A Cinco de Mayo celebration party on May 5th is a fun party theme for all ages. (Yes! Cinco de Mayo celebrated in US, too!) Here’s how to plan a Cinco de Mayo party that guests will love — from decorations, party foods, games and activities, favors and more for a fun fiesta party!
Best Cinco de Mayo Celebration Party for All Ages (Fun Cinco de Mayo Party Ideas)
On this annual celebration, Cinco de Mayo (Fifth of May / May 5) celebrates Mexico’s victory in the Battle of Puebla for the Mexican army (and is not Mexican independence day!). Even though it’s a national holiday Mexico, there are many places in the United States that celebrate Cinco de Mayo and Mexican culture on this day, too!
Have fun with these best Cinco de Mayo party ideas adults and kids!
How do you celebrate Cinco de Mayo at home?
Ideas for a Cinco de Mayo party:
- Plan a creative Cinco de Mayo party menu buffet
- Make your own Cinco de Mayo party invitations on free sites (like Canva or PicMonkey)
- Invite people to get creative with Cinco de Mayo party outfits
- Give out DIY Cinco de Mayo party favors bags filled with items like Mexican chocolates, mini Fiesta maracas, and fun drink straws or even mini tequila bottles if it’s an adult Cinco de Mayo party (they’ll love cinco de mayo gifts like that!)
- Set up a taco bar or nacho bar for easy Cinco De Mayo party food
- Grab Cinco de Mayo party supplies at dollar discount stores to save money on your Cinco de Mayo party decorations!
- Set up a piñata filled with candy, small toys, gift cards and more (tailor Cinco de Mayo party favors to age of party-goers)
- Decorate with colorful streamers and banners
- Have fun Cinco de Mayo crafts stations for kids and adults
- Play fun Mexican music or have a mariachi band play during the party for awesome Cinco De Mayo celebration music
- How can you celebrate cinco de mayo with your family? Search for Cinco De Mayo celebration near me or Cinco de Mayo party near me / Cinco de Mayo parties near me and visit one!
KEEP SCROLLING to see the full list of Cinco De Mayo party essentials, how to decorate for cinco de mayo, and party food ideas! These work great for a Cinco De Mayo birthday party theme or even as easy ideas for an outdoor Cinco de Mayo party at home, too!
Cinco De Mayo Fun Fact: Whats Cinco De Mayo celebrating? Cinco de Mayo is not the same as Mexico’s Independence Day! Mexico Independence Day is El Grito de la Independencia (Cry of Independence) and is on September 16th to celebrate independence from Spain.
If you’re wondering how to celebrate cinco de mayo at home or in a classroom for kids Cinco de Mayo party, we have a wide range of party ideas that will work!
Check out this Mexican themed party ideas perfect for May 5th or a fiesta party / Mexico themed party ideas any time of year!
ALSO GREAT WITH THIS PARTY THEME: Fun Not A Cup Party Ideas (Anything But A Cup party ideas funny for adults and kids!)
What do you do at a Cinco de Mayo party? (Fun Ways To Celebrate Cinco De Mayo)
You may be wondering how do you do a Mexican fiesta?
What do you do to celebrate Cinco De Mayo:
- Eat Mexican food (have a variety of Mexican food available, such as tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and churros for a Mexican themed food party)
- Dress in festive Mexican costumes or clothes with vibrant colors
- Dance to festive Mexican party music
- Play the pinata game
- Make a large batch of margaritas with fresh lime juice (even without alcohol or mocktails) and serve them in fun margarita glasses
- Play other fun Cinco de Mayo games
- Enjoy hanging out with friends
- Have colorful decorations
- End the night with a traditional Mexican dessert like flan, traditional Mexican desserts, or a churros and dip bar
What are some typical items you would expect to see at a Cinco de Mayo party in the United States?
You can definitely have Cinco de Mayo decorations on a budget! (You can even DIY decorations like homemade tissue paper flowers that are cheap decorations but beautiful Cinco de Mayo decor ideas!)
What do you need for a Cinco de Mayo party:
- Sombreros
- Cactus decorations
- Festive terra cotta serving bowls / salsa bowls
- Pinata in bright colors
- Margarita glasses (even if you’re just serving party punch!)
