How to Celebrate Cinco De Mayo

Step 1: Plan the menu Provide plenty of easy noshing with big bowls of tortilla chips, guacamole, and salsa. Cook a few authentic Mexican dishes, or just make a big pot of chili and maybe order some Mexican take-out.
TIP: Ask each guest to prepare a Mexican dish—but make sure you know what they’re bringing ahead of time, so you don’t end up with 20 bowls of salsa.
Step 2: Buy the booze Get some Mexican beer, and have plenty of triple sec, tequila, lime juice, and ice on hand for Margaritas. And don’t forget the coarse salt for the rims!
Step 3: Decorate Decorate on the cheap by hanging a big map of Mexico along with large handmade cutouts of cacti, sombreros, and Mayan pyramids. Blow up balloons in red, white, and green – the colors of the Mexican flag.
Step 4: Get a piñata Get a piñata and fill it with novelties like jumping beans, chili-flavored hard candies, and tequila gummy worms.
Step 5: Organize a trivia game Compile multiple-choice questions about Mexican trivia for a drinking game. When a player gets enough answers wrong, he must down a shot of tequila. The player with the most correct answers gets a small gag prize at the end.
Step 6: Break the piñata End the night by letting everyone take turns whacking the piñata with a baseball bat or broomstick.
FACT: Cinco de Mayo is only recognized as an official holiday in the Mexican state of Puebla, although it is celebrated throughout Mexico and the U.S.

Lessons in this Guide