A Rustic Cowgirl Pony Party

Rustic garden gate

For my daughter Riley's third birthday party, she wanted to pick out the theme.  Her first idea was...a balls party.  Yes, balls.  She loves balls.  So, I began planning a balls party.  I was thinking a cake with circles (balls), cake pop snacks (balls), round melon pieces on sticks (balls), bubbles for the kids (balls), and lots more balls all around.  Eventually, she changed her mind, to something even better-- a cowgirl pony party.

Jozie, Wayne, and Riley in front of some of Terry's fine rustic finds.

Now this was something I could get excited about.  Lots of pink, lots of farmhouse vintage stuff, and a little bit of hay.  I even enlisted Terry to get some items from his junkyard of stuff to help decorate for the party and give an even more rustic feel.  The food was simple, hot dogs, beans, and chili.  Perfect for little cowgirls and cowboys.  For drinks, we went with glass bottles of old fashioned root beer and pink Jarritos.       

Vintage enameled double wash basin - also a cooler

In the backyard of my mother's house, we set up about three large rectangular tables with brown paper (crab feast paper for those from the Baltimore area) and tin stars hanging from the trees all around.

Tin stars from reclaimed metal barn roofing -
handmade by an Amish man in Lancaster, PA

As the children entered the party, they were cowboyed up (or cowgirled up).  Kids were dressed in bandanas, cowboy hats, and sheriff badges to get them ready for the afternoon. 

We used this galvanized crate for bandanas and the wooden crate for badges.

Riley's favorite drink ever since her party - Root Beer

Of course, the big hit of the party was the friendly pony Fiona, that the kids got to ride for about an hour during the party.  Fiona was sweet and gentle, and Riley even got to feed her a few carrots.  I'm just glad I didn't have to put together a giant ball pit or something! 

The cowgirl gets to blow her candles out

-Stef