How to Throw a Cinco de Mayo Party - Eats

Mexicali Popcorn -

10 cups of popped popcorn
1 tablespoon taco seasoning
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup grated Cheddar or Colby cheese

Place the popcorn in a large bowl.  In a small bowl, mix the seasoning with the butter.  Add grated cheese, then stir into the warm popcorn.  Makes 10 cups.

Create-Your-Own-Taco-Buffet - Keep the fare simple with a DIY main course.  Place shredded chicken, chili beef, lettuce, tomatoes, re-fried beans, grated cheese, sour cream, guacamole, and salsa in serving bowls; then arrange hard and soft shells on a plate.  Encourage guests to pile up their tacos ... and come back for seconds.

Round out the menu with chunks of tropical fruits served on Mexican Flag Picks (IN-3/2812, $5.25/144, Oriental Trading Company) and tortilla chips paired with your favorite dip.

Kids' Sangria - this recipe calls for cranberry/raspberry juice.

4 cups cranberry/raspberry juice
3 oranges
2 limes

Pour the fruit juice into a large pitcher.  Slice the oranges and limes thinly, remove any seeds, and add the slices to the pitcher.  Serve in tall glasses filled with ice.  Serves 4.

How to Throw a Cinco de Mayo Party - Treats

Mexican Cinnamon Brownies - Bake a batch of these slightly spiced brownies is a great way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo (May 5th).

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate squares
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Melt the chocolate squares and the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.  Remove pan from heat and allow the mixture to cool, about 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk the eggs until they are foamy, then add sugars and the vanilla extract, and whisk until they are well combined.  Stir in the chocolate until it is thoroughly combined.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.  Add the dry ingredients to the egg-and-sugar mixture and beat until smooth.  Fold in pecans.
4. Pour the batter into a lightly greased 13- by 9-inch pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.  Makes approximately 24 brownies.  

Top brownies with vanilla bean ice cream, if desired.  

How to Throw a Cinco de Mayo Party - Favors

For favors for your Cinco de Mayo Party think paper fans, neon sunglasses, mini Mexican flags, fiesta donkeys (IN-16/913, $8.50/dozen, Oriental Trading Company), maracas (IN-27/1053, $16.00/dozen, Oriental Trading Company) or sombreros (IN-15/203, $26.50/dozen, Oriental Trading Company).

How to Throw a Kentucky Derby Party

The Kentucky Derby is considered to be the greatest horse racing event in the USA and is one of the oldest.  Each year the Kentucky Derby takes place on the first Saturday in May.

A Kentucky Derby party is a fun birthday party idea for kids who love horses and want to move beyond the traditional pony party - feel free to spread the derby fun well past May.

Get out the red roses and gold trophies and serve up mint julep lemonade, mini-sandwiches and baby carrots. Finish off the treats with a pony cake and mint chocolate chip ice cream. See the posts below for party ideas - including Invitations, Decorations, Games, Eats, Treats and Favors.

How to Throw a Kentucky Derby Party - Invitations

You are in luck!  That's what it means when the tips of a horseshoe are pointing up - and your child's friends will feel lucky indeed when they receive one of these invitations.  To make each card - simply fold in half a 5 1/2 x 8 1/2-inch piece of white card stock.  Then cut out a horseshoe from construction paper and glue it to the front of the card.  Apply glitter dots for the horseshoe nails.  Use colored markers to add the messages and any  additional decorative details you wish, then print the party details inside.

How to Throw a Kentucky Derby Party - Decorations

Kentucky Derby Party decorations will create an atmosphere that will get your guests in the Derby mood.  The Kentucky Derby is an exciting race where everyone in the world can have access to the race on television.  If you have always wanted to go to a horse race, you are in luck.  You can create a party for your guests, that will make them feel as if they are there watching the races in Churchill Downs.

A good color scheme for this party is red, white and black.  Cover your tables in white clothes or red checkered one.  Sprinkle them with horse shoe confetti (IN-33/162, $4.25/bag, Oriental Trading Company).  Choose silver or crystal plastic table ware.  For paper goods choose red, white and black or a combination of the three.   Use roses, gold trophies and horse figures (IN-39/6060, $6.50/24 pieces, Oriental Trading Company) to decorate your table tops.  Decorate the room with red, white and black balloons and streamers.  The more the merrier!  Scatter horse shoes throughout the party room - on the tables, on the walls and around the food serving area.

If you don't know how to make tissue roses, check out these instructions here.

How to Throw a Kentucky Derby Party - Games

Horse in a Hat Betting Game - What is the Kentucky Derby without a wager?  On pieces of paper, write down the horses names.  These names can be found here.  Put the papers into a hat - if you have a Derby that would be a fantastic choice.  Mix the papers up.  Have each guest pull a name from the Derby hat.  After the race is over, the child who pulled the winning horse's name wins a prize.  To make it even more exciting, award prizes to the second and third place winners too.

Pin the Tail on the Horse - Simply draw a horse without a tail.  Don't worry if you are not that creative.  All that matters is that the horse does not have a tail.  Make up "horse tails" from construction paper or card stock.  Write each guest's name on a tail.  Place a piece of poster tape (double-sided) on the back of the tail.  Turn each blindfolded guest around three times and then let them go toward the horse.  Whoever places the tail in the correct place wins.  BTW - if you prefer you can buy Pin the Tail on the Horse games at toy stores or on-line.

