Happy Cinco de Mayo Friends! Have you ever wondered what exactly Cinco de Mayo is? If so I’m about to tell you… In 1862, the Mexican army defeated French forces (whose numbers were double that of the Mexican troops) in a huge battle in a town called Puebla. It was an unexpected victory and became the source of much excitement and pride, not just in Mexico, but also in many Mexican communities in the American West. When word of the May 5 victory reached mining communities in California, Mexican workers reportedly celebrated by firing rifles into the air and singing patriotic songs. That is said to be the very first Cinco de Mayo celebration…and they’ve increased in popularity ever since. This is why Cinco de Mayo is largely celebrated not in Mexico itself, but en los Estados Unidos!
Cinco de Mayo is not to be confused with Mexico’s official Independence Day, which is celebrated across Mexico on September 16. But here in America, May 5 has become a day to embrace Mexican heritage and pride, whether you have Mexican ancestry or not.
Tonight we are having a little family Cinco de Mayo celebration with delicious Mexican food, drinks and these lovely Sombrero centerpieces! They were super easy to put together and the boys had a lot of fun with it. All you need is a paper plate, paper cup, some pipe cleaners, puff balls and glue! I twisted the pipe cleaners around the bottom of each cup for my youngest, but my older two were able to do this themselves. I did cut off the ends for all of them to avoid any poking :). We then glued the cup to the plate and decorated them to look like mini sombreros. We just used colored puff balls and glued them around the edges of the plate! We practiced patterns and counting while we were making them too! The other idea I had was to punch a hole on either side of the cups and thread them with ribbon to make a cute banner… What ever you choose I think they’ll be a hit at your fiesta too!
mommyapolis 
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