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Step 1
At the entrance to your party/event, station a live person in character to greet them as they enter with some traditional Mexican music (i.e. Mariachi, etc.) in the background. A few examples are described below:
" The President of Mexico greeting your guests into his country
" A flight attendant welcoming everyone 'off the plane' and to enjoy their stay in Mexico (or better a specific city in Mexico that you've chosen to 'host' your party.)
" Similar to the above but a cruise director preparing the 'guests' to 'disembark' - of course reminding them what time the cruise sets sale from the port to their next destination.
" A Pancho Villa-like (sombrero and all) character welcoming the guests into his beautiful country -
Step 2
Play a few games of Mexican themed Bingo! For a downloadable Mexican themed Bingo set, click the link below under RESOURCES.
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Step 3
This game would work for older children as well. Look up at your local library (or online) how to say the following words in Spanish: Yes (Si), No (No), Please (por favor) and Thanks (gracias.) (I say look them up because spelling them in Spanish won't help pronouncing them with a native tongue.) Provide these words and translations for each of your guests and explain that the English versions of these four words are not to be used (either for a specified period of time or for the duration of the party/event.) Additionally, arm each guest with three markers (coins, fake jewels, etc.) If a guest uses one of the four English words in any way (even in casual conversation) the first other guest to notice gets to ask for one of the markers. At the end of the specified time, the one with the most markers wins. For a great online translator for a resource (though does not show pronunciation) is www.wordlingo.com.
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Step 4
Get your hand on as many different TV sets that you can and place them around your party/facility/event. On each of the sets, play the movie Zorro (either of the movies in the series). Find multiple copies of the movie from friends, co-workers and especially the library. Although, you could have a different movie played on each set, don't shy away from having multiple sets with the same movie playing…having them all set to different places in the movie continually. Remember, this is for 'decoration', unless of course you'd LIKE your guests to watch the movie as part of an activity. The really great part about this is that you don't even need to have the volume on (in fact, especially for adult parties where the guests will probably more enjoy their conversations more than the movies…)!
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Step 5
This is a great game that can passively last throughout the entire party. Print out several pictures of different Mexican cultural objects (i.e. sombreros, piñatas, etc. - see the Decorations section for resource ideas on obtaining images.) On each of the sheets of paper, write a different number or name bold enough to see easily. Place them throughout the party area, however, do not place all of them in easily found locations. Some of them can be in plain view (so that everyone can find a few) but most hide a bit out of site. Provide for each of your guests to have a copy of a list of all the images to find. Next to each of the image names, they are to write the number/name provided on each image sheet. The goal is to be the first to fill in all the answers by either knowing them outright, finding the poster or combinations thereof. You can also instruct them that all completed sheets can be turned in to you by a certain time, then a raffle can be held among all that are turned in for a prize. A third variation would be to offer a raffle ticket for each correct answer (the more they answer, the better chance they'll have to win a prize at the raffle.)
