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Welcome
your guests to your Fiesta with this fun
and festive
Fiesta Lawn Balloon .
Hang a festive Fiesta Banner with your
personalized message.
Transform
your whole party area into a Festive
atmosphere that truly says FIESTA. Use
some of these great Scene Setters to get
the look you need.
 Little
details set the mood for your party.
Below are
some more ideas for creating a fun,
festive Fiesta or Cinco de Mayo
celebration.
INVITATIONS
 Its
A Fiesta Invitations
Invite your
guests to a red hot party with
confetti filled
chili pepper invitations.
DECORATING & FAVORS IDEAS
 Sombreros
are not just for wearing, hang
sombreros on the back of chairs or just
hang them on the wall. Use them to make
a festive
Sombrero Salad
and place it on your serving table.
And don't forget the Mexican Hat Dance.
An all time
favorite for any fiesta party are
Maracas
(some can be
imprinted with your party
details or company logo).
Use
Genuine Hand Painted Maracas
or add color to your Conga Line
in a big way with beautiful large
Neon Maracas,
also glow in black light. A great
favorite is the
Mini Neon Maracas in assorted neon colors.
Fiesta Bandanas
are great used as a napkins or use a
raffia tie around your chair backs an
tuck in a
Fiesta Bandana,
then tie
into a bow.
If you are looking
for linens for your table rent a
red poly table cloth with a
"Hot Stuff " black
overlay,
black chair covers
and
red chair bands.
As an alternative use a
black poly cloth
with a
"Hot Stuff " red
overlay
and
black chair covers
with
yellow chair bands.
Other options are also available.
You could also use
Raffia Table Skirts
for a festive flair.
Set the
scene for a Fiesta party with our 6
assorted
Fiesta Signs
.
Place
several
Inflatable Cactus around your party area to create a real
southwestern setting.
Add a
flair of the Southwest to your fiesta
party decor with
Chili Pepper Lights ,
Electric Cactus Lights, or
Fiesta
Lights
.
String them everywhere for a festive
glow.
Create
instant fun when you set your table with
brightly colored
Fiesta Paper Goods
(plates,
cups, table covers, and napkins). Create a designer look
by adding some
solid color paper
goods in red & green.
Colorful
Neon Folding
Fan
will be a great addition to your party
when it is HOT! HOT! HOT!
Flashing Margarita Glasses will
light up your drinks to desserts. Set
the 7 settings for red, blue, green or
any combination to light up your party.
Use for fruit cups, shrimp cocktail or
an ice cream sundae.
Add some light
and color to your Fiesta with our 36"
silk flower light up
LED Chili Pepper Lei
! Just click
the button, and your peppers will flash
Party
favors can include:
Welcome
guests to a night that's as hot as a
habanera pepper!
Use
Piņatas as decorations on tables and
later hang them for are a great activity
for your party!
Use
ponchos as overlays on tables or hang
them on a wall.
Colorful
pottery.
Great music will help create
a memorable party.
Sponge
paint your paved driveway. Sponges
shaped like cactus, coyotes, adobes, etc
can be purchased at a craft stores, and
washable paints can be used.
Decorations You Can Make
We have
lots of pre-made decorations for your
fiesta but homemade ones are fun too,
here you will find some ideas for making
your own.
Make
Mexican Flowers
Need: Tissue paper, twist tie or pipe
cleaner
Directions: Give each child 3-5
different colored squares of tissue
paper and have them set the one on top
of another. Show the children how to fan
fold and then wrap a twist tie around
the middle of the fan folded paper. Have
each child carefully open his flower by
pulling the different colors of paper
upwards or downwards to separate each
layer.
Decorate
clay flower pots in different sizes and
set around on the tables (Acrylic paint
pens worked well.) Use these medium or
large Fiesta Flowers in the pots and
place on your tables.
Make Chili Paper Garland
Start by stringing strands of red
peppers for decorations or twist tissue
paper into the desired red pepper shape
and then cover them with masking tape
and paint them red. Hang them around
the room and drape them on your tables.
Or Spice up your party by hanging
colored twinkle lights or a Fiesta
Banner.
