Ultimate Guide to a Cowboy Themed Birthday Party

Wasn’t it just a few years ago I was wrapping invitations in red bandanas and stuffing the envelopes with straw for Hudson’s Down on the Farm birthday party? I blinked and 13 years flew by. Over the past few years we have watched Hudson become quite a talented outdoorsman, fall in love with country music, and continue to steal our hearts with those big brown eyes and that mullet he refuses to cut off.

He is not much for big parties, so I had to reign in my ideas and tried to keep his 16th birthday as simple as I could. Good food, good drinks, good music, good friends… and always a great take home favor.

If you’re throwing a cowboy or country western party, here are some party ideas:

Invites and signage: I love to include personal details wherever I can in parties, so I dug through millions of photos of Hudson and remembered he had dressed as a cowboy one Halloween many moons ago. With the help of Chelcea Creative, we made “Wanted” posters with his cute little photo and some fun personal details. Hudson may not have been thrilled for a big party, but the “Wanted” posters were his favorite. Chelcea also helped me design the drink and dessert signs, cornhole graphic and custom tshirt files.

Old School Candy Bar: I ordered a bunch of vintage candy on Amazon, and kept most of it in it’s original packaging. It felt reminiscent of candy we would have bought as a kid. Candy cigarettes, chick o sticks, cow tales, bit o honey, and more were packed up in little canvas $ bags. The Wanted poster was a simple and inexpensive backdrop for the candy and favor table.

Activities: If you saw Ally’s Grad Party, you may recognize the cornhole boards I had customized for her. I found a basic cornhole set and added a custom vinyl to match the party. It was very easy to peel the graduation vinyl off and add new cowboy design for Hudson’s! I also picked up a rustic ring toss game on Amazon.

Don’t forget the music! I normally create a party spotify playlist for events, but felt like this one needed Seattle’s Best DJ: BB! He kept the party going with everyone’s favorite country music.

Desserts: The dessert table was filled with country themed treats from s’mores and buckeye smash cookies to themed sugar cookies piped in a rope design. Our bakers and decorators at Jenny Cookies Bake Shop always nail my vision!

Crispy cubes, brownies, and mini classic cookies in old apple baskets were crowd pleasers, and something even the most inexperienced baker can handle.

Drinks: For the best Watering Hole in the West, we called in our friends at Wandering Taps. They have the coolest vintage horse trailer they’ve renovated into the cutest mobile bar! We served ranch water and roy rogers in cowboy boot mugs. I dressed up the mugs a little by tying strips of bandana bows on them and adding custom drink stirs by The Disco Edit.

Food: What’s more country than bbq?! My husband really does make the most delicious ribs, but it’s hard to cook and host all at the same time, so I hired a local BBQ truck come and serve Hudson’s favorite brisket, pulled pork, mac & cheese and more.

Guests ate, drank, danced, golfed, boated, and when everyone was completely sugared up, we sent them home with Hudson’s birthday merch, a custom tee I had made with my fav screenprinters Reco Brands.

Hudson may not have wanted a big party, but at the end of the night as we were sitting around the fire pit, he said “mom that was the best party ever”. 🙂