Saddle Up, Cowboy!

My oldest son, Jackson, just turned six and to celebrate, we had a cowboy birthday party. We don't do a big party every year, so when we do, I let them choose the theme. Brady just had a Diego party in the spring that was a lot of fun. Jackson decided about that time that he wanted a cowboy party. So of course, I turned to Pinterest to get ideas.

To get everyone in the mood, you have to start with a great invitation. I found the best resource to make you're own cards here. I then had to use the option to turn it into a PDF and copy and paste it into word to make it the right size for printing correctly.

And now for the party!

For the place settings and favors, I ordered hats, sheriff badges, and bandanas from Amazon.com. In their paper bags, I included Campfire S'mores kits, Reese's miniature wagon wheels, and pretzel hay bales. Ryan's canning mason jars were perfect to hold the bandana, utensils, and straw.

We ate first, and the simple menu was perfect. Horseshoe Hal's Hot Diggity Dogs, Buffalo Bill's Baked Beans, and Texas Ted's Tater Chips was served for the grub. Drinks included Rootin' Tootin' Root Beer, Refreshing Lemonade, and Jackson's Well Water.

Once their tummy's were happy, we traveled out to Justin Boots pinata. I had signs up on the entrance pole, but of course I forgot to take a picture of it. In addition to the boots sign, it included Saloon for the clubhouse, Watering Hole for the swimming pool, and Hitchin' Post for the parking lot. I cut arrow signs out of cardboard. 

Back to the pinata! This was the most well-constructed boot, so eventually, we didn't make them wear the bandanas. They finally met with success! I meant to have them bring their bags to hold the candy, but they quickly discovered the hats worked just as well!

We went back inside for cake. This was my first attempt at making a cake that was actually outside of the pan, so keep that in mind as you judge! The instructions and templates were on Parents.com, but mine don't look nearly as nice as theirs.

For the banner, I simply cut the bottoms off of paper bags. It was so easy, cheap, and gave me the look I was intending.

As the party was happening, I had a Wanted poster for the kids to take a picture with. I am hoping to turn those into the thank you card covers. (Pretend you didn't read that if you were at the party!) Here's Brady being his goofy self...

Soon enough it was time to swim at the watering hole. Some had to change, and of course it's only appropriate to use the outhouse.

Now we can head out to the pool!

My little guy's getting really good at swimming :) I think he had a great time along with his friends. The next day, I woke up to him with his cowboy hat on asking me to attach his badge! The boys played cowboys all morning. 

So long, y'all!!