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Fiesta Party
Fiesta party time always conjures up images of dancing, laughter, festivities, games, Mexican food, bright colours and basically lots of fun. This party theme can equally be applied to a Cinco de Mayo party and what is great is that it is suited for all ages from tots to adults so get your maracas out and get ready to party! What is Cinco de Mayo?
Scroll down below for lots of ideas for party games, food, decorating and music.
My favourite Fiesta Party Suppliers
Party Box (UK supplier) Probably one of the best party suppliers in the UK with lots of party supplies for all sorts of occasions. Look out for the Fiesta party cactus cut-out or the Fiesta piņatas.
Party Delights (UK suppplier) Another of my favorites where you'll usually find what you want. Lots of good value choice.
Makesparties (our US party store) Our one-stop party supply store. Loads of fiesta party supplies including grass table skirts, fiesta decorating kits, fiesta pinatas, hats and so much more.
Pinatas (US supplier) What can I say except you will not be short of a choice of Piņatas for your fiesta party. They have piņatas for every occasion imaginable which includes sombreros, bulls, maracas and more..
Invitations
Make your own Fiesta invitations by drawing round a template of a sombrero, chili or Mexican flag. Ask the kids to come dressed up in bright colours and to bring their sombreros, maracas (if they have any!) and to put on their dancing shoes.
Decorations
There are lots of ways to decorate for a Fiesta party but the main thing is to think bright primary colours.
*Hang up 'lots' of red, white and green balloons. *Pin up a Mexican flag and ask your local travel agents if they have free posters of Mexico that you could have. *Use a colourful Mexican blanket as a tablecloth. *Decorate the table with brightly coloured paper plates and cups or use colourful or terracotta pottery and straw mats. *Copy and print off small images of the Mexican flag and attach them to toothpicks to dot around the table. *Hang a pair of maracas or a sombrero on your front door or gate as a welcome sign. *Invest in a couple of big blow up cacti - you never know when they may come in useful again! *Get on your fiesta party costume *Get the music going with this fabulous Latin Fiesta dance CD.
When the kids arrive, make sure to have some Fiesta party music going to get everyone in the mood and plus it's a great icebreaker. Whilst waiting for all the kids to arrive have a couple of arts and crafts activities on the go:
*Painting or colouring paper plates in bright colours which you can then hang on the wall or string into a big banner. (Perfect for the younger kids).
*Maracas painting: Get two empty yogurt pots and half fill one with dried beans. Tape the two pots together around the open ends so you have a sort of rattle. If you have any wooden BBQ skewers, insert one into the end of one of the pots. The let the kids go to town with paints and marker pens in decorating their very own maracas which they can take home at the end of the party.
*Mexican Flowers: Mexicans love flowers and what a better way to start the party than by making fiesta flower garlands to hang round the room. In advance cut out circles or squares of coloured tissue paper. Give each child 2-3 pieces of paper that they place one on top of the other. Carefully pinch the layers in one go in the centre and secure with a twist tie. Then open out the different layers to reveal a beautiful multicoloured flower.
Fiesta Party Games
Jumping Beans
This is a good fiesta party game for the younger kids and gets them to use up a lot of energy. Explain that a Mexican jumping bean has a type of caterpillar pupa inside and that when it gets warm, the caterpillar starts to twitch and fidget which makes the beans jump. Put on some Mexican music and get the kids to jump about like the beans but when the music stops, everyone has to stand very still. Any 'bean' caught twitching is out and can then be your helper in spotting the next twitching bean.
Pass the Sombrero
A bit like 'pass the parcel' but instead the kids have to pass a sombrero. Sit the kids in a circle, put on some Mexican music and get the kids to pass round the sombrero. Each time it is passed to them, they have to place it on their head for a second. When the music stops, the kid wearing the sombrero is out of the game or he has to do a dance in the middle of the circle.
Limbo - Limbo
The older kids especially love this game. All you need is a stick and two poles to balance it on, or you could get two people to hold it. Start with the stick about eye height and each child takes it in turn to cross under the stick without knocking it down or touching it. They have to do this facing forwards so it will involve bending their body backwards a little. Each round, you place the stick a little lower so it becomes harder and harder. My 13 year-old daughter has no problems at this game as she can bend her body in all sorts of unimaginable ways! Have some music going at the same time and the kids clapping so you get the rhythm going.Tip: For smaller kids, they could just crawl under the stick.
Mexican Kickball
This is a traditional game played in Mexican villages and is a great fiesta party outdoor game for teams and large groups of kids. The aim of the game is for each team member to kick a ball (no hands!) around an obstacle course and the first team whereby all its members fully complete the course is the winner. Set the obstacle course to reflect the age of the kids. It could involve going round logs, tables and chairs, up a slide, around a tree, through a tunnel, kicking over a low net, through a paddling pool and so on. Tip: Give each team a coloured badge or sash to wear in red, green or white.
Spanish word game
Give each child a list of Spanish words - they should all have the same. The aim of the game is for the kids to guess the meaning of each word and whoever guesses the most correctly is the winner. Tip: Try not to make the words to difficult and pick ones that have some sort of link to English words.
Let's Dance
No Fiesta party is complete without a bit of dancing and what better way than to teach them the Macarena Dance or The Mexican Hat Dance. Actually chances are that they will already be experts!
*Tacco crisps and dried snacks served in terracotta bowls, wicker baskets or upside down Spanish hats buycostumes.com
*Set up a Taco Bar. The older kids love this as they can make their own tacos with their favourite toppings. Try cheese, salad, salsa, tomatoes, chilli beef, chicken, refried bean, sour cream and chives.
*Cactus cake. For a quick and easy recipe, use a packet cake mix and make two cakes - one in a 9 x 13-inch oblong tin and another 7 inch round. Slice the oblong cake in half along its length and place one piece above the other to serve as the cactus trunk. Cut out a circle in the centre of the round cake using a large cookie cutter - discard this piece or freeze for later. Using the larger circle, cut it in half and position the two halves against the cactus trunk to look like arms. Cover with green icing and sprinkle lightly with desiccated coconut to give the impression of thorns.
If you fancy making your own cake mixture follow my easy "All in one" basic cake recipe
*Tropical Fruit Salad served in plastic cocktail glasses and decorated with paper umbrellas.
Invitations
