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Cinco de Mayo is fast approaching, and for many, it’s a time to celebrate their Mexican heritage (or just celebrate). Of course, you don’t have to go to extremes to do so. That’s why we here at LiveBetterCheaper are here to present (insert number here) ideas to throw your own fiesta, and of course, all on your budget.

Cinco de Mayo – Spanish for “fifth of May – is an annual holiday that celebrates the Mexican army’s victory of the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. In essence, it’s a day that has come to symbolize Mexican pride, patriotism and heritage, much like Americans and the Fourth of July (but it is not seen as a “Mexican Independence Day”).

Today, it’s a nationally recognized holiday, where people from far and wide gather to celebrate this momentous occasion. Of course, you can do more here than just sport a sombrero and crack open a Corona (with lime), and you certainly don’t have to head out to a bar to celebrate. You can host your own Cinco de Mayo shindig.

So how can you pull this off? Consider these tips:

Décor: Decorations can help set the mood and the theme of what you’re trying to pull off. For your Cinco de Mayo fiesta, take a few hints from traditional Mexican décor. In other words, use bright colors (red, yellow, bright, green); find the proper accents (maracas and sombreros, maybe even some color flowers and vases); get colorful lights to set the mood (and no one wants to party in the dark anyway); you can even hang a piñata to be enjoyed by guests of all ages.

Food: From chips and salsa (or queso) and tacos to tamales and enchiladas, who isn’t a fan of Mexican food? You have plenty of options at your disposal, and best of all, everything is fairly easy to make.

Drinks: Corona, margaritas, sangria, mojitos, anything really*. Everything here is fair game**.
*Be prepared to have other options for kids or those who don’t drink.
**As always, please drink responsibly.

Music: Music can really set the tone and mood of any party. For Cinco de Mayo, consider the traditional fare such as mariachi, meringue, salsa and Latin. If you really want to go the extra mile, call up a friend who can play Mexican guitar (or a full band!).

Activities: Because sometimes you need more than just food, drinks and conversation to keep the party going. Set aside an area for guests to dance to your musical selection (callback!), you can also set up games or contests such as who can eat the most peppers (or more fun, how many hot ones they can handle).
To accommodate the youngest guests, you can set up a few games or crafts for them to try out. Organize a relay race or an area to craft their own paper flowers, or of course, you can also buy or make a piñata.

Of course, this is only some of what you can do. There are plenty of options out there to throw the best Cinco de Mayo party on the block.

So what are you waiting for?

Spring break is the time when people want to go to the best places irrespective of how expensive the trip might end up being in the end. But who wouldn’t want to spend less money and not exceed the budget?

Here are some top destinations for Spring break where you can not only have the time of your life but also save money while doing so-

Jamaica: Home to so many music festivals, if you are looking to drink and party, this is the place for you. It is also an amazing place to go if you want to enjoy a variety of beaches. And if you are looking for adventure, well you could climb the 700-foot cascading waterfalls of duns River Falls. The best part about going to Caribbean and Mexico though is definitely the fact that ‘APPLE VACATIONS’ could give you 3 all-inclusive nights starting at $581.

Cancun: Yes, that amazing deal mentioned above would make your trip to Mexico totally worth it. After all, it is surrounded on three sides by lagoon, bay and sea. Again, if you are seeking adventure, Cancun is naturally situated in subtropical jungle perfect for exploration so you could just hop on a jet ski or charter a boat for some deep-sea fishing and spend a leisurely day at sea. Besides, I am sure everybody has heard college students talk about going to Cancun for Spring break. It’s just THAT great!

The Big Island, Hawaii: Hawaii super sale on ‘APPLE VACATIONS’ has a brilliant offer of 3 nights starting at $752. So if you want to enjoy the dazzling lava show of Hawaii’s volcano to the island’s flowing waterfalls and lose yourself amidst nature’s true wonders, you should definitely choose to travel to The Big Island.

Panama: Another brilliant place to spend the vacation is Panama. It offers a variety of world-class attractions. So if you don’t feel up for going to Caribbean, you can still find similar types of beaches at this place. It is also a top destination for adventurists, eco-tourists history buffs, beach lovers, families and romantics.

San Jose: Okay enough with the beaches! If you’re looking to go to one of the most cosmopolitan cities of Central America, San Jose won’t be a disappointment. It is such a diverse vacation experience that you are guaranteed to not regret it. You could use the ‘Enjoy the Life of Luxury on an All-Inclusive Luxury Vacation’ deal and make the most on whatever trip you decide to go to.

Don’t hesitate to create a memorable Spring break or even celebrate a romantic occasion and check out our coupon site to save  with Apple Vacations!

Tired of taking pictures of those old photos in an attempt to preserve them on your phone/laptop? I’m sure you’d like to have your kid’s baby photos preserved in a much better manner and in brilliant detail. Well, I have a solution for you in that case.

