Cowboy Theme Party Ideas

Cowboy theme parties may not be as common as they were 50 years ago, but they can still wrangle up some interest even among those who have never so much as watched a John Wayne movie. All it takes is one well-planned cowboy party, and word of mouth will do the trick. The lure of the Wild West and the mythology created by both the reality and the influence of movies and TV serve to imbue the cowboy party with a multitude of ideas.

Few things from the days of the Wild West are more instantly than the wanted poster featuring a drawing of outlaws like Jesse James and Billy the Kid. If you can find an artist to actually draw the face of the birthday celebrant, all the better, but if not just use an image manipulation software program to transform an actual photo into a line drawing. The text should read something like "Wanted! (Insert name here.) Posse currently being formed to track down this varmint and bring him back alive. Interested cowboys should meet at ..." and then give the pertinent information.

Every good cowboy party is going to have guns of some sort. Invest in some cheap toy pellet guns and balloons. Attach the blown-up balloons to a wall and hold contests to see who can pop the most in a minute.

Cowboy parties offer a tremendous opportunity for party favors. You can pass out cowboy hats or star-shaped sheriff's badges. Bandannas, toy guns, and lariat ropes are also ideal party favors.

For drinks, the ideal beverage is root beer, but only as long as you call it sarsaparilla. For those who don't like root beer, mix some cherry juice in with cola and serve the drink popularly know for decades as the Roy Rogers. A traditional cowboy supper of hamburgers, hot dogs, baked beans and corn makes a cowboy theme dinner simple and inexpensive.

If you can find someone who knows how to handle a lariat, kids will be thrilled and adults will be fascinated as well. The highlight of the entertainment will probably be a demonstration of how to toss the lariat to catch any kids or adults nearby and the icing on the cake will be if the rope expert can teach some of the party guests how to do this themselves.