Three Legged Horse Relay Race - What is Derby Day without a race?  Assign partners and tie their legs together.  Divide pairs into two or three teams.  May the best team win!

Kentucky Card Derby Game - With this game your guests can stage some racing excitement on your own turf with a simple card game that can be just as unpredictable as the Derby itself.  For rules click here.

Horse Shoes - Derby Day seems like the perfect occasion for playing horse shoes.  Check out toy stores or on-line vendors for a kid friendly set.


Horse, Horse, Pony - Have guests sit on the floor in a circle for an equine spin-off of duck, duck, goose.  One guest plays the part of the Pony, trotting around the outside of the circle tapping his or her friends lightly saying "horse, horse, horse" as they go.  When he or she taps someone and says "pony", that child jumps up and trots behind the first child around the circle and back to the empty space.  Then the fist child sits in the empty spot and the second child becomes the Pony.


Magical Merry-Go-Round - You don't have to grab the brass ring to win a prize in this game - everyone who participates gets one.  Before the party package a party favor for each child in a small decorative box or gift bag.  When the party winds down, have the guests form a circle and turn on some music.  Hand each guests a package and ask the guests to pass the packages around and around the circle until the music stops.  Then everyone gets to open the one they're holding and take home the trinkets inside.

How to Throw a Kentucky Derby Party - Eats

Try these tasty Kentucky Derby party foods on the day of the big horse race.  Just like the thoroughbreds, your party guests will love nibbling on peeled baby carrots.  Serve them with a light lunch of Derby Dogs, finger sandwiches and glasses of mock mint julep, lemonade or Mint Chocolate Chip Floats.

Kentucky Derby Dogs - To make these treats you will need one package of cold crescent roll dough and one package of cheese hot dogs.  Unroll the dough from the package.  Cut each dough triangle and each hot dog in half.  Roll one hot dog half in each piece of dough.  Then bake on a cookie sheet for approximately 20 minutes.

Finger Sandwiches - For Derby Day serve petite, crustless cucumber sandwiches that consist of thinly sliced cucumbers, cream cheese and mayo -  feel free to add to the cucumbers or substitute for them thinly sliced Kentucky ham.

Mint Julep Mocktails - Combine 1 cup of lemon-lime soda, 1 can of frozen lemonade concentrate, 1/4 cup of creme de menthe (make sure you get the non-alcoholic mix).  Swirl all these ingredients in the blender, adding ice if desired.  Add some fresh sprigs of mint to garnish.

In lieu of the mocktails, you can serve Lemonade with mint sprig garnish or make Mint Ice Cream Floats.  For each float, place a few small scoops of mint chocolate chip ice cream in a tall glass.  Gently pour in lemon-lime soda (regular or diet).  Note of caution, when putting a straw in a float, carefully slide the straw down the side of the glass to prevent bubbly eruptions.

How to Throw a Kentucky Derby Party - Treats

No derby party would be complete without the Mane Attraction - a Horse Cake!  Click here for complete directions.  Don't forget to serve your cake  with Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream!

How to Throw a Kentucky Derby Party - Favors

Party guests will love to take home a selection of pony stickers (Make a Horse Stickers, IN-9/833, $3.00/dozen - Oriental Trading Company), miniature ponies (sold at many craft stores or dollar stores), horse bouncing balls (IN-12/2515, $10.50/dozen - Oriental Trading Company), horseshoe magnets (IN-12/2023, $6.25/dozen - Oriental Trading Company) and miniature golden trophies (IN-42/2714, $21.00/24 ponies - Oriental Trading Company) in their goody bags.

Spring Parties

Need an idea for your child's upcoming birthday party?  Try one of these party plans for all those Spring Birthdays:

Butterfly Bash

Lil' Slugger Fest

Tropical Luau

Tea Party

Polka Dot Bonanza

Tie-Dyed Mania

Enjoy!  I hope each and every party will be a magical event!

How to Throw a Safari Party!

Have your kids gone ape over the new Disney movie Chimpanzee?  If so, your son or daughter may want to throw a Safari party for his or her next birthday!  Check out Kids' Parties with Flair's How to Throw a Sensational Safari Party here.

How to Throw a Pirate Party

With the premiere of the movie - The Pirates! Band of Misfits -  starring Hugh Grant and Salma Hayek, the young pirates in your life will want to have a Pirate Party!

Check out the Kids' Parties with Flair's How to Throw a Pirate Birthday Party Plan here.

National Princess Week

Julie Andrews, in collaboration with Target and The Walt Disney Company, has introduced the first annual National Princess Week this April - children across the world are invited to celebrate the sparkle and wonder of every princess.

Target stores will feature themed Princess merchandise at their Target store locations and on-line.  Disney is releasing a 10th Anniversary two movie collection of the modern-day fairy tale The Princess Diaries and the Princess Diaries 2:  Royal Engagement.  At Target you will also find Julie Andrews' The Very Fairy Princess:  Here Comes the Flower Girl co-authored with her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton.

So, how are you celebrating the first annual National Princess Week?  By marking your first anniversary with an actual prince?  No! Oh, right, that's the Duchess of Cambridge.  The rest of us will have to settle for a Princess Tea Party.  If children are to be included in your festivities, you might want to check out the Kids' Parties with Flair Princess Tea.  For added fun try making the handmade tiara pictured above.  You will find the directions from a Martha Stewart Show segment here.