Cowboy Round-Up Birthday Celebration

Little boys seem to love their cowboys! What’s not to love! Fast horses, cool outfits, the fun rope-slinging and super campfire songs?!?! That’s a no brainer! So when this little guy was a cowboy for Halloween last year, it was all over. He’s been obsessed ever since, and when it came time for picking a theme for his 4^th birthday party, having a Cowboy Round-Up Birthday Celebration was the only thing that would suffice!

Mom is the talented Michelle behind Michelle’s Party Plan-It and let me tell you, this is one lucky birthday boy to have a Mom who loves event planning! Michelle had to say, it was by far her favorite theme to date and she had so much fun planning and creating every little detail! But she is also the first to admit she may have gone a bit overboard, but after seeing the ear-to-ear smile on her little guy’s face on party day, it was definitely worth the late nights and early morning preparation sessions!

Michelle’s main vision for this party was to create a “Wild West” experience for the tiny guests to enjoy from the minute they arrived. And so the DIY projects ensued! Her first project was the Old Western Town. She created facades with rolls of printed paper and sheets of cardboard and made signs using her trusty Circut. She made the Bank, Sheriff’s Office, Jail, General Store, Pony Corral, and a Trading Post. Phew!

They held the party at home, so first up was to remove all of the furniture in their dining and living room areas and bring in hay for all of the guests to sit and enjoy a “felt campfire.” Safety first!

Other fun DIY items that were made for the party? Handmade Hobby Horses for the “Horse Race” were made and super fun to put together! Also, using a Hobby Horse pattern that Mom found, she made Hobby Horse Bubble Wands, which were perfect for the kiddos and they LOVED them!

The dessert table was to die for and oh so creative! Michelle lined the wall with “wood” patterned paper in order to create a backdrop for the dessert table. She then made “bandana garland” out of bandannas she found at the Dollar Tree and strung them on a rope and covered the table in burlap and jute runners. CUTE!

The treats were heavenly and really kicked things up a notch! Rice Cereal “Hay Bales” were made, Cowboy “Hay Stacks,” super yummy cow print cake pops, along with S’mores on sticks were served.

There were also adorable horse shaped cake pops, candy apples topped with a bandanna and chocolate cowboy hats, along with white chocolate dipped cow print Oreos made by Autumn Lynn’s Chocolate Sins. Delectable!

Jen from Sweeten Your Day Cakes made the wonderfully detailed fondant cupcake toppers. The little horse and the cactus are just the cutest things ever! Metal buckets were also filled with Mary Jane candies, Cow Tails, Hershey nuggets in Gold Bar boxes, truffle-filled red bandanna boxes, gold rock candy, Hershey chocolate bars wrapped in coordinating paper, chocolate “gold” and “silver” rocks, along with chocolate coal and bandanna mints. Other buckets were also filled with Slim Jims, trail mix and pub mix. What a spread!

And this super awesome cake fit for a cowboy?!?! It was perfect and the details were AHHHH-MAZING!

The kids’ table was decorated with activity place-mats with cowboy crayon rolls for them to color, cookie-filled treat bags, pie tin plates and paper cutlery pockets (another DIY project with Michelle’s Cricut!).

Graphics were ironed onto the muslin favor bags and were than filled with goodies.

Wooden rubber band guns were made by Backwoods Toys and were given to each child as a party favor. Guests also received a bandanna, mustache, badge, and cowboy hat. Because hygiene is of the utmost importance for every cowboy and cowgirl, Favor Boutique by Angelique made the adorable red and brown cowboy boot soaps. Seriously?!?! This party had everything! How amazing!

A feast was served that was fit for any cowboy complete with a Chuck Wagon and Watering Hole!

The details weren’t spared at any corner! Mom did such a wonderful job with the place settings, decorations, and the overall cowboy round-up decor! And what party would be complete without games and activities?!?! Since the weather was perfect, outdoor activities were planned and an area was set up for carnival-style games for everyone to enjoy. Soon enough, everyone was headed to the great outdoors!

Activities included: Target practice, bottle ring toss, can toss, guitar bean bag toss, horse shoes, hobby horse races, piñata (always a great staple!), potato sack races, Pin the Badge on the Sheriff and jail time. The jail provided a wonderful photo booth opportunity that everyone wanted to participate in! One of the favorite games was the Target practice. The game was purchased at Country Hands Woodworking on a barrel and everyone took turns shooting the targets with the rubber band guns. It was a hit!  A “Pin the Badge on the Sheriff” was another DIY success! The little sheriff looked just like the birthday boy and it was a wonderful game customized to match the cowboy theme.

The DIY signs that were scattered throughout the party were the perfect additions and really brought the theme to life. Everyone loved them and it was easy to see the birthday boy was in heaven!

What a wonderful day for a cowboy round-up birthday party! Everyone went home completely worn out and this little cowboy was ready to settle down for a nice rest!  His 4th birthday was full of a lot of life lessons, but one he learned while wrestlin’ with the pinatas and throwing around the horseshoes was that a cowboy is a man with guts and a horse. Luckily, he has his pony corral to fall back on!

Credits & Resources

Party Stationery, Styling, Photography and Event Planning: Michelle’s Party Plan-It  //  Soap Favors: Favor Boutique by Angelique  //  Fondant Cupcake Toppers: Sweeten Your Day Cakes  //  Horse Cake Pops, Candy Apples & Chocolate Covered Oreos: Autumn Lynn’s Chocolate Sins   //  Wood Stars and Chalkboard Triangles: Ten23 Designs  //  Rock Candy, Chocolate Coal, Chocolate Silver nuggets and Chocolate Gold nuggets: Candy Nation  //  Handmade Target and Rubber Band Gun, Handmade Cowboy Hat Tray and Boot: Country Hands Woodworking  //  Rubber Band Guns: Backwoods Toys  //  Cow Print Straws: Pretty My Party  //  Bandannas, hats, badges, small hay bales, bandanna mints, bandanna print favor bags, favor bag goodies, Pinata, Rings for Bean Bag Toss, Mason Jars, Napkin Rings, Pony Express Potato Sacks & Photo Booth Props: Oriental Trading Company  //  Dollar Sign bags, Rope, Galvanized Metal Buckets, Gold Paper Horseshoes and patterned paper: Shindigz 

Looking to plan your own Cowboy Round-Up Birthday Celebration?! Check out these fun products:

Also, get FREE 2-day shipping on your party products when you sign up for a FREE trial of Amazon Prime.

• Cowboy Hats
• Western Masks Cowboy Party Accessories
• Wagon Wheel Decorations
• Burlap Potato Sacks
• Horse Pinata
• Set of Milk Bottles – 30
• Cow Print Straws
• Cow Print Tablecloth
• Red Paisley Bandanas
• Chalkboard
• Pie Tins
• Horseshoe Cupcake Toppers
• Lil’ Cowboy Cupcake Toppers
• Tin Buckets

Follow Cristy Mishkula @ Pretty My Party’s board Cowboy Party Ideas on Pinterest.