Cinco de Mayo Crafts

Before we moved to Texas I don't think I even knew what Cinco de Mayo was. Now that we're here, we see signs of it everywhere.  (If you live in Austin, you might want to check out 10 Free Family Friendly Cinco de Mayo Events for this year from Free Fun in Austin)

I figured doing a simple Mexican flag craft with the girls this year was a good opportunity to sneak in a little geography and history.  We pointed to where Mexico is on the map and looked up the Mexican flag.  (The girls love pointing out flags when we drive in the car; I'm pretty sure they'll be noticing some from Mexico in the next few days)

 Here's how we made a festive Mexican flag drinking straw with kids:

1.  Cut a green and a white straw into several pieces.  Slit each piece down the side with a pair of scissors.  (Don't look too closely at my picture.  I didn't happen to have any white straws at the time; so I used a piece of ribbon for the white)

2.  Slip several pieces of white and green onto a red straw.

3.  Print two copies of a Mexican flag from your printer.  Glue their backs together and use a piece of clear tape to attach to the straw 2/3 from the top.

4. To make your straw extra fancy, cut a small piece from another red straw.  Cut fringes into each end of the piece with a pair of scissors.  Slit the piece all along one side with a pair of scissors and slip on to the straw just above the flag.

If you are in the market for Cinco De Mayo crafts you might also take a look at the Mexican jumping bean craft I wrote about a couple of years ago.  The template is provided as well as a video showing how it works.  (It feels alive in your hand and is so fun to watch)


My friend Rebecca's over at Quirky Momma also has some fun ideas on celebrating Cinco De Mayo with kids!


Does your family celebrate Cinco de Mayo?  I'd love to hear what kinds of things you do together!