Colorful Streamers
Hang streamers of red, green and white
(the colors of Mexico's flag) made from
Crepe streamers & Curling Ribbon. And
don't forget to hang a flag of Mexico.
Paper Mache Maracas
Make paper Mache maracas. One pair for
each invited guest plus a few for
decorations. These were made by covering
water bomb sized balloons with paper
Mache. When they are completely dry, cut
off the tied end of the balloon and
inserted dried beans and rice. Then use
a length of wooden dowel and hot glued
them in place for the handle. As the
guests arrived, have each one paint
their own maracas. Or use some
Neon Maracas
which are available in several styles or
Light-up Maracas.
"Papel
Picado"
Set the scene
for a Fiesta party with our 50'x 8"
Fiesta Papel Picado Border Roll. Mix
and Match with all of our colorful
Fiesta and Southwestern decorations
or make your own Papel
Picado using the instructions below:
Take out some scissors and make a couple
of Mexican paper banners, these are made
the same way you use to make snowflakes
our of paper. This technique comes from
Mexico and is called "papel picado,"
which in Spanish means, "pierced paper."
They are usually made from tissue paper,
but could be made from any paper that
can be folded and cut. Lightweight
plastic or vinyl could also be used to
make them weather proof. In Mexico,
artisans use special chisels to cut out
intricate designs. You can make it
easier by using folded paper and cutting
with scissors. Festive and unique, they
are fun to make and make a unique
contribution to your Mexican theme.
Attach them from string and hang all
around the room.
This is a great project for kids to do
or help with depending on their age and
ability with scissors. It is truly a
magical moment when you open your paper
and see what beauty unfolds.
What you will need:
Tissue paper, the traditional size is 15
x 10-inches, although you can make them
any size you want.
Small sharp scissors (cuticle scissors
work great.)
String
Glue stick or stapler
Directions:
1. Fold the paper in half so you have
rectangle. With the fold on top, fold in
half again so that you have a smaller
rectangle. Fold in half two more times
until you end up with a much smaller
rectangle.
2. Cut away shapes from the both edges
that are only folds. Do not cut all the
way across the rectangle or it will fall
apart. Use the tip of the scissors if
you like to pierce the paper in the
center (be very careful so you don't
stab yourself!!) and cut out more
shapes.
3. Unfold once, and cut more shapes into
the uncut folded edge and refine the
interior cuts you have made if you want.
Repeat this step until your papel picado
is completely unfolded.
4. Once you have several cut out, run
the glue stick along the top edge (very
carefully so you don't tear the paper
and fold over the string to secure (you
could also use a stapler). Continue
adding rectangles until the banner is as
long as you want it.
Make some jack-o-lanterns from pumpkins
add candles and place fiesta flowers
around them, you could end up creating a
new Halloween tradition.
Make
Mexican Lanterns
Need: Construction paper, crayons
or markers
Directions: Give each child a
piece of construction paper and allow
them to decorate any way they wish.
(crayons and markers) Next, have the
children fold the paper in half length
wise. They should then cut 1'' cuts
apart beginning at the fold but leave
one 1'' border around the edges except
the fold. Have the children then unfold
and roll each long edge of the paper in
a circle and staple. Use the hole punch
to make two holes in the top, then tie a
piece of string to the hole as a hanger.
GAMES &
ACTIVITIES
Mexican Hat Dance
Have a
Mexican Hat Dance with
Sombreros that
come in assorted colors, lots of
fun at your party. These
Neon Sombreros with chin strap
gives a new look to this Mexican hat and
add great color to the dance floor. This popular
genuine
Child Size Sombreros
is 14".
-
Gather
the children to sit in a circle.
Explain that a Mexican hat dance is
a traditional Mexican dance done
around a Mexican hat, which is
called a sombrero. Place a sombrero
on the floor and play some Mexican
music. As you call each child's
name, the child goes into the circle
and dances as desired around the
sombrero to the music.
Piņatas
Use
Piņatas as decorations on tables and
later hang them for are a great activity
for your party!
