Cinco de Mayo is one of those holidays that only occurs to me when I’m in the middle of it – as in, when I’m sitting in a restaurant and notice the poster reading “CINCO DE MAYO CERVEZAS ONLY $2!!!” and think, Ooh. I should have a beer.
This year, Cinco de Mayo occurred to me several days prior to the actual event for two reasons: The first is that Mollie is throwing a party on Friday, and I just got the email reminder, and the second is that a few days ago I went over to Mollie’s house and she showed me how to make the tissue-paper flowers and Ranch Water cocktails that’ll be featured at this party. (Related: going to Mollie’s house is always a good idea.) So, really, I suppose there’s actually only one reason that Cinco de Mayo occurred to me before actual Cinco de Mayo, and that’s “I have a friend named Mollie.”
These tissue-paper flowers are so cute, and so versatile – you can make them bigger or smaller depending on the size of tissue paper you use, and can choose whatever color palette you want – and they’re easy enough to make that you can hand over assembly duties to the kids (so you can focus on those Ranch Water cocktails).
TISSUE-PAPER FLOWERS
What You Need:
- Tissue paper in your chosen colors (approximately 8-10 sheets per flower)
- Green pipe cleaners
What You Do:
First, stack 8-10 sheets of tissue paper.
Fold them accordion-style, making 1 1/2″ folds.
Affix the pipe cleaner to the center of the accordion to make a “stem.”
Gently separate the tissue paper to form petals, fluffing them out until you get the effect of a flower.
(You can bunch a few of the middle pieces together to make a bud in the center.)
Pile your flowers into a bowl to use as a centerpiece, put them in vases, or hang them using a little wire (or another pipe cleaner).
Now that the kids are occupied, let’s start on the cocktails, shall we?
RANCH WATER COCKTAILS
What You Need:
- Topo Chico Sparkling Mineral Water (or whatever sparkling water you have)
- Silver Tequila
- Fresh Limes
- Maldon Sea Salt (or a similar flaky sea salt)
- Aleppo Pepper (or a mix of equal parts cayenne pepper and paprika)
- Shaker or jar with lid
What You Do:
Combine the sea salt and Aleppo pepper on a small plate.
Run a lime wedge around the rim of each glass, then dip the rim into the sea salt/pepper mixture.
Combine ice and 1 1/2 oz tequila in a separate jar (one with a lid) or shaker, and shake vigorously.
Pour the ice and tequila into the prepared cocktail glass, top with sparkling water, and stir lightly. Garnish with a lime wedge.
MORE PRINTABLE/PINNABLE GRAPHICS, BELOW
