invitation

decoration

games

return gifts

cake

b'day dress

age group

party food

THE INVITATION:

You can use some soft handmade paper, which can be rolled into a scroll. Take a candle and hold it gently towards the edges of the paper to give a burnt effect. Stick candyfloss sticks at the bottom and the top and roll in both the edges and tie it with a cord. You can stick a tag to the end of the cord and write the invitees name on it. Inside you can write the cowboy party poem.
 
As another option that can be written inside the scroll: 
WANTED
You to attend my eight-birthday bash
To be held on 21st March 2001 
Between 4 - 7 p.m. 
At my ranch.

Ranch Address: Sweet Home,
12th road, Khar,
Mumbai 400 052

Dress Code: cowboy gear
Sheriff Rishi Ahuja

DECORATIONS:

The party hall should look like a ranch. You can throw a few haystacks all over the place and have thermocol or cardboard cut outs of horses and cowboys stuck on the wall. At the entrance put up a sign that reads WELCOME TO RISHI'S RANCH. You can give out lassos at the entrance, which the children can play with at the party. You should also have WANTED posters with scary looking goons stuck on the walls.
If your budget and the place permit, you can actually hire a pony or two with its attendant, and let all the children have a turn on it. 

ENTERTAINMENT:

1. As mentioned under decorations, A LIVE PONY would be a great idea. But besides this you need some other games to keep the children occupied. 
2. Once again you can use the LASSOS, which you have for decorations, and make up a game with it. For instance, you can keep a wrapped parcel at a distance, and draw a line a few meters away. Have all the children stand behind this line and try to hook the parcel with their individual lassos. The child who is able to do this wins the prize/parcel.
3. Play MUSICAL CHAIRS with cutouts of horse heads stuck to the back of each chair. 
4. Have a SHOOTING GALLERY with balloons for the children to aim at.
5. Prize for the BEST-DRESSED COWBOY.

RETURN GIFTS:

1. Cowboy hats
2. Hand embroidered scarves with each child's name on it. 
3. Water pistols
4. Sheriff's caps and lassos.

THE CAKE:

Here again there are many things that you could do. You could order a cake in the shape of a cowboy hat, a sheriff's cap or even an entire cowboy. Or else you could try to be really different and have the cake in the shape of a gun. 
Another good idea would be to use any of the famous cartoon characters, like Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck dressed up like a cowboy. That would be quite unusual. But whatever you do, have a chocolate base, as it is a universal favourite. 

THE BIRTHDAY DRESS:

Quite obviously you need to dress your child up like a typical cowboy or better still, a sheriff. Make him wear his oldest jeans along with a checked shirt and a jacket to match. You can have some official looking badges and stars stuck to the jacket (for a sheriff). He should also have a scarf, a pair of boots and a cowboy hat or a sheriff's cap. 

AGE GROUP:

This theme would be ideal for children in the age group of 5 - 13 years. 

PARTY FOOD:

Remember you have a horde of hungry cowboys to feed, so the food should be quite substantial. Dainty snacks just won't do. Something big for the strong little ones to hold onto and bite into to satisfy their growing appetites would be great. So I recommend:
1. Big hamburgers. You could also order a few Big Macs. 
2. Double Decker meaty sandwiches. The veggies can go in for thick slices of cheese along with chutney, slices of beetroot, potato, tomato and cucumber.
3. French fries will do better than wafers.
4. Batata wadas (potato balls) or samosas. You can serve this between thick loaves of bread. 
5. Chola Batura (chickpeas and Indian bread)
6. Hot Dogs or Paneer rolls.