17 Cinco de Mayo Activities, Games, and Ideas for Work

Here is our list of the best Cinco de Mayo activities, games, and ideas for work.

Cinco de Mayo activities for work are games and exercises that employees engage in on May 5th to celebrate the popular Mexican holiday. Examples include Cinco de Mayo decorations, Taco Party, and Piñatas. This holiday celebrates the Mexican army’s victory at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Celebrating Cinco de Mayo promotes diversity and encourages engagement between colleagues.

These celebrations are examples of team socials and team building activities.

This list includes:

• virtual Cinco de Mayo events
• Cinco de Mayo activities for team building
• Cinco de Mayo office party ideas
• Cinco de Mayo games for employees

Here we go!

List of Cinco de Mayo activities, games, and ideas for work

From Cinco de Mayo Crafts to Mexican Music Fiesta to Cinco de Mayo Photo Booths, here is our list of the best activities and games for Cinco de Mayo.

1. The Great Guac Off

The Great Guac Off is a guacamole-making team building competition. When you book this experience, a fun and energetic host travels to your office or event space with all the ingredients necessary to mash up wicked dips. The facilitator will divide the group into teams, hand out supplies, and oversee mini-games and activities leading up to the guac-making and tasting. The event lasts for 90 minutes, although you can purchase additional time and activities.

Learn more about The Great Guac Off.

2. Cinco de Mayo Crafts Competition

Cinco de Mayo Crafts Competitions are great opportunities for workers to showcase their creative talents.

To organize this activity:

1. Set up craft stations for employees. These stations need DIY tools like glue, scissors, colorful paper, glitter, felt pens, knitting tools, cardboard, and paint.
2. Each employee must create a craft for the Cinco de Mayo celebrations.
3. Set a timer for one hour.
4. The first player to finish creating their craft within the allocated time wins the competition.

Workers can make paper flowers, castanets, cardboard guitars, luchador paper masks, or the Mexican flag with the DIY tools provided. You can also encourage employees to work together in teams, which will help foster friendships among colleagues.

3. Cinco de Mayo Decorations

Hanging decorations is a great way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo at work and foster team spirit.

Some great decorations to use include:

• the Mexican flag
• flower wreaths
• piñatas
• cacti
• sombreros

It is also a great idea to decorate using the colors of the Mexican flag, which are green, white, and red. Employees can work together to make DIY crafts that they can hang or paste on the wall. You can also gamify this activity for large offices by encouraging each department in the office to decorate their workspace as best as possible. You can then choose the best-decorated space and award a prize to the winners. This gift will serve as a souvenir for participants and help employees create great memories.

4. Cinco de Mayo Photo Booths

Photo Booths are one of the best Cinco de Mayo office party ideas because they allow workers to take pictures with colleagues and capture memorable moments during the celebration in the office.

To organize this activity:

1. Create an eye-catching backdrop for your photo booth. You can include ombré tissue paper, handcrafted flowers, or vinyl backdrops for added vibrance.
2. Get a high-quality camera. Polaroid cameras are good options since they allow guests to print their images instantly.
3. Set up suitable lighting for the photo booth.
4. Encourage employees to make handcrafted Cinco de Mayo photo props. Examples include newspaper hats, paper mustaches, or cardboard glasses.
5. Set up a dress box where workers can choose accessories for their pictures. Some good options for Cinco de Mayo include sombreros, ponchos, and maracas.
6. Mark the space for your photo booth.
7. Encourage employees to take pictures using the props.

This idea is an excellent way to promote team bonding during the Cinco de Mayo celebrations and create a fun environment where employees can loosen up.

5. Mexican Music Fiesta

A Mexican Music Fiesta is one of the best Cinco de Mayo activities for team building because it allows employees to connect and bond over good Mexican music. Workers can listen and dance to authentic Mexican music styles during the fiesta, such as mariachi, salsa, and Latin. Another great idea is to invite a Mexican band to perform for the employees.

To make this activity more interactive, organize a sing-along where employees can sing to songs they are familiar with. You can also play Finish the Lyrics, where teammates must complete the song lyrics after listening to a snippet.

