Invitations:
* Attach the invitation to a dried chili pepper.
* Glue the invitation to a pack of taco seasoning mix.
* Insert the invitation cut to size to fit in a plastic hot pepper sauce bottle, or plastic water bottle include tiny hot peppers, dried mini-flowers, and colorful confetti. Decorate the outside with colorful stickers and a mailing label. Mail from the post office. (Be sure to mail one to yourself first to determine the length of time it takes to arrive and its condition.)
* Encourage your guests to come dressed as a señor or señorita.
Atmosphere:
* Put a "border guard" at your front door to give guests the feeling of going through customs.
* Greet your guests with live or taped South-of-the-border music to make sure your party stays hot, hot, hot.
* Traditional or novelty pinatas and Mexican souvenirs will add to your Tijuana town atmosphere.
* Create a "Bandito Wanted" poster of your male guest of honor.
* Drape serapes, Mexican print fabric and red, green and white Latin party props on furniture and around your cantina.
* Use dried gourds, peppers, cactus plants and bright flowers for centerpieces.
* Recycle Christmas red, green and white party products or buy new paper goods in the color of the Mexican flag.
* String Christmas lights or chili-pepper design novelty lights around the party site.
* It's not a fiesta without colorful tissue-paper flowers. Teach your guests how to create their own "wild Spanish rose" by following the instructions here
* Let chili pepper, margarita, cactus and other colorful mylar balloons float aloft and add color to your fiesta.
* Line your walkway with luminarias you created from green, white and red or hot-hued, multi-colored snack bags , sand, votive candles a paper punch or let traditional candles let your guests know they're on the right trail to your hacienda.
* Hang colorful fiesta decor, sombreros, maracas, chili peppers and piñatas around your cantina.
* Make colorful, festive signs with popular Spanish words for both decoration and a word match game.
* Tissue fold-out decor in fiesta colors will add to your setting.
Activities:
* Get everyone up to do the Mexican Hat Dance and the Macarena.
* Hire a face painter to adorn the men with mustaches and women with a floral design on their face or shoulder.
* Host a Samba, Cha-Cha, Merengue, Rumba, or Tango contest.
* Hire a mariachi band to serenade your guests.
* Have a custom song written for your Fiesta guests to sing. The serenade will thrill your guest(s) of honor.
* Play "Pass the Sombrero," a variation on hot potato.
* No fiesta would be complete without letting your guests take a whack at a novelty/candy-filled piñata until it cracks.
Refreshments:
* Set up a build-your-own fajita, taco and enchilada bar.
* Serve small snacks and dips in plastic margarita glasses.
* Use Mexican pottery or terra cotta pots for bowls or plant trays for platters. (Since these are often not properly fired for food containers, be sure to line them with foil or plastic.)
* Buy new or recycle red and green plastic eating utensils to match the Mexican flag and coordinate with your Mexican themed paper goods.
* Use Mexican Flag bandannas for napkins and for guest to take home as party favors.
* Let fiesta designed Ole' paper goods set the scene for your celebration or let a chili pepper design add some spice to your space.
* Serve corn and flour tortilla chips or other dry snacks in the brim of a sombrero
Another fiesta theme design party pack includes everything you need to set an incredibly festive table.
Mexican Ole Dip features southwest flavors to add a spicy spark to sour cream or cheese dips. An excellent seasoning blend for tacos or anything with a Mexican flair!
Whip up a batch of tortilla soup to soothe the fiesta frenzy and please the patrons at your South of the Border gathering.
* Make a chili con queso dip by combining a jar of salsa with a pound of processed cheese, cut into cubes, and melted in your microwave. Add jalapeno peppers to taste. Serve in a plastic sombero chip and dip tray.
* Make Mexican Pizza using flour tortillas, Monterey jack and cheddar cheese with your favorite salsa as the sauce. Heat at 350° until cheese melts. Cut into wedges. You also can add taco-flavored meat, refried beans, jalapeno pepper slices, onions and/or olives.
* Serve refried beans, guacamole and Mexican rice as side dishes.
* Quench their thirst with homemade sangria. Combine a large bottle of sweet, red wine with orange, lemon and lime slices. The authentic Mexican variety also includes a bottle of club soda for each bottle of wine. Add sugar to taste.
* Pour from pitchers of virgin and regular margaritas. For fun, make frozen and fruit-flavored varieties. Fanciful and frosty ice cubes cool off margaritas in colorful plastic glasses.
* Serve three versions of your favorite chili including mild, spicy and four-alarm hot versions.
* Top your favorite cake with fried ice cream for a south-of-the-border sweet.
Party Favors and Prizes:
* Give each guest a sombrero to wear during the party and take home to keep.
* Don't forget to send the guests home with an instant photo of them with the guest of honor. Decorate cardboard photo frames with stickers or handcrafted artwork.
* More great shakes and souvenirs with Maracas
* The ladies will love mantillas or vibrant tissue flowers and men will enjoy bandito bandannas.
* Casteñets will set the tempo long after the music has ended.
* Incredible Fiesta accessories for your party plan and the guests.
NOTE: The products we mention go in and out of stock quickly so some that you link to may be sold out. If you have any requests please contact us and we will try to help you find them.
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