Interpreting some simple Spanish words
can also be a good activity. Make a list
of some simple Spanish words and have
guests list the meanings of the words.
"OLE"
Another game idea is to use a sombrero,
each time a person says the word for
example: "Ole" they have to wear the
sombrero, until someone else says the
word. Then that person wears the
sombrero.
Fiesta Limbo Game
Limbo is a fun activity at any party,
see "how low your guests can go"! Great
for all ages from beginners to experts (
8 levels of difficulty).
More Activities:
Bean
Counting
Using a package of dried beans paint
each side of the bean a different color
using the colors, red, white, and green
the colors of the Mexican Flag.
Place the beans in a cup and have one
child in the group shake them and spill
them out onto the table. Have the
children place the beans into piles
using the colored side that was face up.
Have the children count the beans in the
pile. Have them tell each other which
color had the most and least.
Making Pottery
Purchase a piece of raw clay from a
pottery or craft store. Gather pictures
of traditional Mexican pottery. Show the
clay and the pictures to the children
have them make their own creations with
ideas from the pictures.
Movement Activity Fun
Acquire a recording of music played by a
mariachi band and a few
Genuine Maracas
you could make your own with the
children. Children listen to the music
and move their bodies and maracas to the
beat.
Cinco Game
Cut a piece of colored construction
paper into the shape of the number five
for each child in the class using a
variety of colors. Give each child a 5
and allow him to show it to the other
children. Then have each child sit on
his 5. Have the children to try to
remember what color 5's other children
had. Then ask them to try to name all of
the children who have a certain color.
Let students use Spanish number words to
count the number of students that have
each color.
Jumping Beans
Explain to the children that a Mexican
jumping bean has a type of caterpillar
pupa inside it. When the caterpillar
gets warm it twitches or jumps and makes
the bean move. Play
a
Fiesta Party Cd
and as the music plays have the children
jump like Mexican jumping beans. When
the music stops, have each child freeze
until the music resumes.
Native Mexican Kickball
Explain that the game is a competition
played by the Tarahumara Indians in
Native Mexican villages. Set up an
obstacle course on your playground. You
should make the obstacles for kickball.
An obstacle course might challenge
players to kick the ball over a log,
under the swing set, around a tree, over
a ramp, through a tunnel, etc. Divide
the children into two groups and allow
the children to kick the ball through
the course relay-style. The first team
to have all players complete the course
is the winning team.
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FOOD IDEAS
-
Make a
Sombrero Salad and place it on
your serving table. These
Sombreros
work well for your sombrero
salad.
-
Fiesta Bandanas
or
Mexican Bandanas
make great
napkins!
- Use
Sombreros
or
black plastic
Spanish Hats
for decorating. Turn hats upside
down and use to serve dry snacks.
- Copy
the Mexican flag from the computer
and glue them on small skewers and
use at each guests place setting.
TASTING PARTIES
Share
with the children Guacamole, Bean Dip
and Corn Chips, tacos, burritos,
enchiladas, refried beans, and Spanish
rice.
TACO
BAR
Everyone
loves to make their own tacos, so try
Tacos with their favorite toppings:
cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa! Gotta
have chips and salsa, try serving the
chips in a sombrero or sombrero chip and
dip tray. Put on this
Fiesta Party Cd ,
and you're ready to party Fiesta-style.
FIESTA
CAKE
Make a cake in the shape of a very large
cactus with toothpicks for spines.
Use one 9 x 13 cake, cut in half
lengthwise and place one piece above the
other to form the center of the cactus.
From a second 9 x 13 pan cut 2 arms for
the cactus, or use a horseshoe shape pan
and cut apart in the center placing one
piece on each side of the center cactus
for the arms.
FROZEN
PALETAS
Serve Frozen paletas (Frozen Juice Bars)
for dessert.
FRIED ICE
CREAM OR FLAM
Click Here for
Fiesta Recipes
How to Make a
Sombrero Salad
Do a search for "Fiesta" at
Bettycrocker.com
and
Pillsbury.com
for some great Fiesta Recipes.
Check out the Cinco de Mayo section in
the
Wilton Recipe Box
for more recipes & cake ideas.
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