Cowboy & Indian Party 4 & 6 year old My sons birthdays are 3 weeks apart so for their last birthday we chose a Cowboy and Indian theme. For the invitation I
first took a digital photo of my sons, one dressed up like an Indian
and the other, a cowboy. I then faded the pictures and made printed them onto parchment colored paper. I then used Microsoft Word and using a "WANTED" font I wrote: Wanted All Cowboys, Cowgirls, and Indians Sheriff Chance needs your help rounding up all the goody bags for his 4th birthday party. Meet him on (date) at (location) near the OK Corral (aka "your house). Round up begins at 11 a.m. and ends at 1:30 p.m. Come dressed for the wild west cuz' were fixin' to have some fun. Please RSVP with a "Yee Haw"-You'll be attendin' or a "Dag Nabit"- You cant make it. Chance's Ma (Miss Susie) or Pa (Mister John) can be hollered at: (phone number). I then put the parchment colored paper with the faded pictures on it, back in the printer and printed the wording. It took a few times to move the words around so that you could see both of my sons faces but it was fairly easy and looked great. For a final touch I burnt the edges of the paper. Thank God for ebay, where I was able to find some great party favors. I found a box of vintage sheriff badges that were real metal (not platic) and came in cut little boxes. There were about 24 for $15. Also on Ebay I bought a big bag of those little cowboy and indian figurines. Luckily too the city I live in has a toy district where toys can be bought wholesale and inexpensive. There I bought water guns, bandanas, and cowboy hats for each child. From Oriental Trading Co. I purchased Gold Coin bubble gum coins. When each child arrived I gave them their "goody bag" which was a badge, gum coins, a few figurines, and a water gun which were all tied up in a bandana. Each child also got a cowboy hat. For decorations I had my husband go to a local stable and purchase a few bails of hay for seats. I used red and white checkered tablecloths and plates and had several cowboy/indian inspired banners. Also I had a friend who made a great cowboy stand-up poster. The kind where the child gets behind it places his/her so that it looks like it's their head on cowboy's body. We took each child's picture like this and then used the photo's as thank you notes. I also set up a craft table. I took brown shopping bags and cut them out like vests for the children to decorate. I also cut out 100 or so feathers made out of colored construction paper and then long strips of brown construction paper for the children to make feathered headbands. I did buy a couple packages of real feathers too. I also made some cowboy & Indian like stenils out of cardboard. There were lots of markers and crayons which I got at the dollar store for the children to use as well. For food, I kept it simple: hot dogs, baked beans (I make killer baked beans-they're not your oridinary baked bean), barbecue chips, watermelon, and soda. The cake I had made at a local bakery and it had cowboys and indians on the top. It was very cute. For entertainment I found a local man who makes a living from being a real cowboy and rope tricker. He was great. He came with music and did about a 30 minute show with all kinds of rope tricks. He also brought lots of little lassoes for the children to practice with. Luckily too we live near a park that has pony rides with tables and shade nearby so I chose that location and at the end all the children got to go on a pony ride. It was a great party. I do have to say that I know some people are against guns but the water guns were a big hit. It was a hot day here in California and the kids had a blast having a water gun fight. I know it sounds like a lot, but it was not that expensive of a party. The most expensive item was the cowboy ($150) and maybe another $150 for favors, food, etc. But remember it was for both of my children, so I was killing two birds with one stone, and there was about 30 kids and 15 or so adults.
