Cinco de Mayo Fun

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

01 May 2009 10:53 PM

Who cares if Cinco de Mayo isn't an American holiday? Look at it as another way to have fun with your friends and family.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the occasion, you might be interested to know that Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day. Many people mistaken the holiday as such, but actually, Cinco de Mayo originates from the day that the Mexican army defeated French forces in The Battle of Puebla.

The first Cinco de Mayo celebration took place in the United States in 1967 when a group of California State University students realized there was no Chicano celebration in the country. Today, the holiday is essentially a day to celebrate Mexican culture with dancing, food, and music.

To help commemorate the day in your own home, consider making the following simple crafts with your kids:

HOMEMADE MARACAS

Materials:

Paper plates

Dried beans or rice

Stapler

Paint, markers, crayons, stickers, glitter glue, etc.

Paper streamers

Directions:

Place a couple handfuls of dried beans or rice onto a paper plate.

Staple another paper plate securely on top of it.

Note: If you don't have many paper plates you could add the beans to a single paper plate, fold it in half and staple it together.

Decorate the maracas with crayons, markers, paint, or glitter glue.

Staple paper streamers to the maracas.

EASY CINCO DE MAYO SOMBRERO

Materials:

Styrofoam cup

Mini paper plate

1-inch wide strip of brown felt

1/4-inch wide strip of red felt

1/4-inch wide strip of orange felt

Acrylic paint in red and yellow

Medium pompoms in red, green, yellow, orange, white and brown

Paintbrush

Craft glue

Directions:

Paint paper plate and Styrofoam cup with yellow paint. Let dry and repeat.

Paint the outer edge of the plate rim red. Let dry completely.

Glue the Styrofoam cup to the center of the paper plate to form your sombrero.

Glue the brown felt around the bottom of the Styrofoam cup--the edge that is touching the plate--to create the hatband. Then, glue the red and orange felt over the brown to make stripes.

Glue the pompoms to the red edge of the paper plate, alternating colors to cover.

Allow to dry thoroughly, and then place the hats around the house as decorations.

Related Articles:

Papel Picado - Cinco de Mayo Project

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Chimichangas

Cinco de Mayo

Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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