Cowboy party:  For my son's 4th birthday, we chose a cowboy theme. I made invitations on my computer and invited guests to the Rockin' T Ranch (T is the first letter of my son's name).  Guests were encouraged to come in costume, but we also dress-up articles at the party, such as hats, guns, bandanas and vests.  I made a chuckwagon for the food from a regular 6-foot folding table by surrounding the table with cardboard and drawing on it to make it look like wooden planks.  I set out cast iron pots on the "wagon" and served hot dogs and chips from them.  The tables were covered in red and white checked cloths and the food was served in tin plates.  The kids had root beer in brown bottles for an authentic touch.  We borrowed a set of barrel ponies and sawhorses cows so the kids could practice roping. We made a cow from a cardboard box and made branding irons from wooden figures and dowels. The kids branded the cow using colored bubble bath paint. We set up a can shoot with soda cans and a rubber tipped dart gun. We also had a children's horseshoe set. One of the most popular games was a "rattlesnake stomp"--the kids tried to pop long balloons that we blew up and dropped on the floor. For party favors, I drew different cattle brands on plain brown lunch bags and filled with prizes.  We also took instant photos of each child on a pony.  These pictures went into a homemade fun foam frame with a magnet strip on the back. The frame was decorated with cowboy-themed scrapbook stickers. This party was a hit with all the little cowboys and cowgirls!!