Will be celebrated all over the world on Thursday, May 5, 2011. Many people think it’s Mexico’s Independence Day (Sept 16th) but it’s not. It commemorates the Mexican Army’s victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla.

Here in the US, it’s observed as a celebration of Mexican heritage, food, music, and beverage as well as customs unique to Mexico. You usually don’t have to look very far to find a celebration somewhere and many people like to host there own party.

Here are a few ideas and recipes to help you host the best Cinco de Mayo party!

One word: piñata. No Cinco de Mayo fiesta is complete without one. If you’re a traditionalist, cram your piñata with candy, toys (superballs are fun) and small trinkets. If your guests are hitting the tequila, you might want to add little packets of Alka Seltzer or aspirin.

The best place to hang a piñata is outside, but if you don’t have a lot of room, just make sure you clear some space in your home and move anything breakable. If you don’t want the piñata-bashing to go on for too long, make little incisions with a pocketknife in the piñata before you hang it up. It’ll smash in no time!

Teach everyone to do the Macarena or the Mexican Hat Dance and have a contest to see who is the best dancer.

Limbo – Play some fun music while your friends stand in line waiting to bend backwards low enough to fit under the limbo stick.

Add some spice to your Cinco de Mayo Fiesta by having a Hot Pepper Eating Contest. The challenge is to see how many hot peppers your guests can eat without bursting into flames. Be sure to pour glasses of milk for your friends to kill the burn of eating all those peppers!

You can also hand out a few fun wearables to all of your guests such as sombreros, fiesta beads, pepper bracelets, and don’t forget the maracas!

Have Fun!

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