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