Everyone looks for a good reason to celebrate. Cinco De Mayo is just such a reason. After all, commemorating independence is a wonderful reason to celebrate. Although Cinco De Mayo is the celebration of Mexico's Independence from Spain, it has great significance to those in the United States as well. Mexico and the United States have fought shoulder to shoulder to protect the freedom and liberty of their citizens. This wonderful celebration can be enjoyed by anyone from anywhere. It all begins with an authentic Mexican fiesta!

Planning Your Cinco De Mayo Fiesta

• Invitations – Make them festive.  You can buy invitations or create your own. Creating your own invitations can be fun and inexpensive.  Whether you buy party invitations or create your own, make sure they are colorful and festive.  Get creative with your designs. Use maracas, Mexican flags and the colors red, green and white as your part of your invitation theme since these are the national colors of Mexico.
• Decorations – Make them come alive. If you want to make this fiesta memorable, go over-the-top with your decorations! Include sombreros, Mexican colors (red, white, and green), colorful streamers and a lot of party balloons in your decoration scheme.  The more bright and festive colors used the better.
• Food – Make it tasty & spicy.  Food is the main attraction and the one thing everyone looks forward to at a party. Don't limit yourself.  Any type of Mexican food will be a star at this festive party.  Think spicy, think flavorful when you plan the food selections. Chicken molé, tamales, tacos along with chips and salsas are pretty standard fare for a Cinco De Mayo celebration.  Don't forget the sweets.  Cream cheese flan or sopapillas dipped in honey are great items for the dessert table.
• Entertainment – Make it active.  Every celebration needs entertainment.  Add excitement to the fiesta by incorporating activities as part of the entertainment. Teach your guests to do the macarena or have a piñata for the children. At any fiesta music is a MUST! Add a little musical spice by playing cumbia, salsa, or any latin music that you would enjoy.
• The Finale – Light up the Sky.  In many countries, fireworks are a traditional way to end the celebration.  Plan a firework demonstration for the end of the party.

Regardless of the decorations you choose, the food you cook, or music you play, a well planned fiesta is sure to be a great success!

Dear Celebration Advisor: I am wanting to give my sister, who is fighting cancer, a surprise birthday dinner party. My husband and I cannot afford to pay for all the guests. On the invitation how would you word it so the guests know that the cost is $15.00 per person to attend. It is a rather awkward thing to ask so I do want to do it in a non-offensive way. Can you help me??? Thanks for your help! Anita

Reply:

This can be a tricky situation. According to Emily Post, you can't ask guest to essentially pay to attend. It is suggested that you cut the guests list down or find a less expensive venue. However, I don't necessarily agree that a party can't be "dutch treat".

This is how I usually handle those "dutch treat" parties. I don't send formal invitations. Instead I do my invites by phone or even email. When I send the invitation by email it goes something like this:

Sally's birthday is Friday May 8th. I am taking her to Godsey's restaurant for dinner at 7pm. I thought it would be a nice surprise if some of her friends were there to surprise her. I thought you might want to join us. The restaurant is going to reserve an area for our "dutch-treat" get-together. The entrees run anywhere from $15.00-$30.00. Please let me know if you will be joining us.

The most important thing is to keep the tone informal and not to declare host status. If you must send a printed invitation, keep in mind it must still reflect an informal party tone. My suggest is to word the invitation something like this:

The Friends Of Sally Miller
will gather on Saturday May, 10th
at 7pm at Godsey's Restaurant
to celebrate her birthday.

This gathering is a surprise!
To RSVP call
Jane Baker at 870-555-5555

This party invitation wording keeps the occasion tone informal. Notice the status of host is not declared in this invitation. When a party is "Dutch treat", it does not have a host per say. If you feel the need to include the term "dutch treat" on invitation do it at the bottom of the invitation like this

This gathering will be "Dutch Treat"
call Jane For restaurant information

I hope this information will help you plan a wonderful party for your sister. Please keep me posted.

Ok, we know that Valentine’s Day is the worst day of the year if you are single right? Well this year, why not do something to make it fun for all of us single people. Everywhere you go its couples, couples, couples so, I decided this year I would throw a party for Valentine’s Day. Yes… a social mixer. Not only for single people, because that might be awkward, but just a fun party for everyone to meet new people and make acquaintances.

Here are a few party ideas that will help you throw your own V-Day Celebration.

Invitations are great for this type of party because it symbolizes formality and event importance. Read the rest of Valentine's Day Mixers… Singles can have fun too! »

Invite Excitement With Creative Party Invitations

Of all the responsibilities of throwing a party, the invitation is often the most overlooked—and the most important. The party invitation is the first thing guests will see. It gives them an idea of the theme, atmosphere, and basic information about the party. If you rigorously work to throw a party, you want the invitation to show it!

For every type of party, there are hundreds of invitation possibilities. While creativity at a party is somewhat optional, it is a must for the invitation. It’s the “calling card” for the event. Invitations represent the event in its entirety.

Add A Personal Touch To Party Invitations

Invitations for common events, such as weddings and birthday parties, are opportunities to display some uncommonness and personality. Elaborate invitations are always an option; however, the more personality injected into an invitation, the more effective it will be. For example, with birthday parties, try a snapshot of the guest of honor in his or her youth with information on the back or, for something more formal, place the photo inside of a more intricate invitation.

Find a humorous or endearing photograph from a scrap album, have copies made at any photography development counter, and add the time, date, and location on the back or on the rest of the invitation. Imagine getting a photo in the mail of a friend dressed like a cowboy as a four-year-old and how difficult it Read the rest of Party Invitation Ideas »