A cowboy party is a fantastic theme for a girl’s or boy’s birthday celebration. Not only is it a fun theme for which you can easily locate or manufacture decorations and games, but you can also tie it in with a variety of movies and television shows that involve ranchers or cowboys, such as Disney’s new show Dino Ranchers!
Are you planning a Western or Cowboy-themed birthday celebration? You’ve come to the right place! I’m going to provide you with a lot of ideas and recommendations for your wild west cowboy party!
A birthday party with a cowboy theme is a lot of fun. As they are surrounded by Old West features, kids are sure to enjoy a mix of exciting activities and games, as well as wonderful food and the company of their friends.
Party Decorations
Decorations will add a fun element to your party theme. You can keep the decorations simple and use items such as:
- Banners that say “Happy Birthday Cowboy” (or Cowgirl) and “Welcome to the Wild West”
- Red and blue streamers
- Red checkered tablecloths
- Red and blue balloons
- Cut-outs of cowboy hats, horses, and boots
- Inexpensive cowboy hats
- A wanted poster with your child’s picture hung near the food table or the party entrance
- Stuffed cows and pigs scattered about, to create a barnyard
Consider using pretty western goods like pink cowboy hats and pink bandanas if the celebration is for girls. Pink and brown streamers and balloons can be used to decorate the party.
Wagon Table
Want a great way to dress up a simple folding table western style? Fasten a couple wagon wheels to the legs, add a stained 2×4 and fashion a sheet into a wagon cover! Instant amazing table display!!! It’s super adorable, right!!
DIY Bandana Banner
This is a simple and adorable DIY banner. Furthermore, this would be a terrific way to accent tables or hang around an awning… So adorable. I also like how easily adjustable it is. Whatever color scheme you’re going for, you can make this bunting with colorful bandanas!
Horseshoe Pitch
No party is complete without a fun mix of games and activities. During this time, you can play country music in the background to add to the overall theme. Consider children bandanas and straw hats to wear for the games so they feel like cowboys and cowgirls.
Set up a plastic horseshoe set on the lawn and give each child several chances to get the horseshoe around the stake. You can also award points to whoever gets the horseshoe the closest to the stake, if it is difficult to get it to land on the target.
Relay Race
Create an obstacle course for the kids to navigate through. If possible, purchase stick horses for them to use for this game. Some fun obstacles include rows of cones, inner tubes, and hula hoops to step through.
You can divide the kids into two teams and have them take turns going through the course. When one finishes, they hand the stick horse to the next. Whatever team finishes the race first is the winner.
Coloring Page
Cover a table with plain white paper and fill up small pails with crayons. Print off pictures of horses and other western images and give each child a picture to color.
You could also find a Toy Story coloring book or a printable coloring page that features Woody and Jessie and use that as well, if your child wants a Disney element to the western party.
Horse Lasso
Looking for a fun pastime that will make you laugh? What could be more exciting than watching partygoers try to lasso a horse? This would be a terrific cowboy party activity, and you know lasso instruction would result in some hilarious scenarios! This would be a fantastic way to entertain the tiny buckaroos (and possibly the adults as well!)
Macaroni and Cheese
This mac-n-cheese isn’t just for kids and doesn’t come in the blue box! This is hearty, comfort food that is a crowd pleasure for guests of all ages!
Use a generous amount of sharp cheddar and top with some fresh white breadcrumbs and a drizzle of melted butter before baking. Country and western foods don’t get much tastier than this!
Baked Beans
Baked beans don’t need to come from a can. Jazz up your own homemade baked bean recipe by using different kinds of beans (navy, lima and kidney) mixed with dark brown sugar, bacon and onions. This makes a wonderful, hearty western party food side dish.
Grilled Steaks
Western themed party food has to include beef! Tender grilled steaks or London broil is a super-easy way to satisfy your guest. Sprinkle the meat with garlic seasoned sea salt or marinade it in your favorite marinade 3 hours prior to grilling. Simple, easy and delicious!
Desserts
Western party food doesn’t have to end with the main course — your desserts can be western themed too. Choose a western style cake such as a horseshoe or cowboy boot, and wow your guests with your sweet ending! Another dessert option is to fill western themed glasses with an individual dessert like chocolate mousse, pudding or ice cream.
Cowboy Stuffs
For the favors, I filled kraft paper bags with themed trinkets like a stuffed horse toy, stickers, mustaches, a rubber cowboy and other goodies. Then I tied a raffia bow around the top and decorated it with a western ornament. Really simple and inexpensive but cute. I placed one of each kids’ settings on their little table.
The adults like favors too, you know. I purchased little canvas bags and drew the dollar sign on them with a green fabric marker. I filled them with chocolate coins and handed them out to the parents on their way out. They felt like children again I’m sure.
Cowboy Birthday Invitations
The invitation is often the first notice of the upcoming party that guests will get. The invitation will create the mood of the party and inform attendees of the fun cowboy theme. If you want to have free invitations that you can easily customize, you can use these attractive design from Drevio.
Be sure to note the details of the party such as the date, time and location as well as any special considerations such as having each child wear jeans, a flannel shirt, or a white tee to keep with the theme. You can add a cute note such as “Cowboy boots are optional.”
Photo Booth
A photo booth is always a hit, so make one available. As a backdrop, hang a cow print rug or place the photo booth against a rural backdrop. Make a wanted poster out of brown construction paper to use as a backdrop.
Add sheriff badges, inflatable cactus, lassos, cowboy boot stickers, and rainbow mustaches as photo booth accessories. Consider using real-life cowboy cutouts for added flair.
Add farm animals to a little cowboy or cowgirl birthday celebration for a charming touch. These also make excellent party treats for visitors to take home at the end of the evening.
Cowboy Dress Up
With a simple cowboy party dress up station, you may dress up your party guests in flair. I really like how this is placed up atop an old, beaten-up ladder. It’s really charming and rustic. With a few hats and bandanas, your tiny cowboy party guests will be rocking the western look in no time!
Watering Hole
Wet your whistle with some water or lemonade at the local watering hole. This lovely watering hole is put up on a lemonade stand (a terrific way to re-use party crafts!!).
I love the cute rustic feel of this and how easy it is to add a chalkboard on the top and be ready for your party. Also, if having a reusable lemonade stand/watering hole sounds appealing but you aren’t willing to DIY… This Amazon lemonade stand is flawless!
