How to Throw a Last Minute Cinco De Mayo Nacho Bar Party

Planning a Cinco de Mayo party? Check out these simple and fun ideas to throw together a Nacho Bar party in no time!

I remember Cinco de Mayo last year so vividly. It was the first day in months that I didn’t take a nap. Morning sickness had taken it’s toll on me and I wasn’t about to give up precious nap time to try and feel better. When I realized it was Cinco de Mayo and I was finally feeling better, I used nap time to throw together a Nacho Bar party for a few friends. I’m sharing a few ideas in case you want to celebrate Cinco de Mayo but don’t have a lot of time to throw a huge party together. If nothing else, it will give you a dinner idea for your family!

Cinco de Mayo Decor

Since I wasn’t planning this party weeks in advance and my kids were napping, I had to find things around my house to decorate with. A festive plate, some photo booth props, and a guessing jar of jelly beans were the perfect centerpiece.

I love having a stash of party banners (from clearance racks or homemade) that can be pulled out to decorate fast. This Fiesta banner strung across a giant chalkboard provided a great backdrop for the Nacho Bar. Scattering a few balloons added a simple, festive touch, too!

Wrapping the table in butcher paper made for easy cleanup and my favorite white square paper plates from Dollar Tree made an appearance, too. A bright straw and striped napkin made the place settings look super festive, even though they weren’t Cinc0-de-Mayo specific. That’s what I love about generic party supplies–you can make them work for any occasion!

The Menu

The menu was super simple. Luckily, I was able to quickly cook up the meat and everything else I had on hand. In years past, we’ve eaten Chicken Fajitas, Mexican Rice, and Healthy Un-fried Ice Cream, but a Nacho Bar was simpler and super yummy. We included the following for our Nacho Bar:

Tortilla chips
Taco beef
Crockpot Salsa chicken
Tomatoes
Avacados
Shredded cheese
Salsa
Mini 7-layer chip dip (black beans, guacamole, sour cream, salsa, shredded cheese, chopped olives) via Everything Mommyhood

And of course, what’s a party without some fun photos? You can find some sombreros at the dollar store and you can easily make some mustaches out of black cardstock and sucker sticks.