How to Have a Saloon Theme Party

Theme parties are incredibly popular right now, and there's no better way to get in on the action then to throw a saloon theme party. Cowboys, gamblers, prostitutes and travelers all came together in Wild West saloons. As well as being a staple of social life on the frontier, saloons also came to symbolize danger and debauchery. Here's how to recreate the experience for your party guests.

Saloon Theme Party Food and Drinks

The great thing about a saloon theme party is that you can feed your guests for very little money. A pan of baked beans, a tin of beef jerky, and a bowl of peanuts make fun saloon appetizers. You can make shish kebobs and campfire potatoes for the main course. And you'll need plenty of ale, whiskey, and maybe some tequila to keep your guests in good spirits.

Designate a barkeep and assign some of the ladies serving duties for a real saloon atmosphere.

Saloon Theme Party Costumes

The whole point of a theme party is to let people wear fun costumes in public and not feel silly. Saloon theme parties are especially festive because of the variety of costume possibilities. Ladies can go the corset and petticoat route and decorate their hair with peacock feathers. Or they can go Annie Oakley style, ready to shoot anyone who looks at them askance. Cowgirls and ladies of the night should also be welcomed into your saloon.

Men can also choose different saloon themed costumes. Cowboys, oil tycoons, and gunslingers are just a few of the possibilities.

Saloon Theme Party Games

Saloons were known for their riotous card games. Ask your guests to bring pennies to gamble with, or provide chips or fake gold coins to play games like blackjack and Texas hold 'em .

Other saloon theme party games should be fun and slightly dangerous. Attach balloons to a corkboard and let your guests throw darts at them to win prizes. (Put pennies in each of the balloons as you blow them up to keep them stable.) Create a wheel of fortune game in which guests must spin the wheel to receive a punishment or prize.

Saloon Theme Party Favors

Both your prizes and goody bags should keep the salon theme going. Little bags of gold and silver wrapped candy or chocolate coins make great prizes that evoke images of the gold rush. Pyrite (fool's gold) and tiger eye are beautiful rocks that could be given out as "gold nuggets."

You can also make goody bags to give to your guests at the beginning of your saloon theme party to get them into the spirit of things (and help people who weren't enthusiastic about wearing costumes). These can include feather masks and boas for the ladies and toy guns and bandannas for the men.