Taco Love

There are at least three reasons to celebrate love and tacos, or just your love for tacos: Valentine’s Day, Galentine’s Day, and Cinco de Mayo. And let’s not forget Taco Tuesday! So, I put my thinking cap on and came up with some easy and inexpensive taco decor ideas that can take any party from "asi asi" to "espectacular!"

Almost everything you’ll need to create these — flowers, salsa, chips, peppers, taco shells, etc. — can be picked up at your local market.

And they're not just easy to make but ingenious too! After pouring your salsa into serving dishes, use the glass jars as vases for the flowers. (I bought the Desert Pepper Cantina brand salsa for the cool labels, but Harry & David carries a fantastic selection of salsas as well.) Then, I placed the festive arrangement next to the coordinating salsa so guests knew what heat level to expect.

Pepper your table with little pepper vases

It’s as easy as:

Everybody gets a flower taco

I like to challenge myself to think outside the box when I am working on a project...and then things like this happen!

Here's how to make personal size taco bouquets.

1. Start with a stand-up taco shell.
2. Cut a small piece of floral foam to fit in the shell.
3. Soak the foam and then put it into a small plastic sandwich bag.
4. Place in shell.
5. Add fresh cut flowers!

Maybe you prefer your tacos “supersized"

A super-sized flower taco nestled in a wooden planter and accented with a few Coronas, limes, and fresh peppers make a unique centerpiece for a buffet table or DIY taco bar.

To make the large taco:

1. Print out two large images of a taco shell.
2. Cut out the taco shells and glue them to pieces of cardboard.
3. Cut a piece of floral foam a little smaller than the width of your taco shell.
4. Soak the floral foam and place it into the liner of a wooden planter (or any container of your choice).
5. Add one image of the taco shell (facing out) to the one side of the foam and place the other a little higher (facing the same direction as the first one) on the other side of the foam.
6. Cut fresh flowers so they sit right at the top of the taco shell when inserted into the foam, and arrange accordingly.
7. Add the additional elements to make it a complete “party in a box!”

Taco Jell-O® shots

While I was putting this together, I thought about how perfectly these taco decor ideas would work for Galentine’s Day, which reminded me of the fun ideas I shared last year for my gal’s party.  One of them was the waffle Jell-O® shots.

And a light bulb went off in my head — that pan would make perfect little taco shells!

I changed the recipe a little, combining a gummy and Jell-O® shot recipe, to come up with this.

1. Add two packets of plain gelatin and one packet of Island Pineapple Jell-O® to a pot.
2. Slowing stir in a half cup of water until dissolved and let sit for five minutes.
3. Turn on heat and stir for about five more minutes.
4. Add a half cup of tequila and another half cup of water, and stir completely.
5. Dust the pan lightly with corn starch.
6. Fill each opening half way up.
7. Place in refrigerator for four hours.

1. To serve, fold each mini waffle in half and stand together on a plate.
2. Right before serving, add whipped cream and orange rinds or orange sprinkles.

Or set out a DIY taco shot bar. Just put the taco shell Jell-O® shots flat on a plate, along with bowls of small pieces of fruit and whipped cream, and let everyone make their own.

If you like these fun taco decor ideas, check out similar posts with activities, how-to’s, and recipes to help you celebrate all the LOVE you have to give.

• How To Throw A Galentine's Day Party
• Cinco De Mayo Decorations & Party Ideas
• Frozen Roses and Frosé

Or you can always say "I love you" with a dozen roses. That always works.