Your Guide to Planning a Cinco de Mayo Fiesta

Food and Drink Recipes to Get You Started on Your Cinco de Mayo Party Planning

Cinco de Mayo is quickly approaching. If you needed an excuse to gather your friends and indulge in tacos, chips with guacamole, and margaritas, this is it. Here is what you need to know to plan the perfect Cinco de Mayo festivities.

Choose Colorful Decor

When it comes to Cinco de Mayo, it is all about the colors. Be sure to set out a variety of colorful decor items to set the vibe for your fiesta. Perfect hues for the occasion include lime green, bright blue, and hot pink. You can make large floral blooms out of tissue paper to look like fiesta flowers, hanging them from the ceilings of your home. Or hang some traditional paper picado banners across porch awnings or entryways. These banners also make festive backdrops for photos.

If you are hosting kids at your gathering, you cannot go wrong with a piñata. Even the adults may want to take a whack at this classic game and decor piece. Or hang up a pin the sombrero on the donkey game that will double as entertainment and a decoration.

Festive Main Food Options

The highlight of any Cinco de Mayo celebration is undoubtedly the delicious food. If you are going to put a lot of effort into one component of your party, make it what you serve to eat. As with most open house gatherings, you are best off setting the food up as a buffet style. Fortunately, Mexican cuisine naturally lends itself to a buffet.

This is the perfect type of party to set up a taco bar. Some of the most popular meat choices include classic ground beef with taco seasoning, chicken strips with fajita spices, or pork carnitas. It is a good idea to have a vegetarian option available as well. What elevates any taco bar is the topping selections. Items to include on your buffet include shredded lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, diced onions, sour cream, cheese, guacamole, cilantro, and salsa.

If you are having a smaller gathering and do not want to put out an elaborate buffet, consider making a big pan of enchiladas. The possibilities are endless when it comes to enchiladas. Choose options such as enchiladas verdes, stacked chicken enchiladas, or a version using shrimp.

Odds and Ends

Be sure to spend a bit of time planning the appetizers and desserts for your party. For a Cinco de Mayo party, you definitely need some type of cheese dip. Make it easy on yourself by making a queso dip that you can put together earlier in the day and keep warm in the crockpot for the duration of the event. This ooey and gooey white queso dip recipe contains pepper jack cheese, Monterey jack cheese, cream cheese, chopped green chiles, green onions, milk, and garlic powder. It cooks up easily in the crockpot and will stay warm until your guests arrive.

Complement the queso dip with a variety of salsas, guacamole, and chips. You may even want to serve the warm and cheesy dip with some toasted tortillas. This Cinco de Mayo appetizer board idea is the Mexican version of a charcuterie board. You can customize your board to include all of your favorite dips and finger foods. All of your guests will love digging into the Mexican-inspired fun.

Deliver the perfect sweet ending to your fiesta with these tasty homemade baked churros. While they take a bit of work, the effort will be well worth it once you sink your teeth into these decadent treats. Serve the churros with dipping sauces such as caramel, melted chocolate, or strawberry preserves.

Cheers to That!

Along with the food, you will also need some classic Mexican drinks to round out what you serve. Be sure to have plenty of Mexican beer on hand as well as margaritas. There is no limit to how creative you can get with your margarita offerings. Go with the classic version or put your own twist on it by adding fruit, spice, or floral undertones.

If you are looking for a tasty non-alcoholic option, this horchata recipe is always a hit. This sweetened cinnamon-vanilla drink is made with long-grain white rice, sweetened condensed milk, water, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. You can serve this beverage warm or cool.

Another great non-alcoholic option is Mexican hot chocolate, particularly if you are hosting an outdoor event that may be a bit chilly. This Mexican hot chocolate recipe uses 100% unsweetened cocoa powder, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and a bit of chili powder to spice things up. Feel free to add tequila, spiced rum, or any other alcoholic beverage of your choosing if you want to indulge in a boozy beverage.

These ideas will provide a great framework as you get to planning your Cinco de Mayo fiesta.

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