A Rootin’ Tootin’ Cowboy Birthday Party By Belinda Mooney

It’s birthday party time and your little buckaroo wants a rootin’ tootin’ genuine cowboy themed birthday party. Here are some rough and ready ideas that will please even the toughest cowpokes. It’s easier than you think, you can get the kids involved and your birthday boy or girl will have the time of his or her life.

Round ‘Em Up
Before the birthday party you will what to do some basic planning. The first thing will be to pick the date of the party at least one month ahead of time. Now you can make the invitations. This is where the fun begins. For your western showdown try making invitations in the shape of cowboy hats, boots or pistols. Purchased invitations are nice but it’s just as easy to make your own and much more fun. Use cardstock and let your child help you decorate the invitations. Mail them out about two weeks before your party.

Decorating - Cowboy Style
Next you want to plan the decorations and background for your party. A cowboy theme is fun to work with - there are lots of choices for setting up your party. A neat idea is to make a cowboy town. You can make an authentic looking store front by getting large boxes from appliance stores and decorating them to look like a real western town. This is one activity the whole family will enjoy helping you do. Be sure and include a mercantile (general store), barber shop saloon or restaurant, stable, jail and blacksmith’s shop. The jail can be a focal point of the party. Make fake bars on the windows and use it for some great photo shots of little “bandits”. Set up the store to do some actual business. Prepare small items - candy, water guns, sheriff’s badges, stickers - that the kids can buy with the “gold” they acquire from their gold mining activity. Place hay bales, cowboy boots and blankets around the yard. Make some large cardboard cactus and animal cutouts to add to the fun.

Cook Up Some Chuckwagon Goodies
What’s a birthday party without cake and lots of good food to eat? We all know cowboys lived on beans while roaming the range so be sure to include baked beans on your cowboy menu.
A suggested menu is:
• Baked Beans - Your favorite brand will do
• Wagon Wheel Casserole
• Cattle Drive Biscuits - use store bought biscuits and bake them in a cast iron skillet
• Cactus Juice - any green juice of Kool-aid will do

This menu is simple, easy and will satisfy the hungriest cowboy out there. Bake a cake in the shape of a boot or do cupcakes and place a plastic cowboy on top

Ring the Dinner Bell
Before you ring that dinner bell you want to make sure your tables are ready to go. For this birthday party you can use picnic tables or even wooden crates. Use colorful bandanas for tablecloths or red and white checkered tablecloths. Put the forks and spoons in plastic containers shaped like boots or small metal buckets. Use tin plates and tin cups. Another option is to place the tableware in a bandana tied with a piece of raffia. Plastic cowboy hats or larger metal buckets lined with bandanas make great serving bowls for napkins, chips and other snacks.

A Rootin’ Tootin’ Time
As your child’s guests start arriving hand each one cowboy hats and bandanas. Then direct them to the craft table which you have already set up. Supply each cowboy with a paper bag that has been cut down the middle and two arm holes and a neck hole has been precut. Let them decorate their vests.

Then move on to more fun on the range. Here are some fun activities for little cowboys and cowgirls:
• Thar’s Gold in Them Hills - spray paint different size rocks gold. Bury them in a sandbox or large container. Give the kids small sifters and let them “pan” for gold. Make sure each child get some gold. They can use this to “buy” items from the general store.
• There’s a Snake in My Boot - Use a pair of old cowboy boot and some small plastic snakes. Two children can go at once with two boots. Allow each child a turn to toss 3 snakes into the boot from a designated distance. Give out gold nuggets or some cowboy treats to winners.
• Calf Ropin’ Time - It’s time to rop and brand them little “doggies” Set up some calves you make yourself out of card board. Set them upright and anchor them to buckets or large bottles. Let kids toss rings on to them or try to rope them with a piece of rope.
• Horsin’ Around - Have a stick horse race. You will want to plan ahead this. Include a note in the invitation or make sure you have enough stick horses on hand.

Cowboy Goodies
As your tired cowpokes head home send them off with a bag full of cowboy goodies for the trail. Small burlap bags (you can sew them yourself in minutes) filled with “gold” (corn pop cereal), licorice ropes, plastic cowboys and Indians, water guns, sheriff’s badges or gold candy coins are all great ideas.

Western Wagon Wheel Casserole
Ingredients:
• 1 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey
• 2 cups wagon wheel pasta, uncooked
• 1 can (14-1/2 oz.) stewed tomatoes
• 1-1/2 cups water
• 1 box (10 ounces) frozen Sweet Corn, thawed and drained
• 1/2 cup barbecue sauce • Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. In large skillet, sauté beef over medium heat 5 minutes or until well browned.
2. Stir in pasta, tomatoes, water, corn and barbecue sauce; bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to low; cover skillet and simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper. Makes: 4 servings.

Belinda Mooney is a freelance writer mainly focusing on parenting and family issues.