Create a family-friendly Cinco de Mayo party at home
Margaritas at the bar are out when you’re a busy mom and Cinco de Mayo falls on a school night, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun!
History
Everyone loves an excuse for a party, which is why Cinco de Mayo is so popular in the United States! I think we all know that it is a Mexican holiday, but calling it Mexico’s Independence Day is a common misconception. It actually celebrates Mexico’s victory during a single battle against France, the Battle of Puebla, during the Franco-Mexican War in 1862. In fact, it’s a relatively small holiday in Mexico.
History activity suggestion
Cure the misconceptions by engaging in a family activity that teaches the history of Cinco de Mayo. You can watch Youtube videos like this one from PBS kids, read books together, and talk about the different things you know about Mexican and Mexican-American culture.
Have a family-friendly fiesta
From the food to the décor, Cinco de Mayo can be a fun and simple celebration for your family at home. Here are some products to help you celebrate at home:
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with eat2explore and an at home fiesta! eat2explore is an award-winning educational food & culture “explorer box” that inspires families to cook, taste and discover different world’s cuisines and cultures. Their Explore Mexico box is full of goodies including yummy recipes like vegetarian enchiladas, fajitas and carnitas tacos. eat2explore provides three easy-to-follow-recipes and a shopping list to purchase proteins and vegetables of your choice, as well as including hard-to-find spices and sauces.
Every fiesta needs tacos! Check out this taco holder party kit with over 5,000 reviews on Amazon. They’ll keep your tacos looking great while you fill them full of this delicious crock-pot pork carnitas recipe. Add a little pico de gallo or salsa (a favorite in our house is pineapple salsa), some optional lettuce and black beans, and you have yourself a delicious dish!
Make margaritas, sans tequila. Delicious mixers like this one from Splash Mixers are tasty even without adding alcohol, or if you want to make your own we recommend this mocktail marg recipe from Spruce Eats.
You definitely need party music! Make it a fiesta by searching Youtube and Spotify for family-friendly Cinco de Mayo playlists.
And do not forget the décor! The nice thing with a Cinco de Mayo party is you just need a bunch of fun bright colors. It’s almost like having a Fourth of July party but instead of red white and blue it’s red, green, and gold plus you can have sprinkles of a bright blue and a fun purple and orange and yellow. Banners or buntings are common decor options. You can make them yourself or pop into your local dollar store to see what kind of pre-made options they have. If you really want an impressive display, use a Twinkly lighting system that can change for different holidays.
Just go out!
We’ve provided some great suggestions, but if your family is as busy and messy as my family, then you’d probably enjoy a night out. We have several great Mexican restaurants in Orlando and some great spots for !
Adios!