6. Piñatas

Piñatas are decorated containers filled with candies and goodies. Setting up a piñata at work allows employees to channel their inner child and helps create a fun work environment where workers can enjoy the celebrations. To enjoy this experience, teammates will need a club and some blindfolds.

To organize this activity:

1. Decorate a piñata and fill it with candy, chocolate, and sweets.
2. Seal the piñata and hang it from a tall post or tree.
3. Blindfold a teammate and spin them around to disorient them.
4. Hand the player a club and guide them toward the piñata.
5. The teammate has three chances to swing at the piñata and get the goodies.
6. After the first player’s turn, remove the blindfold and repeat steps three through six for the next player.
7. The game will continue this way until each employee swings at the piñata.
8. Once the piñata breaks open, workers can share the goodies.

You can also buy a premade piñata online for Cinco de Mayo. Buying online ensures that you get piñatas that are sturdy enough to stand the brunt of the club when employees play. This option is also time-saving and serves as a surprise, as the employees may find it difficult to guess the types of goodies inside. This surprise will motivate employees and boost morale for the game.

Buy piñatas online.

7. Taco Party

Taco Parties are fun get-togethers where folks enjoy the popular Mexican delicacy made from hand-sized corn tortillas and delicious fillings. For this party, you can simply create a taco station with various filling options. Workers can serve themselves and enjoy the tacos to their taste. You can also offer authentic Mexican snacks, such as taquitos, chilaquiles, and churros.

Another great idea is to support a local Mexican restaurant by ordering tacos for employees. This party is an ideal way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo at work because employees can interact, listen to good Mexican music, and enjoy tasty tacos at the same time.

8. Pass the Sombrero

Pass the Sombrero is a fun and engaging game that promotes interaction and team building. This activity works best in an open space where employees can sit comfortably together in a wide circle.

To organize this activity:

1. Create a playlist of authentic Mexican music.
2. Employees sit in a wide circle with about a hand’s length of space between each individual.
3. Give the first player a sombrero, and as soon as the music starts, players will pass the hat around clockwise.
4. Stop the music randomly, and whoever holds onto the hat when the music stops is out of the game.
5. The game will continue until only one player is left standing.
6. The winner gets a prize.

This fun childhood game is a great way to boost morale and help employees ease stress during the Cinco de Mayo celebrations. After this game, employees can share drinks and enjoy authentic Mexican dishes together.

9. Taco Names

Taco Names is one of the easiest Cinco de Mayo games for employees. In this game, players will create taco names by spelling out their names on a card with several descriptive words and their birth month.

To organize this activity:

1. Write the letters A to Z on a card.
2. Each letter must represent a word, like meaty, spicy, crunchy, chalupa, huevos, grilled, or saucy.
3. On a separate card, write down the months of the year.
4. Each month must represent a type of taco. For example, taco de chorizo, taco de carnitas, taco de cabeza, or taco de birria.
5. Employees will use the first letter of their names and birth month to create their taco names.

Workers can make this activity hilarious by referring to each other by their new taco names during the entire Cinco de Mayo celebration.

You can even gamify this event by having employees recreate the tacos they are named after. To play, provide employees with the necessary ingredients, and create a panel of judges to taste each participant’s taco. The best taco wins!

10. Burrito Wrap Battle

Burrito Wrap Battle is an exciting activity where employees get to compete and eat delicious burritos.

To organize this activity:

1. Create two separate food stations on either side of the room.
2. One side will have large burrito wraps.
3. The other food station will have other ingredients like cheese, tomatoes, refried beans, sour cream, cooked ground beef, shredded chicken, salsa, and avocados.
4. The players must run from the second food station, picking ingredients one at a time, and use them to fill the burrito wraps at the first food station.
5. When the players have all the ingredients they need for their burrito, they must wrap it perfectly.
6. The first teammate to finish wrapping their burrito wins the game.

To make this activity even more thrilling, you can provide two microwaves for participants to cook their burritos for about one to two minutes, then proceed to eat the cooked burritos. The first player to wrap up and eat their burritos within a given timeline wins the game and gets a prize.

11. Limbo

Limbo is a fun game that puts employees’ core strength to the test. In this activity, teammates must cross under a bar without touching it.