Use iMemories and check out these amazing deals. It’s important to realize that while your memories may last a lifetime, video and film won’t. iMemories will make the whole experience convenient and affordable by converting your old home movies and photos into professional digital quality to store online or as DVDs.

The best part is that you won’t even need to put in any extra effort. You will only need to send the your old movies, photos and slides and the expert staff will efficiently take care of the rest. Its THAT simple!

What I personally love about using iMemories is that it converts bad quality into good. Its incredible like that! So you won’t need to settle for faded color, muted sound, and all other signs that come with age. Moreover, its completely safe. They have never lost memories and from shipping to digital conversion, and every step in between, they will treat your memories as if they ARE their own.

You could even read reviews posted by post customers on this link. I doubt that after reading those amazing things said about iMemories that you’d be able to resist getting your memories revived and in a safe place. I would personally love to show my friends some old photos with my husband from 27 years ago. In fact, my plan is to set up a slide show of the same on my next marriage anniversary party.

So what are you waiting for? Don’t hesitate about planning anything big and showing off those old adorable photos!

Personalization is my favorite! And building my own bear for a friend or a close one sounds even more exciting. Moreover, these deals very easily double my excitement.

I know a lot of people that wouldn’t want to go through the pain of building a bear for their girlfriends on Valentine’s day. There are also pre-made gifts on this link for those that are looking to save time. So now you can not only pick from various ready made bears but you can also shop by occasions which I think is pretty awesome in case you want to save time.

For the rest of us who want pay attention to every detail of the gift and make sure that our furry friend reflects the personality of the recipient, we could pick our perfect color depending on whether the gift is for a boy or a girl. There is also an option in brown in case we happen to like that color more than the usual pink and blue.

My favorite step in this entire process is most definitely adding my personal message. We could practically make the bear’s tummy say anything you want as long as it fits within the character limit. I love the fact that some people put the baby’s name on top followed by the date and weight of the baby in the second and third line because it ends up creating a very special memory.

The last and probably the hardest step in building a bear is the voice message.

We could pick from already existing voices or go ahead and record our own. I find recording my own voice hard in the beginning because I never seem to be satisfied with what I say but its all worth it in the end when I know that I have done all that I could to make the gift as personalized and special as I could.

Are you one of those people that take forever to decide on a gift for a loved one’s birthday? Well, I am! And the funny part is that everything I pick looks like something that the recipient might already have… Hence, the fact that I can personalize things is truly a blessing for me.

Here are some of the reasons I think personalizing a gift is awesome.

Uniqueness: Life has become easier since I have discovered how easy it is to look for unique presents for people- especially if I really care about them. My boyfriend owned a coffee mug from before, yes but none of his mugs said anything about his favorite sport, golf- Let alone having his name shine among the professional greats of Jack Nicklaus to Tiger Woods!

Variety: How would you like to always have a special gift right in front of your eyes every day? I bet your recipient would want that too. There are so many things to choose from in this case. One of them being, personalized pillow cases because they will always be in your recipient’s bedroom for him/her to look at and remember you with a smile. You could have your names as well as witty sayings written on them.

Kids love such things: Trust me they do! My baby sister would not want nothing more than a pink notebook with her name written on the cover. Personalization fascinates children more than it fascinates us boring adults. And I bet that little boys would love to have their own personalized tool kit.

The best part about these gifts is that they’re so reasonable for the amount of joy that they can bring to someone. With these amazing coupons, you wouldn’t have to worry about having to look for anything unique for anyone because everything that you would see here is absolutely exclusive!

Do you wish to turn your little one’s party into the planet Pandora and invite his fellow avatars to have a Na’vi inspired celebration? Or do you want to throw a Barbie party complete with themed tableware and a lot of dress up clothes because Barbie is your daughter’s roll model? You can do all of this and more while saving money by just choosing to buy some super exciting birthday party supplies here.

But what if you just cannot think of any themes or ideas for the party? Well, the good news is that you won’t need to come up with any ideas of your own because there are over  a hundred party guides all set to help you right here. So now you can not only go through the long diverse list and decide what you’d like your child and his/her friends to wear on the big day but you can also look up instructions on how to make themed party food so the children are entertained through the entire party!

This party planning just keeps getting easier with every step because if you don’t wish to prepare food and cupcakes yourself, you could buy them online after just matching those cute cupcake colors with the rest of your party theme. Or you could even match your kid’s costume with your cupcakes or with any of the other exciting things at the party. 

Pretty simple and pretty cheap, isn’t it? But lets not quit planning just yet because you might also be interested in some lovely personalized items that would totally fantasize your child and his/her guests and help in making it a memorable day for them.

These birthdays are totally worth the effort, aren’t they? After all, these are the days that we all remember and miss when we are all grown up!

Sunaina Singh