First off, most of the ideas for this party were found on other blogs. I'll do my best to give you some links for some beautiful ideas and pictures.
The Kid's tables
- S'mores on a stick and Rice Krispies on a stick were placed in $2 Target tins. I wrapped the tins with burlap and a little yarn. I used Styrofoam to hold the sticks and covered it up with roasted peanuts still in their shell.
- The same burlap used on the tins was also used as place mats.
- Instead of plates I used pie tins. If you wash the pie tins a few times in the dishwasher they start to get a nice patina.
- I found some fabric in my stash to tear into napkins. I folded the napkin, stuck a fork in it, and wrapped it with red rafia. This was placed above a blue bandanna along with a Sheriff's badge from Oriental Trading Company.
- Wrapped in red tissue paper and tied off with a tag that read "Saddle Up Partner" were bubbles for big kids and mini playdoh for the little kids.
- The tablecloth is a drop cloth from Home Depot.
The red barn siding is from Oriental Trading Company. I wrapped it around my patio which helped to keep the eating area contained.
I did rent a few chairs. They were only $1 each so I couldn't resist. One side of the table sat on chairs and the other side of the table sat on hay.
The Food Table
- In the center of all the food was the cupcake tower. I made a mini cake for my daughter to top off the tower.
- I used pictures from her photo shoot on the table.
- Kids Menu: Lil' Smokies, Mac N Cheese, strawberries, watermelon, and all the sweets they could muster.
- Adult Menu: Basic Beef Dip and Italian Beef Dip, Potato Salad, watermelon, strawberries, chips, deviled eggs, and a green salad that I forgot to put out on the table. :)
- Sweets: S'mores on a stick, Rice Krispies on a stick, we attempted Mini Caramel Apples on a stick, chocolate chip cookies, cowboy hats, and the cupcakes.
- Cowboy hats (edible) are just below the cupcakes. They are Pringles dipped in chocolate with a rolo on top.
I'm not a baker and I saw the cutest fondant covered cake. I was inspired by this cupcake stand and I tried to do a mock version of this cake by covering boxes with fabric and covering it with cupcakes. I used my Cricut to create the toppers. What I love about this tower is that once the cupcakes are gone I still have cute fabric on the table instead of an empty hole. I saved my boxes for future parties. You also don't have to cut cake! I plan to use the fabric to make my daughter an apron.
The guests received cowboy hats on their way into the party. We also had mustaches for the boys or anyone that wished to wear one. Some of the dads had fun. At their seats they had a bandanna and a badge.
And the big surprise of the party....we rented 2 ponies!
Our birthday girl
You might be able to see the hay we set up (behind my daughter) for a photo booth type area as seen here.
While the pony rides were going on I had a few activities planned to keep the kids occupied while waiting in line. We played "Snake in my Boot", decorated cookies, I had coloring pages and crayons ready, and a "Pin the Badge on the Sheriff" game.
My daughter's cake. See, I'm not a baker/cake decorator by any means.
"Pin the Badge on the Sheriff" created with the "Paper Dolls" cartridge for the Cricut.
Apparently you could see through our blind fold! Haha!
I loved the cookie decorating and so did the kids. My friend baked sugar cookies in the shapes of boots and longhorns. The child picked out which shape they wanted, an adult iced it for them, and they got to pick out their decorating toppings. I had small containers to put their toppings in so they could decorate at their seats. This also meant that I didn't have to buy multiple sets of toppings. I would totally do this activity again.
That was a pretty big party for me to pull off. I couldn't have done it without some really great help from 4 wonderful ladies (and their hubbies!). Her next few birthdays will be a little more low key. Today she told me that she would like a Barbie party for her 6th birthday. I think we can do something simple for that.