To organize this activity:

1. Curate a playlist of authentic Mexican music.
2. Have two workers hold a bar at shoulder length.
3. Other players will stand in a queue facing the bar.
4. The participants must shimmy under the bar without touching it or falling.
5. If players’ bodies touch the pole or fall before crossing the bar completely, then they are out of the game.
6. Players who go past the pole without falling or touching it will join the back of the line and get another turn.
7. With each complete round, the pole is dropped down a notch until no player can go under it.

This activity tests employees’ flexibility and also allows partygoers to enjoy authentic Mexican music. To make this game even more exciting and challenging, you can offer prizes to teammates who can cross the bar when it is at its lowest. Offering prizes will help build healthy competition between colleagues.

12. Nacho Eating Contest

Nacho Contest is a fun and competitive activity where players must finish a bowl of nachos and dip while blindfolded.

To organize this activity:

1. Place several bowls of nachos and cheese dip on a long table.
2. Each player must stand in front of a bowl.
3. Blindfold the players.
4. Set a timer for one minute.
5. Players must finish the meal within the allocated time.

Other colleagues can cheer on the players as they eat. You can also have the employees play in teams to encourage team bonding and help build camaraderie in the workplace.

13. Cinco de Mayo Virtual Trivia

Trivia is one of the best virtual Cinco de Mayo events for employees because it allows workers to learn interesting facts about Mexican history and culture. It is important that you give employees a day or two to read up about Cinco de Mayo and Mexican history before the game.

Set trivia questions and meet using any video conferencing tool. Quiz employees on the given topic and keep track of scores. At the end of the game, tally the scores, and the player with the most points wins. This activity is one of the best ways to promote learning among workers and boost interactions between colleagues. You can even encourage employees to play in teams and organize trivia face-offs between remote colleagues in different departments.

Here are more online trivia ideas.

14. The Language Game

The Language Game is one of the best ways to celebrate Cinco de Mayo virtually with remote employees. In this activity, teammates will identify Mexican items, food, and clothing in Spanish. You can hold this activity on video conferencing platforms using the shared screen feature. It is a great idea to alert employees of this activity a day or two before so that they can prepare. For this activity, you will need to curate photos of random Mexican items, food, or clothing.

Examples include:

• maracas
• sombreros
• tacos
• burritos
• enchiladas
• chilaquiles
• huipil
• sarapes
• ponchos

You may also include animals and inanimate objects and have employees take turns identifying these items in Spanish. Teammates will get a point for each correct answer, and the player with the most points wins the game.

15. Scavenger Hunts

Scavenger hunts are fun and engaging activities for employees. To make this activity on theme for the Cinco de Mayo celebrations, hide random objects such as a sombrero, a burrito, the Mexican flag, or a mini piñata around the workplace and have employees find these items within a given time.

You may offer rewards to employees who are able to find a given number of items before time runs out. For example, if players can find three out of five hidden items, they can get consolation prizes. Players who find all the hidden times in record time can receive special rewards. This activity is a simple way to energize the work environment and help employees ease stress and anxiety while celebrating Cinco de Mayo.

Check out online scavenger hunt ideas.

16. Mustache Photo Contest

Mustache Photo Contest is an easy virtual competition. In this activity, workers will take selfies wearing different stick-on mustaches. Colleagues will then meet using any video conferencing tool and share these images.

The players will vote using the in-app live polls for the best mustache selfie. This fun game is a great way to make remote colleagues comfortable with each other and helps build good work relationships among remote colleagues. This contest can also serve as a fun icebreaker activity, which may help lighten the mood for virtual teams.

17. Cinco De Mayo Fashion Day

Cinco de Mayo Fashion Day is a fun event where employees get to dress up in traditional Mexican outfits. Employees may wear the huipil, rebozo, charro suit, sarape, or Baja jacket with a sombrero.

At the end of the day, colleagues will choose the best-dressed employees for the event. Colleagues can also take group photos to commemorate the event and create lasting memories.

Conclusion

Cinco de Mayo activities and games help employees learn Mexican history and culture. Engaging in these activities also promotes a culturally inclusive company and workforce. These games create an avenue where teammates can relax, engage, and enjoy themselves.

You can also organize some of these activities for remote workers by sending out necessary craft tools, food, or costumes for employees. The teammates will then meet on a video call and get the party started!

Next, check out ways to make your company holiday party awesome.