Fiesta Series- Pinatas!

This is my final fiesta series post! I hope it has inspired you to go out and throw your own Mexican party!

One of the best parts of a fiesta is, of course, the piñata! For my party, I purchased a piñata from iParty. Here it is:

I ended up hanging it in the backyard. There were 6 people and each person got about 3 turns to hit the piñata before it was destroyed.

Inside the piñata, I stuffed starbursts, Werther's hard caramel candies, and Hershey kisses. For each person, there was also a pack of gum, a Bath & Body Works hand sanitizer, and a lip gloss.

I hope you've enjoyed this fiesta series! If you missed any of the other posts, they are listed below.
- Kickoff
- DIY Banner
- Ruffle Place Cards
- Decorations
- Food

Fiesta Series- Food

At my end-of-the-year fiesta, I served dinner and desserts to my guests. I created, printed, and laminated a menu for each person.

Appetizers:
Chips and Salsa

Main Meal:
Salad
Cheese Quesadillas
Spanish Rice

Desserts:
Non-Alcoholic Pina Coladas
Cupcakes

Table with Chips, Dips, and Salad

 

In this three way bowl there was cheese queso, sour cream (for quesadillas), and guacamole.

 

 

Everybody had one of these Mexican napkins.



Finally, here's the quick recipe for the non-alcoholic pina coladas.

Ingredients:
Pineapple Juice
Cream of Coconut
Crushed Ice

Directions:
Combine equal parts pineapple juice and cream of coconut along with the ice in a blender.

Fiesta Series- Decorations

Today's fiesta theme is decorations! One of my favorite parts of throwing a party is decorating around the house to correspond with the theme. I usually focus most on the dining room, where the guests eat dinner and desserts.

For starters, in the dining room I hung up little pink lanterns (purchased from Michael's) on the light fixture.

In the corner of the room, I hung up my fiesta banner.

Here is what the final table setting looked like:

 

Down the center of the table was an orange table runner, which was topped with large colorful tissue paper flowers.

 

At each end of the table runner was a pink maraca. I sprinkled sombrero confetti (purchased from iparty) all along the table runner.

At each guest's spot I placed a colorful plate and a corresponding glass, a fiesta napkin, their place card, a menu, and utensils.

Finally, I moved this adorable light-up cactus into the kitchen.

Other fiesta series posts:
- Kickoff
- DIY Banner
- Ruffle Place Cards

Fiesta Series- Ruffle Place Cards!

For this project, you will need crepe paper, white card stock, a hot glue gun, scissors, and Sharpies.

Start by cutting each piece of card stock into three pieces, and fold each piece in half so it stands up like a tent. Then, cut three pieces of different colored crepe paper. Fold each piece in half and cut slits in the top half of the strip. Glue the bottom of each strip to the bottom of the tent.

Repeat for as many place cards as you need.

Finally, write the names of each guest on a place card using a Sharpie.

 

 

To finish, prop each card up at the party table in front of the guest's seat.

 



Fiesta Series- DIY Banner

This DIY fiesta banner is time consuming, but turns out adorable and is worth making if you are hosting a Mexican party. You will need cardboard, scissors, colorful crepe paper, a hot glue gun, 10 pieces of straw, a pencil, yarn, cardstock, a glue stick, and construction paper.

Start by cutting out five Mexican donkeys from cardboard (I cut out more but eventually realized I didn't need all of them).

Next, cover each donkey with layers of crepe paper. First, cut a strip and fold it in half. Then, make slits in the top half of the strip and glue the other half to the donkey.

Now take two pieces of a normal plastic drinking straw about 1.5 to 2 inches long and hot glue them to the back of each donkey. This is how the donkeys will string onto the yarn.

Cut 6 triangles out of construction paper, preferably the same colors as your crepe paper.

Next, draw or print out the letters that spell "fiesta" on cardstock. Cut them out and glue one letter onto each triangle.

I laminated the triangles, but that is completely optional. Then, punch a hole in the top two corners of each triangle. Thread the triangles and donkeys onto yarn (I used orange yarn), starting with a triangle and alternating between the letters and the donkeys. Finally, suspend the banner in the party space and enjoy!

Fiesta Series- Kickoff!

For my end of the school year party, I threw a Mexican fiesta to celebrate the beginning of summer! It was a hit and everybody had a great time. So, to share my ideas, I am going to do a fiesta series. The next five posts will be about all kinds of fiesta details- from DIYs to food to decorations. Enjoy!

Image from here