Cinco de Mayo is a festive occasion that celebrates a great achievement in Mexican history. It was May 5, 1862 in Mexico City when a Mexican army of about 4,000 defeated an elaborate French army double their size. The defeat is a great achievement because the French army, under the leadership of Emperor Napoleon III, had never lost a battle in more than half a century. The Mexican defeat of the French army is credited for enabling the U.S. armed forces to build up their strategic power and eventually defeat them and end the Civil War. Because of its dual benefit, Cinco de Mayo is an event that many Mexicans, as well as Americans celebrate.

Mexican culture is well known for its colorful and all encompassing method of celebration. A Cinco de Mayo party would be remiss if it did not feature elements of Mexican culture. Vibrant colors of red and greed mixed with white will set the tone of the festivities. Flowers are also a must have for a Cinco de Mayo celebration.

It's just great when people decide to use their home for entertaining, we work so hard on making our home the way we want it, and too often of times people never have the opportunity to show it off and to use it to its full potential. If you're planning a dinner party, here are some tips help you along the way.

Your first step is to decide what type of party this is going to be, simple, formal, or gourmet. A simple party would be a very casual get together, you may decide to even order in, these parties your guests dress "as is". A formal party is one where you prepare dinner, people usually dress it up a little, and often people even turn these into murder mystery dinner parties or such. A gourmet dinner is when again guests would dress up, but your main focus is on food presentations, you want it all to look just right, and you spend a lot of time planning and preparing for this.

Silver Service is a way in which you serve food to guests/customers. The term itself comes out of England and you may have heard it by its other name 'English Service'. Thought to be of high etiquette standards, silver service is most often found in sophisticated restaurants as opposed to your local breakfast cafe. However, whether you are looking for new ways to serve your food in a restaurant or if you are hosting a more formal event in the home - silver service can really set the right atmosphere.

All that being said, silver service doesn't just have to be used at formal events or more exclusive restaurants - it is a good habit to learn for any time that you are serving food to guests or customers. How to set the table and lay out the cutlery is one of the key elements of silver service, followed by the actual serving of the food.

As well as being good etiquette, silver service also makes an event (especially when you are catering for a large group) far more simple and organized as you keep to a certain set of rules. Using silver service could take a little time to learn and get used to - but at the end of the day it will rescue you from a multitude of entertaining disasters!

It has been reported that there were an estimated 2,221,000 weddings in the United States in 2008*. New nesters have settled into their new homes and started their lives together. This includes hanging out with friends and family. More than ever, people who have been out in the workforce all day decline to get back out in the hustle and bustle of traffic and crowds to socialize with friends in noisy restaurants. Look at the phenomenal success of the Food Network. People are interested in learning how to cook and how to throw great dinner parties that fit their budgets. There is a return trend to casual entertaining at home.

The problem? Many new nesters have never entertained in their lives and don't know how to go about it. What's more, they have little time to pull off elaborate entertaining and few have the budget to hire expensive caterers or personal chefs. It is easy to imagine a comfortable evening at home with delicious food and drink, great music and the laughter of good friends and family. The question is how does one pull it off with a small budget and little or no experience?