One of my friends is getting married in a few months and moving away, so that called for a party! I kept telling myself I was going to keep everything simple and easy, and for the most part, I did. My inner even planner couldn’t help but give the party a theme though.
I chose “Taco ‘Bout Her New Adventure” as the party theme because everyone loves tacos and it left it open-ended with decor and food. What I found while searching for decor was there aren’t a lot of “classy” fiesta-themed things, so I had to get creative. I wanted to incorporate her bridal colors if I could and stumbled on the perfect sign and balloon garland kit on Amazon.
It worked perfectly with the theme, and incorporated rose gold and burgundy, which are her wedding colors. I made the balloon garland the day before the party. If you have never made one they are pretty easy to do, but there are a couple of tools that make the whole process much easier. This balloon pump is a must-have! I blew up all 100 balloons in under an hour with this thing. The other thing that helped speed up the process and saved my fingers was this balloon tie tool. It seems unnecessary until your fingers are all scratched up from tying 100 balloons. I made the garland on Friday and hung it in our office with command hooks overnight, then moved it to the rooftop where the party was on Saturday morning.
For food, I did a taco bar with a beef and chicken option. I used this chicken recipe and it was a huge hit. In fact, I had people asking me to bring them leftovers in the days that followed. I used my own beef taco recipe that I will post here.
I also made this queso recipe and I’m so glad I did because everyone kept going back for more. I warmed up some flour and corn tortillas in the microwave then put them in the chafing dish to keep them warm. I put the queso in the other half of that dish, then the beef and chicken in a separate chafing dish.
For taco toppings, I went with the standards. Cheese, lettuce, black beans, red onions, black olives, jalapenos, poblano pepper, crema, tomatoes, cilantro, a few different salsas, and guacamole.
I bought a massive 5-pound bag of tortilla chips at Costco but didn’t want to just throw the bag on the counter. I also didn’t want everyone to reach their hands into a bowl of chips, so I bought snack bags on Amazon and pre-portioned the chips so they were easy to grab.
You can’t have a fiesta-themed party without margaritas, so I had a very simple margarita bar. I bought the Kirkland brand margaritas from Costco, cut up a bunch of limes to rim the glasses, and set our salt and Tajin for rim options. It was simple and quick to set up.
I took no photos once everyone got there, so I guess that means it was a good party! We talked and ate and celebrated our friend’s new adventures. If you have an upcoming gathering a taco theme is easy, and everybody loves it!