Una Fiesta Buenisima!!!!

Maggie and Jeff Goebel

Laurie and Kelvin Gebbs

Julie and Jon Brown
Marlon and Jill Waite

Ryan and Tammara Leaver

Corrina Pallas

Kristi and Rob Collins
Brock and Sara Bingham
Candi and Mike Wilhite
The party decor (seating for 17) 3 hours before the party


The placesetting (silverware rolled up in napkin)
The 'condiment' Taco Cart
One of the small cactus' that I bought for centerpieces. They are very attractive.
Another cactus with paper mache food
The table just before adding chips and salsa to the tables.

We had our 10th party tonight. The theme was a Mexican Fiesta. We had all sorts of good food to eat and 17 good friends to visit with. These parties are always such fun! Above are the photographs of tonight's guests. Here's the MENU (and who brought what):

Sopa de Fideo (Goebel's)

Homemade Tomatillo Salsa (Goebel's)

Homemade Guacamole (Waites)

Taco Salad (Gebbs)

Refried Beans (?)

Spanish Rice (Wilhites and Waites)

Seven Layer Dip (Collins)

Carnitas (Browns)

Tamales (Goebels)

Quesadillas (Leavers)

Vanilla Icecream (Binghams)

Churros (Waites)

And thanks Jill and Marlon for the bouquet of flowers. So thoughtful!!!

Finally. The get to know you game that we always play....

Can you guess who...............

1. Three days after getting married, her husband went back to Germany and they were apart for 5 months until she could go join him!!!

2. Went on the Price is Right on their honeymoon?

3. While vacationing they visited a cemetary and photographed the inside of a grandma's grave?

4. She blew off her husband the first time they met?

5. They met in a grocery store and she finally went up to him and asked him if he wanted her phone number?

6. Was married on a Saturday and had to be back in school on Monday back in Provo?

7. They went on their honeymoon with a mother-in-law and two sister-in-laws?

8. On their wedding night the husband wanted to leave the curtain open in their hotel room?

(Answers: 1. Corinna, 2. Wilhites, 3. Goebel's, 4. Binghams, 5. Leavers, 6. Browns, 7. Collins, 8. Waites)

Mexican Fiesta- The night before checklist

Here is my to-do list for tomorrow's Dinner Party:

Before Noon- Friday:
Wash chairs and place them around the table
Clean off all counters (make kitchen very clean!)
Line up on buffet bar: water pitchers, 15 glass goblets, soup bowls, plates, chip and salsa bowls
Front door welcome sign????
Make centerpieces
Tie up napkin/silverware with raffia
Find taco cart
Get game ready (tear paper strips and 7 pens)

During kids naptime:
Make Fideo (noodle soup)
Cut tomatillos, onion, press garlic, line up spices for salsa near stove, mince jalapeños, cans of diced red tomatoes
Set table
Mop kitchen floor
Clean bathroom

4pm:
Go get tamales from lady in 99cent store parking lot
Then go to Smith's buy vanilla icecream, tortilla chips

5pm:
Clean up front entry and back patio
Bring in empty garbage with clean liner

5:30pm:
Begin making salsa (with extra for Marta)
Load dishwasher so that countertops are clean

6pm:
Get dressed and put on some make-up
Reheat Fideo
Steam Tamales if needed and cut in half
Fill chip baskets and salsa bowls
Fill taco cart (sour cream, onion, lime, tortillas, chips, salsa)
Fill water goblets with ice and water
Put fideo into soup bowls and serve to guests at 6:30pm

Mexican Fiesta plans

This party has creeped up on me. Yesterday I had to get working on decor. I first went into my party closet and looked at what I have.

Tablecloths:

2 black fabric ones
6 raspberry red fabric ones
3 white fabric ones
50 ft. black plastic on a roll
assorted patterned ones

I want BRIGHT fiesta colors so I decided that I will get some bright plastic ones at the store

Placemats:
25- red stitching with bamboo placemats
A couple neutral fabric ones
Christmas ones
16- Red polyester woven ones
22-Red, yellow, green, white, blue patterned plastic ones - Fiesta style

I'll use the last ones mentioned obviously!

