Range, Back in the Saddle Again, Cowboy, Take Me Away, Happy Trails, plus the theme songs from GunSmoke and Lone Ranger
(Just do a search for Roy Rogers and Gene Autry we used a bunch of their songs).

Cowboy Party Food



Snacks

1.) Juice boxes and water

2.) Root beer, cream soda and orange soda in glass bottles

3.) Lemonade (rattle snake juice)

4.) Kettle corn

5.) Grapes



6.) Pretzels

7.) Carrots and celery with ranch dressing dip

8.) Cheese booty or popcorn

Lunch

1.) Hot dogs and baked beans with cole slaw



2.) Green Hawaiian Punch and Ginger Ale to make "cactus juice"

Dessert

1.) "Cake" was cupcakes in the shape of a horseshoe, frosted to look unified. I used silver cupcake liners and frosting

2.) Cupcakes with western cutouts attached to wooden picks

3.) My fried made the cutest campfire cake to look like logs

4.) Cookies shaped like a star that said "Sheriff"

5.) Ice cream

A note from the Party Girl: To find some of the fabulous party items that Amy mentions here, I recommend checking out these online resources:

• CelebrateExpress.com



• BirthdayInABox.com



• ShinDigz.com