Cinco de Mayo party ideas for kids

Kids will love creating these simple yet fun Cinco de Mayo crafts.

Maracas

What you'll need:

• Two large paper cups
• Paintbrush
• Red, white and green craft paint
• Dried pinto beans
• Hot glue gun

What you'll do:

1. Paint and decorate the outside of each paper cup.
2. Let dry.
3. Fill one cup halfway with dried pinto beans.
4. Apply hot glue to the top edge of the cup.
5. Place the second cup on the glue to create the maraca.
6. Let dry.

Caution: Only adults should use the hot glue gun.

Mariachi guitars

What you'll need:

• Cardboard
• Pencil
• Sharp scissors or X-Acto knife
• String
• Colored paper
• Hot glue gun or craft glue

What you'll do:

1. Draw a mariachi guitar shape on the cardboard.
2. Carefully cut out the mariachi guitar with sharp scissors or have an adult use an X-Acto knife.
3. Cut out colored paper to decorate both sides of the cardboard.
4. Cut four to five long pieces of string, and glue them to one side of the cardboard to make the guitar strings.

Caution: Only adults should use the hot glue gun and X-Acto knife.

How to make paper flowers >>

Teach your child Spanish

With the help of music, games or flash cards, you can easily teach your kids how to count to 10 or learn basic colors.

Crack open a piñata

Fill a homemade or store-bought piñata with candy, stickers or other age-appropriate items, and then allow your children to crack it open with a stick or baseball bat, while taking turns.

Tip: Make sure you hang your piñata in a wide-open space with plenty of swinging and running room!

Do a Mexican hat dance

The Mexican hat dance is a cultural tradition — and a fun activity for the whole family!

What you'll need:

• Sombrero
• Mexican music

What you'll do:

1. Have everyone stand in a circle holding hands.
2. Play the music while everyone walks sideways in a clockwise direction.
3. Call out one person's name.
4. That person is to come to the center of the circle and dance around the sombrero until the next person's name is called.
5. When the person in the middle's turn is up, they should rejoin the circle.

Serve up some Mexican food that adults and kids alike will love. A taco bar station allows children to get involved with preparing their own meal.

Taco bar

Ingredients:

• Refried beans
• Black beans
• Shredded cheese
• Carne asada (or chicken, pork or tofu)
• Grilled peppers
• Sour cream
• Black olives
• Shredded lettuce
• Corn tortillas
• Flour tortillas
• Salsa
• Chips
• Guacamole

Directions:

1. Heat and prepare the beans, vegetables and meat ahead of time.
2. Place each item in its own bowl.
3. Allow your family and children to make their own tacos — taco salad, nachos or on a plate.

Tip: Label each item in English and in Spanish to encourage learning of the Spanish language.

Cinco de Mayo recipes: Fiesta food and drink >>

Mexican flag dessert cup

Ingredients:

• Instant Jell-O, strawberry or cherry
• Instant Jell-O, lime
• Whip cream
• Clear plastic cups
• Small spoons (or large popsicle sticks if you are eating them outside)

Directions:

1. Make the red and green Jell-O ahead of time or with your children.
2. Place two to three tablespoons of red Jell-O into the bottom of the clear plastic cup.
3. Cover the red Jell-O with a thin layer of whip cream.
4. Place two to three tablespoons of green Jell-O on top.
5. Serve immediately.

Don't miss out on these incredible Cinco de Mayo piñata cookies >>

Image credit: Amy Vowles

More activities for kids

Making music with your kids
4 Messy outdoor crafts for kids
How to make paper mache