Tableware:
Neutral ceramic plates (enough for 16) but they'd probably clash a little with the placemats.
Assorted bright solid paper plates, cups, and napkins
A few leftover patterns from past parties or from clearance racks
20 Red plastic (reusable) dinner and dessert plates

We have enough silverware and plastic ware. I've decided to go with the red paper plates and desert plates, patterned cups for the juice, solid napkins wrapped with raffia with silver ware tucked inside, and crystal goblets for water.

Wall and Ceiling Decorations:

Nothing for the Fiesta theme
I'm going to look for papel picado (see picture above) and some wall murals. I already have a large Mexican boy to put somewhere as well.

Other Details:

Small Cactus centerpieces tied with a ribbon and tissue paper

Mexican chip and salsa bowls (some borrowed from sister Marta and others of my own)

Chip baskets for the tables

Paper mache fruits and vegatables for centerpiece

6 small maracas

A bag with flowers hanging on the front door that says 'Viva la fiesta!'

Low Cost Mexican Fiesta Centerpiece

They look nice by themselves, but it looks extra nice with the pot wrapped in brightly colored tissue paper and finished off with a ribbon, raffia or twine.
After the party consider letting guests take one home as a favor. The cactus's below have couples names and initials on a card. They are meant to be favors below. They could also be used as a placecard telling guests where to sit.
A Fun Centerpiece
Add punch to a Southwestern- or Mexican-themed dinner with a centerpiece of blooming cactus. Fill a clay pot with Spanish moss, and top it with a green cabbage. Use a toothpick to add a flower head. Or wrap Spanish moss around the end of a trio of zucchinis, stuff the moss-wrapped end in a clay pot, and insert a bloom.

A cake to try...

I saw this cake on omnomicon.com and knew that I had to try it for my upcoming Mexican fiesta! I was just talking last night to my husband about needing to find a different dessert that would be fun and festive and yummy. Then to come across this today! Perfect!!! This also would have been great for a sixties, seventies, or eighties party.
If you would like the recipe go to the following blog post: http://maggiesdinnerdates.blogspot.com/2009/04/rainbow-cake-sure-party-dessert-hit.html

Side comment- this cake looks slightly different than the other rainbow cake. Since it was only one cake layer it has a rounded top and is smaller.

Mexican Fiesta invitation- 2 weeks away!!! - TICKET STYLE INVITATIONS

Here is the party invitation that I originally designed for the tailgate party, but have since changed to a Mexican Fiesta. I have so many ideas swarming around my head for this party. First of all, I need to get these invites (tickets) out to the 10 couples over the next few days. I plan to give each couple two tickets- since each one admits one person. I saw these on a website and they cost $35. for 15 tickets!!! I thought to myself that I could design my own with my Adobe Photoshop Elements. And it took awhile, but I did and saved myself a lot of money. I may end up inviting a lot more people since this is such a cool theme! I'll keep you all posted!

Rainbow Cake- A sure party dessert hit!!

Sunny Day Rainbow Cake from omnomicon.com

2 boxes white cake mix

24 oz of clear diet soda (2 cans, ginger ale and sprite work well)

gel food colouring

16 oz whipped topping

2 oz instant fat-free sugar-free pudding mix (2 smallish boxes)


The Dieting
Mix the cake mix with the soda according to regular instructions on box. It will be lumpy afterward. Again, you can use any white cake recipe you want, this is just how I do it.

The Rainbowing
Measure the total volume (by my estimate, 64 oz), then divide by 6 and measure into separate bowls. There are 8 oz in a cup, so 64/6 = 10 to 11 oz, or 1 cup + 2 tbsp.
Stir colour into each bowl with its own spoon.





For the first colour into the pan, measure out 2/3 to 3/4 of your mix (in this case about 1 c) as close to the middle as you can. Drop in your first three colours, then work on the other pan with the last three colours. So if you’re doing rainbow order, the first pan should have red, then orange, then yellow, and now the purple, blue and green go into the second pan. As a recap, this is so both layers are roughly the same size.
Bake the cake for however long the box tells you to bake it. Check it when the box says to, but usually it’ll need an extra 5 or 10 minutes or maybe more because of the density of the soda method. Just keep baking, checking back every 5 minutes or so until a toothpick to the center comes out clean.


Let cool completely before moving to a wire rack.

The Frostinging
Meanwhile, make your frosting. Just mix the pudding mix in with the whipped topping for a few minutes. Dye if you’re into that.
Frost your fat-free cake with your fat-free whipped frost. Eat.

