Cinco de Mayo Party Tips and Food Ideas

Posted in Tips

Cinco de Mayo is just a bit more than a week away. If you’re planning on celebrating by having some friends over, read below for some ideas about what to do and what to eat during your fiesta.

    • Consider decorating your party space with red, white and green (the colors of Mexico’s flag). String crepe paper chains in these colors near the ceiling.
    • Find some maracas and, with a permanent marker, write each of your guests’ names on them for using as place cards. Tell your guests to take them home as party favors.
    • Find sombreros of different sizes and place them on furniture and tack or tape the smaller/less heavy ones to the wall.

  • See if you can find several cactus plants to use as table centerpieces.
  • Pick up some CDs of mariachi music and play them softly during the party.
  • As for party activities, fill a piñata with candy, hang it in the yard, blindfold your guests one at a time and let them take a swing at the piñata with a broomstick.
  • You also could try a Mexican Hat Dance contest. This dance, which actually was declared by Mexico as its National Folk Dance, is fun to do. Look the dance instructions up on the Internet before the party and show/teach your guests the dance and then let the fun begin!
  • On the invitation, mention that you’re going to hold a salsa tasting contest. Ask your guests to prepare their favorite salsa recipe and to bring it to the party. Ask all guests to test all the samples and then vote secretly for which they think is best.

As for food, consider serving the following traditional Mexican foods:

  • Cheese stuffed chile rellenos
  • Beef chili
  • Corn tamales
  • Provide at least one bowl of fresh guacamole
  • Flautas
  • Quesadillas
  • Pan Dulce
  • Refried beans
  • Tacos

Instead of doing all the work of cooking and preparing food for your Cinco de Mayo party yourself, why not let Mattito’s cater it for you? In addition, depending on the size of your party, we also can supply china, cloth napkins, stainless flatware, chaffing dishes, buffet tables, and even party decorations.

Contact us at by phone or e-mail. We look forward to helping you celebrate Cinco de Mayo!

Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono/FreeDigitalPhotos.net