Wild, Wild West Mitzvah

If you're dreaming of a life riding horses or just love a fun party theme, then consider a Country Western theme for your Bar or Bat Mitzvah! This is a party you can throw anywhere from a formal event center to a barn. (We love a party at a barn! It's so much more fun than a traditional party space.) Your location will set the tone for how formal your Western party decorations will be, so pick your place and go from there! No matter what, it's sure to be a foot stompin' good time!

Country Western Invitations
Along with your formal Bar or Bat Mitzvah invitation, you want to include a fun party invitation. You can mail it with your formal invitation (in the same envelope) or mail it separately shortly after you mail your formal invitation.

A Western theme invitation is a perfect choice for your party. There are a variety of styles to choose from - from cowboy boots to invitations to a square dance! Want to take it a step further? Use a padded envelope or a box and mail your invitation with a plastic sheriff badge inside!

A caricature invitation is also another great choice. Have your child drawn riding a horse and dressed in full Western gear. Let everyone know to wear their, "cowboy best" to the party. There is also a great semi-custom caricature invitation that is great for a Bar Mitzvah of a boy riding a bull at a Rodeo! Ye-haw!

We planned a Western theme Bat Mitzvah and hand made "Wanted" poster invitations. Each one had a small square of mirror (glossy mirror paper) in the center so it looked like the person who was invited to the party was wanted. They were a big hit!

Country Western Decorations and Party Supplies
Start with a great lifesize cowgirl or cowboy cutout of the Bar or Bat Mitzvah celebrant. Add a speech bubble saying, "Howdy!" and welcoming everyone to the party. If you're sending the kids and adults to different places for the cocktail hour, the speech bubble is a fun and useful way to let everyone know which way to go when they arrive.

On the walls, hang Western wanted posters. You can even print your child's face or your guests faces in a tone to match the posters and add them to the sign. Speaking of wanted posters, a great activity would be to hire a caricature artist to create small wanted posters. During the party he can draw your guests faces into the posters. Hang them in one spot at the party and have an extra large "WANTED" sign hanging over the top of the posters. Everyone will love looking at them. After the party, you can copy the posters for yourself and then send the originals to your guests with a thank you note.

Now, it wouldn't be a Western party without bales of hay and straw. Get a bunch of them and scatter them all around the entry of the party. If you're having your party at a barn, check with the owners. They might have bales of hay and straw that you can borrow for the party. These can be used for extra seating outside or in the cocktail area.

Then decorate the area with Western horse balloons and matching latex balloons. Get the balloons yourself or hire a balloon company to get balloons in your event colors and create great balloon bouquets and arches to use in the entrance, cocktail area and throughout the party.

seating cards and sign in

Depending on how casual your Western Bar or Bat Mitzvah is, you may or may not want to have assigned seating. If you do, however, there are great options for seating cards! Choose a Western theme seating card and attach a sherriff's badge to each card.

For your sign in area, use a Western theme sign-in board or if you used a caricature for your invitation, include that artwork on the sign in board.

ballroom

At the entrance to the party, have your guests enter under a large cutout horseshoe. Or create a display made to look like a Western ranch with hay, fences and (potted) tall grasses. Set the mood even more by asking your DJ to play Western music in this area.

Have a personalized Western theme banner behind the DJ that says, "(Child's Name) Wild, Wild, West! Welcome Cowboys and Cowgirls!" and make sure there's terrific lighting on it. Have balloon towers on either side of the stage in your event colors.

Around the room, scatter more bales of hay and an inflatable cactus or 12! Better yet, have your balloon company create giant cacti out of balloons. These displays can be placed on the entrance to the room and on either side of the dance floor.

If your party is being held at a barn, check out what decorations they might already have on site. Old wagon wheels are great decorations, as is horse riding equipment. See what you can borrow for the evening.

Country Western Theme Table Decorations
Start your table decorations with great linens! Choose browns or barn reds. Or talk to your rental company or event facility for fun themed linens like burlap or patterned linens like ones that look like cow print, a red bandana pattern or that are covered in pictures of cowboy boots. Try real red bandanas (or choose colors to match your party) as napkins!

Even with a "casual" theme like a Western, you can still have beautiful centerpieces. We threw a Western theme Bat Mitzvah with floral centerpieces. They were sunflowers surrounded by a wire like stick in a vase that looked like a cowboy boot. (This picture also shows a sample of the cow print theme linen)

Choose a centerpiece that's a bit more casual for the kids. A cowboy boot piñata is simple and fun as a centerpiece. Either of these options looks great with western theme balloons coming off of the top.

Western Party Favors
Along with an assortment of the usual Bar and Bat Mitzvah dance floor giveaways like glow products, inflatables, noisemakers and sunglasses, be sure to have plenty of fun country Western theme party favors on hand for your guests, like:

Western vests (you should also have the wait staff wearing these!)
Cowboy hats (in a variety or colors and sizes)
Western theme candy bar wrappers and Western lollipops!

And, of course, Party411 can help with t-shirts, boxer shorts or any other favor you can think of for your Western party! Send us an e-mail for more information on personalized party favors.

Ride 'em Cowbow! Have fun and Mazel Tov from the Party Girl and the Party-ettes!