Cinco de Mayo Fiesta Ideas

With Cinco de Mayo coming up this Sunday, it’s time to dust off your sombrero and prepare for some Mexico-inspired festivities. It’s not too late to plan a Cinco de Mayo fiesta for your friends, so we put together a little guide to help you get in on the fun. Read on for our menu and decor ideas!

Cinco de Mayo Menu

Mexican is the food of choice, of course! Begin by serving appetizers like guacamole and salsa with a side of tortilla chips. We’re partial to The Pioneer Woman’s restaurant-style salsa, but even the jarred variety will work in a pinch.

For the guacamole, you have to go fresh. Luckily, guacamole is easy-peasy to make by combining simple mixture of avocado, cilantro, red onion, tomato, garlic, pepper, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

For the main course, serve tacos! Tacos are great for entertaining because they’re so simple, delicious, and won’t tie you to the kitchen very long. Before your guests arrive, slice, dice, shred, and chop all of the taco toppings, including lettuce, tomato, and cheese. Don’t forget sour cream and taco sauce as well. Then, right before it’s time to eat, cook up the meat, whether it’s ground beef, grilled steak strips, shrimp, chicken, or fish. Let your guests build their own tacos. Deliciosa!

Margaritas are the go-to Cinco de Mayo cocktail. Make a classic margarita by moistening the rim of margarita glass with lime and dipping it in sea salt. In a cocktail shaker combine two parts tequila, one part Cointreau, one part freshly squeezed lime juice, and ice. Shake and pour into the margarita glass.

Another fun idea is to whip up a fruity sangria or serve a variety of popular Mexican beers, such as Corona, Sol, Pacifico, Dos Equis, Modelo, and Tecate.
For los ninos, serve Mexican sodas, such as Jarritos, which can be found at any Mexican grocery store or at most grocery stores in the international aisle.

For dessert, whip up a Mexican favorite like flan, churros, or fruit quesadillas!

Cinco de Mayo Décor

Your Cinco de Mayo fiesta décor should be bright, festive, and match the colorful landscape of Mexico. For the color palate, think fiery red, aqua blue, sunshine yellow, citrus orange, lime green, and cheery coral. Here are some décor ideas:

• Create a taco shell bunting by stringing upside-down hard taco shells on a string. You can secure them on the inside with tape.
• For easy centerpieces, fill punch bowls with limes, tomatoes, and avocados.
• Another fun and simple centerpiece is put flower stems in empty and clean Mexican beer bottles. Red and yellow daisies are inexpensive blooms that match the Mexican decor.
• Light lots of Mexican candles, which can be found at Mexican grocery stores and in most international aisles.
• A pinata is a must!
• Set around little cacti, which you can find at most nurseries or home stores. Let your guests take them home after the fiesta as favors.

Do you love Cinco de Mayo as much as we do? Check out our Cinco de Mayo blog post from last year for some interesting info on the origins of the holiday!