- Mexican flags
- Mini hot sauce bottles
- Mexican party banners (papel picado)
- Maracas
- Paper flowers
- Chili pepper confetti
- Cinco de Mayo photo props and backdrop
- Mexican fiesta centerpieces
YOU’LL ALSO HAVE FUN WITH THIS PARTY THEME:
What do I need for a Cinco de Mayo party?
Here’s how to plan a Cinco de Mayo party…
Fun Cinco de Mayo Party Names
Funny names for Cinco de Mayo:
- Fiesta de Mayo
- Fiesta Feast
- Cinco de Drinko
- Drinko de Mayo
- Cinco de Mayo Fiesta
- Fiesta de Fun
- Battle of Puebla Celebration
- Taco ‘Bout Cinco de Mayo
- Tequila Mockingbird
- South of the Border Party
- Nacho Problem Party
GET IDEAS FOR MORE SPRING PARTY FUN!
What are popular decorations for Cinco de Mayo?
You may be wondering about Mexican party decoration ideas.
For fiesta theme party ideas and decor, se vibrant Mexican party colors in like lime green, bright yellow, hot pink, bright orange, red, and bright blue.
Have fun with these Cinco de Mayo decorating ideas, fiesta decoration ideas, and Mexican themed parties ideas for decor for your Cinco de Mayo theme party!
Creative Cinco de Mayo party ideas decorations:
- Colorful fresh flowers (like Dahlias and Sunflowers) make great Mexican centerpiece ideas
- Fun Cinco de Mayo sign to welcome guests
- Picado Streamers party decoration (beautiful Mexican decoration ideas!)
- Sombrero
- Huge tissue paper flowers (a favorite Cinco de Mayo decoration and an easy Cinco de Mayo decorations DIY to make with kids! It’s more fun to get your kids in on making Cinco de Mayo party decoration projects and these paper flowers are perfect for homemade Mexican party decorations DIY crafts!)
- Mini Mexican flags / colors of the Mexican flag
- Fiesta banner (have kids make one for easy DIY fiesta decor ideas)
- Serapes
- Cactus
- Fun centerpieces
- Mini pinatas
- Cinco de Mayo backdrop for photos
PARTY PRO TIP: For a Cinco de Mayo themed party, mini pinatas like this, bottle of hot sauce, or a small bag of tortilla chips make fun Cinco de Mayo invitations that you can deliver to friends with all the party details tied to them! It’s a party fun favor idea, too!
Let us know your favorite Cinco De Mayo decor or fiesta decorations ideas and favorite Cinco de Mayo food ideas and we’ll add them to our list!
Don’t forget about a Mexican food themed party — whether it be a Cinco de Mayo kids party or an adult party, be sure to have great food!
What foods are popular for Cinco de Mayo?
Delicious Mexican food and delicious snacks are a must for your party!
You can do a mix of Tex-Mex foods — which is what many Americans think of as “Mexican food” or a mixing of Mexican-American culture — but this party theme is also a fun way to introduce traditional foods from Mexico and fun Mexican-inspired food as part of your Cinco De Mayo parties foods.
What do you serve at a Cinco de Mayo party?
Your Cinco de Mayo food party can include delicious food like:
- Homemade Guacamole and chips (such an easy recipe not to make it fresh!)
- Different salsas, hot sauces, and dips (easy Cinco De Mayo party ideas for a buffet!)
- Taco bar with fixins (sour cream, cheese, salsas, lettuce, etc.)
- Nacho bar
- Chalupas
- Fresh tortillas
- Pozole (traditional soup served on holidays)
- Chiles en Nogada
- Tamales
- Stuffed green peppers
- Mexican Street Corn Off the Cob (Esquites)
- Homemade Pico de Gallo
- Refried Bean Dip
- Lamb barbacoa
- Carnitas topped with queso fresco, pickled onions, and salsa verde in a corn tortilla
- Tres Leche cake
- Cinco de Mayo decorated cookies
- Churros
- Flan
- Fried ice cream balls
- Serve festive drinks! Fun drinks in festive glasses (like these inexpensive glasses which are super fun for margarita party ideas) to go with your delicious Mexican food
- Mexican beer
- Fun Mexican candies
You can also make it a Cinco de Mayo potluck and have each guest bring a dish of choice! If you’re wondering what to bring to a cinco de mayo party, just ask the host!
