Cowgirl Party, Saddle Up!
Whether you are throwing a horse party or cowgirl party, I hope you find inspiration in the party pictures below. This party was extra special to plan (it was for my little girl!) and the theme and color was entirely chosen by her! “Purple Cowgirl” were the instructions I received and here’s what I came up with. Hope you like it!
The invitations I made using Adobe Photoshop and printed on a home computer onto linen cardstock. Below the invite is an image of little girls’ boots. I had them slip them off to grab this photo.
On the porch by the front door, I placed a hay bale with the cowgirl sign, an old horseshoe, and a pair of boots she had outgrown. Even though our color was purple – I pulled these items from her bedroom to use as decor (sometimes you have to bend the rules!).
What would a Cowgirl Party be without the horses? I got the idea to give stick ponies as favors from the fabulous party Erin Volante threw for her adorable daughter (thanks Erin!). The ponies were in their “Pony Corral” and each child was able to take one home after the party so they could continue the fun at their own ranch. I got them from the nearby dollar store.
I just loved the purple unicorn!
And here is a close up of our little Cowgirl.
I also got this idea to make a Wanted poster from Erin — and I LOVE how it turned out.
For dessert, our cowgirl requested cupcakes and sherbet ice cream. The purple gingham cupcake liners are from The Cupcake Social. And the sunflower toppers are made out of scrapbook stickers and wooden party picks.
Hostess Tip: The night before the party, pre-scoop ice cream and place in paper cups. Fill a couple of trays and place in the freezer. Then when it comes cake and ice cream, you can easily pass them out and ditch manning the ice cream scoop.
Other elements used:
-Paper pennant flags hung outside on the garden gate (we also placed horseshoes along the dirt path).
-Wooden cutlery were placed in mason jars.
-Striped treat bags were filled with carmel corn and placed in an old wooden planter for guests to grab.
The childrens’ table was lined with bales of straw that doubled as benches.
Each guest got their own cowgirl/boy hat and sheriff’s badge.
Activities included pin-the-tail on the pony, coloring paper horses and putting on horse tattoos.
And then there was D.J. the horse. He was the biggest hit of the party, especially with the birthday girl!
Our little cowgirl is 4!
For food – we served up lunch… ranch-style! The menu included Mustang Mac-n-Cheese, Wild West Chicken Strips, Tumbleweed Salad, Bootstrap Biscuits, Smoky Bacon Potato Salad and Applesauce. Of course all was washed down with some ice cold lemonade! Thank you to Amy from Blowout Party for the menu inspiration – it was a hit!
As the afternoon came to an end, the little ones left with their stick ponies, hats and badges and the parents were sent off with these infamous Cowgirl Cookie Jars (recipe and DIY instructions from Bakerella!).
It was a perfect cowgirl party … thoughtful and simple. Hope you like it!
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Yes, I did like it! So many fun details, I love the look of glee on her face as she rides DJ; good job mama!
Oh my gosh I love it! I love the purple theme too! And the “Wanted” Sign HAS to be my fave :) And the ponies on a stick – such a cute favor idea!
You did an amazing job & I was anxiously awaiting your photos.
THANK you all!! The best part was how SUPER excited my little one was — she loved every details which made it SO fun!
amazing job momma… wondering how you are going to top her 5th! haha
This party is amazing! Love all the personal touches.
Tori, this is just gorgeous!!!! Love it ALL!!! x
I just adore all of the details! You did a smash up job and I am sooo in awe of it all! I know my 3.5 yr old would have been in heaven so I imagine all the guests we thrilled!! I am super partial to stick horses, so they have to be my favorite!! And the stick unicorn, adorable!!
Love it! Reminds me of my son’s cowboy party this summer…..but a much prettier, girly take on it. :)
What a great party!!! The wanted poster is adorable!!!
This is amazing! Love the all use of hay bales! and your daughter is adorable!
Adorable! Love the stick horses! Dollar Store rules!
Love this! You did an amazing job. I love all the details.
OH MY GOODNESS! I saw a bunch of traffic coming from your blog and popped over here, only to see all this CUTENESS! What an amazing job you did, and beautiful images too. I feel so amazed that our little party has inspired others, that’s the best part of this whole creative-mama gig. :) Thanks so much!
Thank you all for the sweet comments!!
Erin – thank YOU for the eye candy inspiration :).
LOVE that this is purple and not pink! Purple is my FAVORITE!
This is just too cute! Luv the pony sticks as favors :)
Pony corral and wanted posters?! What fun! And a purple blanket for the horse… you always hit every detail perfectly!
Yet another fabulous party theme…might have to use this idea for my daughter’s birthday :)
Oh this reminds me of parties when mine were younger, it looks like they had a ball of a time – well done you! The Cowgirl Cookie Jars are way too cute :)
I loved this party! My daughter just told me she wants a cowgirl theme this year and I am def. taking some ideas ;) My daughter is older (will be 9) but I think it is still not too young for her (i hope cuz I am so in love with this idea). Can you tell me where you got the straw hats from? Thanks for posting!
