Yee-Haw partner. . .saddle up and ride on down to check out the incredible Fourth Birthday Party put on by the one-women show Julie Cox of A Reason To Get Together! Julie was the brains and beauty behind this entire birthday party. From fruit skewers and s’mores pops to saw-horse horses and a hay-bale corner complete with western photo props, she did it all!

I’m especially obsessed with the clever, budget-friendly centerpieces, which Julie created by placing tall grass (which she cut from across the street) into tin cans tied with rope. Super easy, but this made a HUGE statement! It just goes to show you that GREAT party decor doesn’t always have to be expensive. I’m also loving that there were activities and party favors for the kids AND adults alike! Makes going to a kids birthday party all the more fun when adults can participate too.

Read on for more cowboy corral photos + all the fun party details. . . .

PARTY DETAILS, as told by Julie…

“This past Saturday I threw my son’s fourth birthday party. I made favor tags, drink tags, cupcake toppers, cupcake holders, mini bunting for the cake, and incorporated my son’s silhouette on everything. (I created his silhouette using Picnik.) I also made all the food, cakes, and the stands that held the food for the party including – cupcake stands, stands to put fruit skewers, s’more pops, and rice krispie treats.

THE DECOR

I went across the street and cut bunches of tall grass, put them into recycled cans tied with rope, and used them as centerpieces on the “adult” table. We used drop clothes from Lowe’s as tablecloths. I made paper chains which created the backdrop of the dessert table. I used left over paper from the favor tags, cupcake toppers, cupcake holders, and anything else I could find in the same color scheme.

I made two horses using a saw horse form. One form I picked up from Lowe’s and the other form my next door neighbor just happened to be throwing away, so I was happy to take it off of his hands!

ACTIVITIES

Activities for the kids included cookie decorating, teaching them how to line dance on bubble wrap, and making their own horse puppet using a brown paper bag. For the thirty adults who attended the party, we also had a cookie decorating contest for them!

PARTY FAVORS

For favors, we gave the adults cowboy cookie mix layered in mason jars. We gave the children cowboy hats, bandannas personalized with their names (I made my younger daughter a dress using two of the bandannas too), a pack of crayons (I picked up at the start of the new school year for 10 cents each), and a drink jar recycled from Starbucks frappuccino jars that were also personalized with their initial.

FOOD

For food, we served brunch, which included a sausage grits casserole that came out of a Junior League cookbook, a vegetarian strata for our guests who don’t eat meat, mini corn muffins, fruit on skewers, and peanuts in the shell. Our guests ate out of aluminum pie plates. We also had an array of sweet desserts featured on the dessert table.”