A-Z Guide: Western Party Games

We'll wrap up our first A-Z Guide with a few fun party games that fit in perfectly at a Western party.

© Land of Nod

1. Classic Pin the Tail on the Donkey

Land of Nod has this vintage game. Their version has reusable sticker tails so the birthday child can play after the party guests have all gone home.

2. Lasso Practice

Family Fun's guide to a Western party has this fun game idea in which you take a hula hoop, a wooden rocking horse and a kid and have some good old fashioned lasso practice. Wee Festivity might even decorate the hula hoop with red handkerchiefs cut into strips and hot glued around and around to make it more festive. Last time we checked, hula hoops came in bright, fluorescent colors that don't really match and it's all about the wee-tails you know.

If you have the energy for a third game, we suggest this additional idea from the same Family Fun guide: Sidewinder Jump in which...

"...guests have to avoid the "bite" of a deadly rattler. Make your snake out of an 8-foot length of rope. At one end, glue a piece of thick cardboard cut and painted to resemble a rattlesnake's diamond-patterned head. On the other end, create a rattle by filling a few film canisters with a teaspoon of dried beans or rice. Punch a hole in the top of each canister and poke a pipe cleaner through, balling up the end beneath the cap to keep it from slipping out. Glue or tape the canister shut. To play, have adults or kids hold each end of the rattlesnake rope and whisk it back and forth along the ground. Children try to jump over the wriggling snake without touching it. For older kids, try raising the rope a few inches off the ground."

We've enjoyed planning a Western party with you this week.

Y'all come back now, ya hear?

A-Z Guide: Western Party Favors

At the Noodle's party, a western hats & badge was given to each guest as they arrived and the items doubled as their party favors. One of many advantages of a small guest list is the affordability of higher quality favors, like a hat for each guest.

Hats from Birthday in a Box's Cowboy theme.

A bag of badges was found at Diddams.

A-Z Guide: Western Party Food

For the food at a western party, the possibilities are endless. What comes to mind most obviously if you need to serve a meal would be chili, or hot dogs & beans.

We timed our party such that we only needed snacks for folks. As such, we went with the Noodle's favorites which was strawberries and more strawberries. He is a bit fond of the strawberry. Okay we also threw out a bowl of chips or two.

A sign above the snack-laden table in our kitchen.
Found at Diddams

Baking is not how I like to spend my creative energy. So I opted for a local bakery's chocolate sheetcake that they wrote on for me. However, I giddily embellished the generic cake with more strawberries and a toy cowboy. You can find the details on this idea in a prior Wee Festivity post.

The most fun part was serving the cake and ice cream. I picked up some Handi-Foil pie plates at the grocery store and used those instead of standard party plates. They were one of the biggest hits at the party and the kids were adorable eating from them.

A-Z Guide: Western Party Decorations

Decorating for the Noodle's western party was so much fun!

A giant paper star from Diddams marked the house for guests.

A steer (also from Diddams) greeted folks at the front door.

Cow & horse balloons carried the theme outdoors.
(from Birthday in a Box's Cowboy theme)

Appropriate table linens were rented,
along with the child-sized round table and chairs.

Dad and the grandparents built a Western Town from refrigerator boxes acquired by mom at a random appliance store. My only regret was I didn't discover Mr. McGroovy until the night before our party. Drat!

The crowning authentic touch was a RENTED bale of hay from a local feed supply store. Because who wants to buy hay just for a party? Learn from us though: don't forget to bring gloves and two people to pick up and return the hay.

Tomorrow we will share food ideas for a western party.

A-Z Guide: Western Party Invitations

Wee Festivity is proud to introduce our A-Z Guides, in which we'll outline an entire party from invites to decorations, food, favors and games.

Our first Guide is for hosting a Western-themed party.

Here are two invites to get started, these are actual invites created by Rosina Red Designs (RRD is the main creative outlet for the founder of this blog). One invite was for her Noodle's fifth birthday and the other was designed for her friend's daughter.*

The Noodle's invitation

Bella's invitation

As you can see, RRD used two completely different color schemes, but both clearly set the mood for an authentic Western party. No detail was overlooked, including coordinating the envelopes with coordinating liners (Bella) or artwork (the Noodle).

Tomorrow we will share photos of decorating ideas.

*Note: Since these invites were for real children, we have blurred out identifying information on the invitation.