How to Throw a Great Mexican Fiesta

I can't take credit for this one.  It was in no way my ideas.  I was just a guest who showed up to this amazing party thrown for my husband's cousin on Kristen on her 40th birthday.

But let me tell you about some of the things that I think made this such a great party.

First a great theme.   A Mexican Fiesta is a great theme and if you have guests willing to play along with the theme you can have a great time.  Make sure that you have sombreros on hand for those willing to participate but not willing to go out and get there own.  (They chose the Mexican Fiesta theme because they go as a group to Cancun every year)

Then great drinks.  Coronas are obviously a must along with Margaritas and Sangria.   For the best Margaritas I swear by the Margaritaville.   It's great for making a large quantity of great drinks.   Also have something fun and frozen on hand for the non-tequilla drinkers, strawberry daiquiris work and stay close to the theme.

Food can make or break a party and they had it catered by my Brother-in-law who at the time happened to manage a Mexican Restaurant.  That is probably the best way for good, authentic Mexican food.   They served make your own Tacos, Chips and Salsa, and Enchiladas.

Decorations:

What made this party stand out above all others was the length they went to in decorations.   For example, to accommodate all the people they invited, they rented a porter potty for the boys.  But it was the wooden Banos sign they added next to the porter potty that made it a clever part of the decorations.


The group that threw the party (and the girl the party was for) go to Cancun almost annually.  So a great idea was making a two Cancun sign and sticking it center in the party.  Painting it on broken wood was a great touch.





How many times have you seen a Mayan Temple at a party?  These guys went above and beyond the basic Fiesta Decorations by recreating Chitza Nitza in their backyard.   I wish I could tell you what they used to create it, but to be honest, I have absolutely no idea.

Perhaps my favorite of all their decorations was the bar.   They built this bar out of their detached garage.   The garage has a side door making it easy to access from both sides, so that you can have a bartender.    The bar was well constructed so that it can be used multiple times, but what made this bar so great for the Mexican Theme was the roof.  And of course the Corona logo painted on the front.

Now every good theme party needs someone dressed up in a crazy costume and this party did not disappoint.   If you are throwing a Mexican party a good way to go is with a Mariachi outfit.  Pretty sure this was rented.   If you have the money and want to go further, why not have a Mariachi band.  But if your on a budget, just someone in the costume gives you the feeling your in Mexico, and provides many great photo opportunities.  

 

Where Credit is Due: The masterminds behind this great theme party were Sean Michels, Mike Pankow, Joe Acs and I am assuming Leslie Pankow.