Before you begin planning the party itself there are a few details that should be taken care of first.
Choose a date.
Find a place big enough to hold all of the people who will be invited.
Put together a guest list with names and addresses.
Pick your theme.
Send out the invitations.
Order food if you are not doing it yourself - don’t forget a cake.
Buy and or make your decorations and party supplies.
You can talk to the expectant mother and ask her for a guest list. If it is to be a surprise shower, talk to her mom for a list of friends and relatives who should be invited. Don’t forget to get full names and addresses.
You can cut out cowboy hats from brown, black or white cardstock and decorate with a thin strip of patterned paper as a band. Add a small feather attached to the hat and held in place by the band. Write the shower information on the other side, stick it in an envelope and mail.
If the shower will be held outdoors get a few bales of hay and place them around the area. They can be used as additional seating inside if the house is yours, the bales of hay could be used in the basement. Make wash cloth “lollipops” using bandanas in place of wash cloths, to use as table decorations and give to the guests as favors as they are leaving.
Ask guests to dress in western gear, jeans, fancy shirts, boots, etc. Serve “chuck wagon” grub like hot dogs and chili. Serve root beer in glass or plastic “beer mugs”. Cover the table with read and white checked table cloths. Corn bread would be a good addition to the menu.
Have the cake decorated to look like a rodeo ring, complete with cowboys, steers, horses, barrels and the rodeo clown. Use lassos or coiled rope as decorations.
Make a diaper cake decorated with small plastic western items, horses, cowboys, etc. and use it as a centerpiece. Of course you will have country and western music playing in the background.
Why not play a cowboy trivia game with questions such as:
What are a cowboy’s guns called? (six-shooters)
The building where cowboys sleep on a ranch is called what? (bunk house)
When cowboys are on a cattle drive, what is the vehicle where their food is prepared called? (chuck wagon)
What do cowboys call their food? (grub)
What is the mark that cowboys put on their cattle called? (a brand)
You can go on line and get much more cowboy lore and trivia you can use for your game.
If you can find or borrow a wooden barrel, use it for a place to put the gifts. Decorate the shower area with pictures of cowboys, horses, cattle, country scenes, etc. Hang a child’s cowboy holster above the area where mom will sit to open the presents. Fill the holster with baby sock roses or wash cloth lollipops.
You can get the directions for the lollipops, cake and roses on line. The roses and lollipops can be done in a matter of minutes, while the diaper cake will take a bit longer.\
A western shower is probably the most “daddy” friendly theme and so is perfect for a couples shower. The men will be more comfortable in the “rough and tumble” cowboy atmosphere. Don’t be surprised if one of the guys wins the cowboy trivia game.
Very few baby showers are co-ed, but your western theme baby shower may just set a new trend among your circle of friends to include the “daddy” in the shower planning. Hey they can help with heavy lifting and moving things around.
If you don’t know the sex of the baby, you may want to include some cowgirl decorations like a pink hat or a child’s cowgirl outfit hung on the wall as a decoration. Since the parents are into rodeo, why not put together a rodeo trivia game? It will be a lot of fun. Ask questions such as:
Name two rodeo events. (bull riding, barrel racing, etc.)
What is the stall where the bull is held while waiting to enter the ring called? (chute)
Again, look for more trivia on line or ask the couple for help. If the parents to be have won any awards for their rodeo riding, ask them if you can display them at the shower with little cards telling what events they were for.
Your guests will love the unique idea of a western themed shower and the parents will appreciate your kindness in basing the shower on an activity that they both enjoy. Their friends and family will be talking about this western theme baby shower for a long time.
