Cinco de Mayo Party Ideas

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Cinco de Mayo History

In Mexico, Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) is primarily a regional holiday celebrated in the state of Puebla. It has major significance in that part of the country because it commemorates an initial victory of Mexican forces led by General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín over French forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 6, 1862.

There is a common misconception that
Cinco de Mayo is Mexico's Independence Day when in fact September 16th is the
most important national patriotic holiday
in Mexico. In the early hours of
September 16, 1810, father Hidalgo, accompanied by several conspirators (Iganacio Allende, Doña Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez to name a few), rang the bell at his church calling on everyone to fight for liberty. This was the beginning of the Mexican Independence War, which lasted 10 years.

In the United States, Cinco de Mayo has taken on a significance beyond that in Puebla, Mexico. Regardless of their own ethnic descent, Americans celebrate St. Patrick's Day and Oktoberfest (among other holidays) to honor those of Irish and German descent. Similiarly,
Cinco de Mayo is celebrated to honor the culture and experience of those of Mexican descent.

Especially in cities with large populations of those of Mexican ancestry, such as Los Angeles, San Fransico and San Antonio, Cinco de Mayo is grandly celebrated. Special events are held in Mexico, the United States and quite possibly all over the world.

Education sessions to teach students about its historical significance, music festivals and parades with people dressed in vibrant costumes, alot of dancing and good food is the norm on this holiday.

This is the perfect occasion for a Home Theme Party!

Invitations

• Just send an email. If I am throwing a last minute party, this is a great way to get the message out quickly to a lot of people.
• Send an Evite. I haven't used Evite to send party invitations but I have received an invitation from a friend who did. It's pretty cool. You can design your invitation, send them to whoever you want in your email address book and then Evite keeps track of the RSVPs for you. People can make comments back to you like, "Sorry I can't be there. Don't have too much fun without me." Click here to check out the Evite website.
• Send an Email with an attachment. I'll send an email but if I have more time, I will include an attachment that I've created in Word or PowerPoint. I usually pick a colored font and some appropriate clip art just to dress it up a bit.
• Just call them. If you have the time, a phone call is a very personal and much appreciated way to invite your guests.
• If you decide to go a little bit fancier, check these out: To order these invitations or view others, go to
  Internet Invitations.com.

Decorations-Games

Pinatas work great for parties because they have a dual purpose: they decorate your house and they also can be used for entertainment.

One of the most fun games to play at a party is to fill a pinata with candy or other treats, have your guests team up and then let each person take turns swinging at the pinata (blindfolded, of course). A bat works well but make sure you have enough room to spread out so nobody gets hurt!

Whichever team breaks open the pinata first gets a special prize but everybody wins because as soon as the treats start falling, everybody grabs to see how many pieces they can pick up and keep.

This game is for adults and kids alike and is absolutely hysterical to watch. Here's a few to choose from:

For instructions on how to fill a pinata, visit Pinata.com.

Party Attire

You really don't need any special clothing for a Cinco de Mayo party. Just a great T-shirt and maybe a hat is enough. A sombrero would be daring but fun.

CafePress.com has a good selection of attire including this design which you can get on T-shirts, golf shirts and hoodies or this other design which you can get on long and short sleeve T-shirts, golf shirts and even on underwear.

If you want to check out their complete line of Cinco de Mayo attire, click here.

Good Food

I had a great time picking out recipes for a Cinco de Mayo theme party. You will find below some traditional recipes like Creamy Caramel Flan and Golden Margaritas but I also included several "Americanized" recipes for you to choose from.

This is one of those parties where you can either go all out with a sit down dinner or simply do appetizers and desserts. Whatever you decide, it's easy to find great recipes for a Cinco de Mayo theme party starting with these:

Appetizers

Soups, Salads and Sides

Entrees

Desserts

Drinks

For more recipes, check out the Recipes Hub

Now that you know the meaning of Cinco de Mayo and have a bunch of great party ideas, start planning your party now. May 5th will be here before you know it.