Mexican Fiesta

A theme party is like a caricature.  You take an aspect of a culture and overemphasis it.

When you are doing a Mexican theme, think vibrant and vivacious.  The colors should be bright, loud and excessive.  The music should be upbeat and fun.

(Fiesta party supplies pictured above available at shindigz.com)

Decorations:

Primary colors red, green and white

Streamers are a must

Decorate the room with lots and lots of colorful streamers.  The colors and sheer amount of the paper streamers should be vibrant and overstated.

Decorate the room with colorful, oversized paper flowers.  Make smaller flowers for the female guests to wear in their hair.

Paper flowers:

To make paper flowers you will need:

	6-10 pieces of colorful tissue paper-the bigger the tissue paper the bigger the flower
	Long pipe cleaners

Lay the tissue paper out on a flat surface.  Place alternating colors one atop another keeping the stack even.

Starting at the left edge of the stack of tissue paper, begin folding it "accordion style", first forward, then backward. (As if you were making a paper fan for a child). 

Secure the folded stack tightly by twisting one end of the pipe cleaner around the center of the stack.  Leave the length of the pipe cleaner long and straight as it will serve as the stem later.

Gently pull the first layer of the folded tissue paper fan toward the center, first the left side, then the right.  When you have "fanned" half of the stack, flip it over and continue to pull toward the center until you have a round flower.

Piñatas

To top off your room a piñata placed in the center of the room adds a nice touch and doubles as a game at the end of the party.  Commercial piñatas now come in a variety of styles like the chili pepper or cactus featured in the opening picture.  (Chili pepper and cactus available at shindigz.com)

Music

The music is easy.  There are many choices for Mexican music.  Mariachi bands, salsa, tejano etc.  If it gets too overwhelming choose something with a little of everything.  Something like Bailes Regionales De Mexico is a collection of traditional Mexican favorites.  Everybody knows the first song on the track "Jarabe Tapatio" (The Mexican Hat Dance).  Follow the link to Amazon.com and you can sample a few tracks from the CD.

What we're serving:

Buffet style parties are easier for the hostess and her guests.  For this buffet setting use a brightly colored table cloth.  Place a sombrero in the center of the table as a centerpiece and scatter bright red chili peppers around the brim to add color.  

Have two wicker baskets at the head of the table one filled with hard taco shells, one filled with soft.  Put all your fixings in individual clay pots-large pots for the main ingredients, small pots for the sauces.  Newly purchased clay flower pots work well and are usually inexpensive.  (Remember to fill in the hole on the bottom)

Taco Bar

Parting Gifts

A great memento for your party is a handmade jar of chili mix or you can make your own.  Simply fill clean mason jars with the dry ingredients from your favorite chili recipe, then attach a card telling them how to make it.