Birthday Parties

Cowboy Birthday Party

This is easier than it looks!  I selected cowboy images on the computer and printed them the size I wanted them on the cake.  Then I placed a piece of wax paper on top of the images and piped chocolate almond bark and Wilton colored candy melts on the wax paper.  I used plastic pastry bags w/no tips.  I just cut tiny holes in the bottom of the pastry bags.  Let the chocolate harden (you can put in the freezer to speed up the process).  These can be made days in advance, so there will be less stress the day of the party!  Intricate details get a little tricky and might break when placing on cake.  Therefore, make several extra pieces to compensate for breakage. 

The 4th birthday Cowboy party was a hit!  The "Rodeo Events" (the party agenda was posted on brown paper w/burned edges and clip art) were:  Cowgirl Lillian's Lariat Lessons, Picture Time, There's a Snake in My Boots, Cowdog Scramble,  Water Pistol Shoot-out, Grub Time, Pinata/Capture the Red-Headed Bandit, and Cowboy Movie.  1.  Cowgirl Lillian's Lariat Lessons:  a real cowgirl showed the kids how to rope while party-goers arrived.  2.  Picture time:  all the kids (and the birthday boy's grandparents) got their pictures on a rocking horse.  3.  There's a Snake in My Boots:  the kiddos threw plastic snakes in cowboy boots for prizes.  4.  Grub Time:  sweet tea, root beer, hot dogs, chili, beans and all the fixins!  5.  Cowdoy Scramble:  Elvis, the border collie, had a bandana tied aroudnd his tail and was let loose.  The kids had to chase him to get the bandana w/the winner getting a prize.  6.  Water Pistol Shoot-out:  as it sounds. The kids had a great time shooting their daddies!  7.  Pinata/Capture the Red-Headed Bandit:  The "Red-Headed Bandit" was captured all the candy in the pinata and only left a note behind to find him.  The kids were first shocked to find an empty pinata, but loved chasing the bandit down.  8.  Cowboy Movie:  we ran out of time and didn't get to this activity, but we were going to have the Lone Ranger playing from a video projector onto a sheet outside at sundown. 

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Zoo Party

For my oldest son Ryan's fifth birthday, we had the party at a local zoo.  He loved animals and at that time wanted to be a zookeeper.  The zoo is very small and has a limited amount of animals, but was still very nice.  The party package only cost $100, which was a bit of a splurge for us at the time, but your oldest son only turns five once!  The party package included a giraffe cake, party room, entrance into the zoo for partygoers, giraffe feeding, and a mini train ride.  It was awesome!

The treat bags were kept simple (and cheap) with a plastic zoo animal, zoo animal mask, crayons, zoo themed coloring pages, and candy.  I only planned a few games so the kids could spend time in the zoo.  It was a very memorable party.  Here are a few of the games :

Pin the Spots on the Giraffe

Blindfolded party goers played the traditional game with a twist.

Animal Charades

After drawing zoo animals written on slips of paper from a hat, kids and daddies had to act out their animal. The daddies stole the show, generating barrels of laughter from the little ones!

  

 

Party Animals

Noise alert!  This activity was crazy.  The children put on their animal masks included in their treat bag and pretended to be "party animals," making the sound of the animal on their masks.  The masks were super cheap, only fifty cents at Micheals!

Cake time!

I almost always make a cake of my kid's choice for their parties, but this cake was included in the party package. 

Giraffe feeding time!

How can we ever top this?  The kids loved feeding the giraffes lettuce leaves.  We were all amazed at how long the giraffe's tongues were! 

Zoo Time!

The zoo is small, but there were plenty of animals to feed and observe. 

Train ride

 Partygoers enjoyed a train ride around the zoo and park.  It was a nice end to the party.