PARTY PRO TIP: Create an easy Cinco de Mayo potluck sign up sheet online so guests can sign up with the food they are bringing. This prevents you from having 15 fresh guacamole dishes and nothing else.
What To Wear To A Cinco de Mayo Party
Encourage your party guests to dress up using these Cinco De Mayo celebration ideas!
Cinco De Mayo ideas for costumes:
- Mini sombrero headbands
- Funny fiesta glasses
- Fiesta beads
- Poncho
- Sombrero
- Stick on black mustache
- Festive embroidered dress
- Cinco Drinko Cinco de Mayo t-shirts
- Fiesta T-shirt
You may be wondering what kind of games do they play for Cinco de Mayo?
Cinco de Mayo Party Games Ideas
Fun party games and activities and traditional Mexican party games are also a must for a successful party. These are great for Cinco De Mayo party ideas adults, Cinco De Mayo youth group games, or Mexican party ideas for adults and kids games!
Add these Cinco De Mayo celebration activities to your party…
Fun Cinco de Mayo activities for adults and kids:
- Lotería (traditional game in Mexico that’s like BINGO and fun for any Mexican theme parties – definitely add it to your Cinco De Mayo party activities!)
- Pinatas (perfect way to have fun for all ages!)
- Cinco de Mayo themed Scavenger Hunt (another party activity that’s so much fun for all ages and that you can do as teams!)
- Musical chairs with fun Mariachi music
- Pirinola Toma Todo (aka: Mexican Spinner Game – a Mexican top spinning game — even fun for Cinco De Mayo party games for adults!)
- Cactus ring toss
- Mexican Fiesta bean bag toss
- Pin the tail on the donkey
- Cinco de Mayo drinking game cards
- Fiesta bingo
- Tragos
- Throw Throw Burrito
Also, get fun ideas here for Cinco De Mayo crafts to go with your best games for fun fiesta!
PARTY PRO TIP: Need an easy Cinco de Mayo activity? Set up an easy Cinco de Mayo arts and crafts table! It’s great to have a craft area for quiet Cinco de Mayo activities for kids. (And, trust me from our experience, these will be Cinco de Mayo crafts for adults, too!) You may also want to consider setting up some Cinco de Mayo activities for toddlers, too! The trick is to find a good mix of Cinco de Mayo party ideas for adults and activities for kids, including party games for Cinco de Mayo for all ages!
Music For Cinco de Mayo Party
If you can’t have live music at your Cinco party, definitely put together an awesome party playlist to take your party to the next level!
You don’t need a huge party space, but it’s a good idea to have a dance floor area for a festive fiesta dancing!
Here are fun music party ideas to make for Cinco de Mayo or for any Mexico party themes…
Best songs for a Cinco de May party celebration:
1. “Viva Mexico” by Banda El Recodo
2. “La Cucaracha” by Mariachi Sol de Mexico
3. “Cinco de Mayo in Old Mexico” by Tex Ritter
4. “Cielito Lindo” by Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan
5. “Guadalajara” by Mariachi Los Camperos
6. “La Bamba” by Ritchie Valens
7. “El Jarabe Tapatio” by Mariachi Sol de Mexico
8. “Las Mañanitas” by Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan
9. “Cielito Lindo ( come to my fiesta )” by Selena
10. “Mexican Hat Dance” by Mariachi Sol de Mexico
11. “La Cumbia Del Mole” by Sonora Santanera
12. “El Mariachi Loco” by Aztec Two-Step
13. “Volver, Volver” by Vicente Fernandez
14. “Cinco de Mayo in Memphis” by Jimmy Buffett
Also try these for your Cinco de Mayo party music:
Viva La Mexico – Traditional Mexican and Mariachi Music to Celebrate Cinco De Mayo!
Cinco De Mayo: 50 Classic Latin Songs
50 Classic Mexican Songs for Cinco De Mayo
Cinco de Mayo: Celebrate With Authentic Mexican Norteno Songs
CHECK OUT THIS THEME PARTY NEXT: HOW TO HAVE AN ENCANTO THEMED PARTY
Happy Cinco De Mayo! Let us know your favorite Cinco de Mayo ideas for party, Cinco de Mayo birthday party ideas, and Cinco de Mayo celebration decorations ideas and we’ll add them to the list!