LOVE this party! My 5yr old is obsessed with anything that has to do with horses. I was wondering, do you have a shop where people that don’t have adobe can purchase some of your party supplies?
Shanna, the straw hats are from Oriental Trading Co. – Here is the link!
Stacey – I am sorry, I do not have a shop to sell anything.
My daughter is obsessed with the color purple and her cowboy boots as well. I will be definitely using some of your great ideas for her upcoming party!
Thanks Tori- I found the hats from oriental and already have them at home! I really like the invitation because it is super cute but how do you make an invite with a picture on it? what size did you make yours? I have some great pics of my daughter and I want to roughly do the same (i am so UNoriginal) for her bday invites. If you have tips I will sure take them ;) thanks
Hi Shanna,
Do you have a program on your computer that you can use? I used Adobe Photoshop, but I bet you could even use something like Microsoft Word. Just insert the image and then add the text you want. You can download fun western fonts to use. For fonts, I recommend dafont.com. I made these invites 7X5.
If you are not up for it yourself, I recommend searching Etsy for designers who can help you out. Often, they’ll design and then send you a printable file. You can email me if you need any more help or tips (I’ll do my best!). hostess@thoughtfullysimple.com
Hi Tori,
Can you tell me where you got the cowgirl sign you used at the front door. Love it!
Tori
Can you please tell me where or how you made the wanted sign. I am having a horse party for my 3 year old daughter and I actually made all the stick horses (she has named them all will be interesting day of party when kids leave with them)because the dollar store no longer sells them. I loved the way you decorated your whole party what a awesome job.
Tam
@Kelley – I got the Cowgirl sign about a year ago at a store called Ross.
@Tammy – I created the poster using this free service http://www.picnik.com/. It was pretty easy! Good luck on your party!
Wow this is like the coolest cowgirl birthday party! My niece would love this, you did an awesome job!
Where did you buy all the cowboy hats on tables?
Hi Michelle, I ordered the cowboy hats from Oriental Trading Company: http://www.orientaltrading.com/
I love this idea!!! Where did you get the stick horses?
@Tiana – the stick ponies were a killer find at my local Dollar Store! You might be able to check ebay or Amazon?
LOVE LOVED your party! Our little girl is turning 5 in November and she requested a “barn party”! She has her own pony at her Nana’s house and they have a tiny barn that I’m hoping I can do something with! I really loved your poster idea!! I would love to do this for her!! I also loved that you didn’t spend much for party favors(which I am having difficulty trying to do, but I’m gonna use some of your ideas!) I was wondering what kind of plates did you use?! And what about that wooden cutlery?!?! I love it!!!!
Hi Jessica,
So happy to hear that you are finding some inspiration for your little girl’s party!! I just used purple paper plates and the wooden cutlery was purchased here: https://fortandfield.3dcartstores.com/24-pieces-disposable-wooden-cutlery–knives-forks-and-spoons_p_116.html –hope that helps!
Thank you very much! I love the picnick website!! It was fun to make-up a poster! Did you print from them? How big was your poster? It looks huge! Thanks for all your wonderful info!!
Nicely done! You must have spent a lot of time and effort preparing this and she looks so cute and adorable in her cowgirl outfit. A perfect fit. :)
Love this so much! Did you make that “pin the tail on the pony” yourself or did you purchase it somewhere?
Thanks Christina! I did make it — I just used felt pieces from the local craft store and cut out the pony and the tails. Then I hot glued little bows to the tails and Velcro dots to the back of the tails (so they attached to the felt on the pony). Hope that helps!
Really great ideas! Love the purple theme! Where did you get the little horses for the cupcakes?
Hi Sarah, I can’t remember exactly but I know crafts stores (like Michael’s or Joann’s) have little animal figurines that would work perfectly. In fact, I most likely got them at one of those stores.
Love it..Love it..Love it!!
My daughter will be turning 10 and she’s starting to love horses so I will be having an awesome western party due to your great ideas, thank you so much for sharing!
GREAT JOB MOMMY!!
I sent you an email with some questions.
Awesome party and I will be borrowing lots of ideas from it. The stick ponies were recalled from Dollar Tree. Has anyone found them anywhere else?
Tori, did you encounter any problems printing the wanted poster in a large poster size after creating it in piknic? If so, do you have any tips on how to print large posters. I am getting low resolution messages. I am using a canon rebel. Thanks
Hi LeAnn, I did not having any trouble printing the photo. I would just make sure you keep it in the highest resolution format possible to ensure it comes out clearly. Hope that helps a bit!
Anyone been able to find stick ponies since dolar general has discontinued?
@Melissa I did a quick search on ebay and found some: http://compare.ebay.com/like/251014886225?_lwgsi=y<yp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar
I love the invitation you created. Can I get an e-mail copy of the invitation so I can change a few things to work for us?
Hi! I wanted to find out how you made your tags for the cowgirl cookies. I am doing a variation for Christmas and wanted to make red and green tags, but the only printables that say ‘cowgirl cookies’ are pink!!