I always have trouble finding a catchy name for my events, and this was no exception.  A ”Rustic Western Cowboy 1st Birthday Party (for twin boys)” is refined and proper, but “Wyatt & Weston’s Wild West 1st Birthday Party” just sounds so much more exciting.  And this party really was exciting.  My friend, Laina, and I had been planning, scheming and Pinning for months!  And it all paid off because I LOVE how this western 1st birthday party turned out for her sweet twin boys.

We did everything ourselves–everything from invite, to the printables (click here to download the printables for free), to decor, to food (except the boot cakes, which my friend, Karen, made).  I live in an area with lots of cowboy history so I thought I’d easily be able to find western stuff to borrow. But two days before the party, I still had nothing. So I decided to go yard saling and ended up scoring some really great items, my favorite of which was a mini red lantern.  Second runner-up was a set of framed black & white photos of cowboy stills.  They were perfect!

Invitation: 
{UPDATE} The invites were printed on construction paper, not paper bags as originally posted.

Laina designed the invite in Word, printed it out on brown construction paper, and burned the edges to  make it look old and weathered.  It arrived folded up and wrapped in twine and just oh-so-cute (wish I would have got a picture of that).

 

 

 

Decor:

We wanted this party to be very rustic–none of that cutesy stuff for our tough little cowboys. So we tried to make and use decor that kept with our old, rugged, rustic vision. With the exception of some pretty flowers (we are girls, after all, and just couldn’t resist) and the Toy Story characters which were Dad’s contribution (how can you refuse such sweet thoughtfulness?).  Our crowning glory, however, was the rope branding backdrop we made.  I really liked an idea I’d seen of a name written in rope, but decided to mix it up a bit and create an actual brand (like cattle would have) with the boys’ initials instead.  We found a really great piece of old, weathered rope to use for the backdrop; then we also made a bunch of mini brands from jute for extra little touches here and there.

 

Chow Time:

We served a cowboy dinner of Campfire Chili with all the fixin’s, Mac N’ Cheese, Cowboy Caviar & Chips, Appalachian Applesauce, Cornbread Nuggets, and Lil’ Doggies for the youngin’s.  For dessert we served Mini Blackberry Cobblers, Haystacks, and Cherry Pie Pops.  Guests could wet their whistle at the Watering Hole with bottled Root Beer, water or a tea punch thing gone terribly wrong (yah, it tasted awful). We ate off pie tin plates with plasticware wrapped in bandana napkins.

 

Favors:

Each little guest received a Cowboy hat with their Cowboy name, as well as a bandana, sheriff’s badge, Cow Tail candy, and glow sticks (for when it got dark).

 

Entertainment:

Along with all the fun toys in the yard, Laina made a Western town out of huge old cardboard boxes.  Neither she nor I have a stitch of artistic ability,  so (I made her make the town because I was too much of a chicken, and) we were quite happy with how the town turned out. Despite our severely lacking skills.

 

Smash Cake(s):

Laina came up with the idea for a pair of boots smash cakes; I wanted them to stand upright.  And we also didn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on cake that was going to be smashed.  So I called up my friend, Karen, who likes to dabble in cake decorating.  She accepted the challenge and came up with an AMAZING cake–probably the most amazing cake I’ve ever seen.  Move over, Cake Boss; here comes Karen! Sidenote: Bandanas make great bibs!

Yeehaw Wyatt diggin in!

Wild, Wild Weston just couldn’t get enough of his cake

 

The Guests:

Guests were encouraged to come in their finest cowboy get-up, and they made sure not to disappoint.  Laina’s dad found a spectacular cowboy shirt at Goodwill, which he wore quite proudly all evening (and if there had been a contest, I’d definitely vote him best dressed).

Of course I could resist posting a shot of my little cowboy–I made those felt “boots” (which everyone thought were chaps…oh well!) and for weeks after he asked to wear them.

 

And that’s the rough and rugged, wild west 1st birthday party I threw for my friend’s sweet twin boys.  Happy birthday, Wyatt & Weston!  Can’t wait for next year’s party!

 

Vendors:

Photography: Emily Magers Photography

 

Similar Posts

Sweet & Shabby Cowgirl Birthday Party

Vintage Toy 1st Birthday Party

Berry Sweet Strawberry Birthday Party