Mexican Fiesta

If you want a party that would appeal to a broad spectrum of people then a Mexican Fiesta would be it. Many people love Mexican food and the decor is so cheery and fun!An obvious time of year to have the Mexican Fiesta is on May 5th- A Cinco de Mayo party or September 15- Mexico's Independence Day. A fiesta works for any time of year, but these are big holidays in Mexico and especially in the southwest United States where there is a high Mexican population.

Invitations
*Go to a dollar store and find a some colorful plastic maracas. Attach the invitation
*Buy inexpensive packaged Mexican spices and attach a note with something to the effect of "You and your husband are invited to a spicy night of fun with friends on________________ at ________________. Señor and Señora __________ look forward to your RSVP. Please call 444-4544
*Get a cheap Mexican calendar, cut out the picture, with a permanent marker write the invite, then cut into a puzzle, put in a colorful envelope and mail or hand deliver.

Decor
*Bright colors is the key! Even blending colors that you normally would have next to each other like pink and orange, blue and green (think Dora the Explorer). The table cloths or plastic table coverings can be of the same color or different colors.

*Don’t worry about clashing. It’s hard to go overboard with bold colors at a Mexican celebration
*Large bright paper flowers on the table would look nice. Also smaller piñatas would be nice on the table.
*Scatter confetti on the table.
*You could buy some small inexpensive cactus's and wrap the container in colorful cellophane or tissue paper and tie with a pretty ribbon. These could double as favors.
*Hang a Mexican flag at a focal point in your room. Then, use smaller flags to decorate the walls and doors, etc.
*Decorate with bright colorful balloons or red, green and white balloons the color of the flag.
*Red tissue flowers will recall the beauty of the Mexican landscape. Place these in bunches around your room.
*For an authentic touch, visit your local travel agent and try to get posters of Mexico - some city scenes, some beach scenes and scenes of some of the historic ruins. You can mount these on foam core and hang them on the walls.

Menu
*Mexican, of course! To save money have it potluck. Assign guests to bring: appetizers, side dishes, and main dishes. Since you only need one dessert you can do it or give it to a reliable friend. Vanilla ice cream with churros is great. Or cut flour tortillas into triangles spray with oil and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and bake. Stick into ice cream.
*For lighter fare or fiestas that take place during the day, choose Taco Salad. This can be served with either beef or chicken and can feature a variety of toppings as well.
*If you want to provide the entire meal Mexican food can be done on a tight budget. One option is a nacho bar. Get a big bag of tortilla chips at a warehouse store. Buy a large can of cheese and heat in the crockpot. Fry up some ground beef and season well. Cut up tomatoes, green onions, grate cheese, put out salsa and sour cream and consider opening a can of beans (rinse beans before serving). Then for dessert mix up some blender smoothies or milkshakes.
*Have a salsa bar, and a taco bar with similar ingredients as the nacho bar.

10 Mexican Foods that gringos love:
1. Enchiladas
2. Burritos
3. Nachos
4. Tortilla Soup
5. Tacos
6. Fajitas
7. Machaca (scrambled egg with shredded beef, and green chile with side of salsa and tortillas.
8. Torta (sandwich- often with carne asada, avocado, sour cream, lettuce and mayo
9. Refried Beans
10. Mexican Rice


Games and Activities
Play Limbo
Play Loteria (Spanish version of Bingo)
Break the Piñata
Teach the Macarena
Hire a Mariachi band
Decorate a corner of the room to look like Mexico and take photos of each couple there
"Nachos-Eating Competition" Mexican Fiesta Party Game

This Mexican fiesta party game is deliciously fun. Prior to the party, prepare a plate of nachos (or just corn chips and dip) and divide it among several bowls. Guests have to pair up, and take one bowl of nachos per team. One team-member stands behind the other, acting as their ‘arms’, and must feed the nachos to their partner. The first team to empty their bowl is the winner of this Mexican fiesta party game. This game could end up being VERY messy, so it’s a good idea to play it outside and provide players with ‘bibs’ to protect their clothes!!

Favors
*See decor regarding the cactus centerpiece
*Send each couple home with a jar of salsa and a note thanking them for coming
*A small goody bag with Mexican candies
*Look for any Mexican items at dollar stores or party stores
*Give everyone a Tortilla warmer and attach the following note "It warms our hearts that you chose to spend your evening with us. Love, the Martins"