I started planning my 40th birthday about two years in advance. It was actually after my 38th birthday (which turned out to be a delightful evening reuniting with California friends on my patio after Covid the summer of 2020) that I decided I wanted to go big for my 40th. I love high-energy nights and being surrounded by all my friends, so I decided my next milestone birthday would be a great time to throw a bash.
When we moved back to Arizona a few months later, I began envisioning this party taking place in our new, large backyard. It was the perfect space to gather with 100 friends. I pictured eating hand-dipped corndogs (one of my favorite foods) and quickly envisioned a western-themed party that felt like a big country fair.
In May, Micah called up the only known corn dog truck in town and sadly learned that they were booked on the Saturday of my party. Thankfully, I scoured the internet and found a new corn dog truck company called Mr. Munchies, and the owner promised me that his dogs are the best. (Turns out, he was right!). I put in a deposit on corn dogs for 100-120 guests and made the theme and date official!
I emailed all my best friends and invited them to fly in for my party weekend (the downside to living in lots of places and being far away from so many close friends). I also asked my friend and neighbor Casie, who used to teach country dance lessons, to volunteer as a dance instructor at my party. She would teach two-stepping and a few line dances. Two of my friends Rachael and Janet are awesome party planners and helped me think through the setup of my yard. I ordered a little red dress and knee-high white cowboy boots for the party. (The boots are insanely comfortable, and I highly recommend them.)
When the weekend arrived, the goal was simply to have FUN! With four kids and a job and lots of responsibility, it’s rare in adult life to simply have a blast, so that’s how I wanted my party to feel. On Friday morning, I got my hair done and then began picking up my sister and friends from the airport.
The one hiccup to the weekend was the possible chance of rain (in my beloved desert where I live to avoid rain at all costs). I had my mother-in-law and one of my best friends praying for no rain on the day of my party. The night before it drizzled a little as we walked down to Casie’s house to practice our line dancing. But on Saturday, we woke up to clear skies and a clear forecast. It was a little humid out but nothing that would stop our epic dance party.
On Saturday morning, vendors delivered two bounce houses, a mechanical bull, and an old-fashioned popcorn machine. We were also supposed to have tables and chairs delivered, but the week before my party, the company’s rental tables got destroyed in a fire, so they gave us an extra bounce house free of charge. It turned out to be a huge blessing because there were probably 50 or more kids at the party and having two jumping contraptions gave them more space to spread out and play. Our church was kind to let us borrow round tables for the event. We decorated with classic red and white checkered tablecloths and little lanterns for centerpieces. We filled my neighbor’s wheelbarrow with ice and used it as a cooler for bottled and canned drinks. Gracia, my mother-in-law’s best friend, made the most adorable cowboy-themed cookies for the party and carefully transported them by plane all the way from Washington State.
Around 4:30 pm the corn dog truck pulled into our backyard and began whipping up the batter. The photographer arrived around 5:00 to start taking pictures and the DJ arrived to set up his equipment. The party was set to begin on our driveway. My best friends from college created an amazing backdrop for photos on our garage door, and we put out corn hole and a roping station and brought out our goat for petting, so could people could linger before the celebration began. Micah wanted the party to have a big official start (like at Young Life camp) instead of just letting people slowly trickle into the backyard. We came up with a plan that I would hide before the start of the party and come blazing in on Micah’s ATV. He decked the ATV with balloons, and I hid at the apartments down the street as people showed up. When I was given the signal, I sped into the party right as the gate to our backyard rolled open. It was over the top, but super fun and it did make the party start with a lot of energy. The sun was just starting to go down, the corn dogs were cooking, the popcorn was popping, and the bounce houses were ready for jumping. Our amazing DJ started the party with “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” straight into “Ain’t Going Down til the Sun Comes Up,” “Gone Country” and “Here for Good Time.” If you like 90s country, the party playlist was a dream come true.
We gave people about an hour to eat and play and talk and then we started the formal country dancing around 7 pm. I told my guests all I wanted was for them to dress up in country-western clothes (they did!) and dance their butts off all night (they absolutely did!). Casie taught everyone the Copperhead Road line dance since it’s super easy, and then we did other classics like Cupid Shuffle and The Wobble. Then we learned the Virginia Reel barn dance and so many people (adults and kids!) joined in that we had to move tables to fit everyone. The sweetest thing the whole night is that a bunch of my friends’ daughters followed me around like I was a country princess, and they danced with the adult ladies all night long. It was probably the last time we old folk will be considered “cool” by anyone younger than us.
Next, we moved to the dessert and “dancing through decades” portion of the night. Our corn dog guy switched up his fryers to make mini-donuts (they were out-of-this-world good) and the DJ announced that we would dance through every decade that I have been alive (from the 80s to today). I spent so much time crafting an amazing decades playlist, and I told my DJ that my goal was to have people dancing the WHOLE time. My DJ was a bit skeptical. He replied gently with, “Well, people like to sit down and take breaks sometimes and that’s okay…” But then he started the playlist and a group of 10-15 of us literally danced through every single song from Michael Jackson to Mariah Carey to Usher to Taylor Swift to Dua Lipa. It was so hot and sweaty and absolutely amazing. We ended the dance-off with a group sing-a-long to “Friends in Low Places.” At the end of the night, I asked my DJ how we did, and he said, “Y’all went harder than some 20-year-olds.” Mission accomplished!
Being the responsible adults that we are, we had the DJ turn off the music around 10 pm and a bunch of us sat around the yard chatting and munching on leftover donuts. Even our DJ and corn dog guy hung out with us for a while, stating that we were the most fun 40-year-olds they had met. Finally, a few of us jumped in the pool with our clothes on to cool down from the best night ever.
The next night my sisters and my all my best friends came over for a homecooked dinner, and we shared memories and laughed and ate cake. At the end of our dinner, it poured down rain like crazy, and I was so thankful God sandwiched my party on a dry night right between two rainy evenings.
I had so much fun at my party, but the best part was knowing that all my friends and their children had such a great time too. My neighbors told me it was better than any wedding they’d attended, and some of my friends’ children sent me video messages the next day to tell me about their favorite part of the party. One of my friend’s daughters saw me at school drop-off the next week and whispered, “Look, mom! It’s the lady that had the cowboy party!” If I am going to be famous for anything in my 40s, I don’t mind if it’s for throwing epic western parties and having the most joyful night with my friends and family.
You can see a video of my party here and here.
Pheonix DJ: DJ Sands
Photographer: Pure Joy Photography
Corndogs and Donuts: Mr. Munchies
Party planning: The Petite Party Co.
Cowboy Boots
Music playlist
