Cinco de Mayo is almost here, and whether you’re planning on celebrating this weekend or on the actual Cinco de Mayo, it’s likely that a fiesta is in your future.

Your fiesta menu is one of the first things you’ll want to figure out. Rick Palma, owner of Palma’s Authentic Mexican Restaurant, says tacos and enchiladas are always popular Mexican dishes. He also suggests pork chili, which is cubed pork cooked in a spicy red chili sauce.

And if you decide to go the chips and salsa route, why not make things more interesting by having a salsa bar? Mr. Palma recommends having at least three salsas. Start with a regular mild/medium salsa. Have a green salsa, made with chili verde, for “something different.” And include a spicy salsa “because someone always likes spicy,” he says.

For more traditional Mexican dishes, Christa Bautista, owner of El Mexicano suggested mizotes — fish or pork made in a foil packet with chile sauce — or pesole, a hominy soup with pork or chicken in it. If you want to make authentic pesole, though, you’ll have to use some cuts of meat you’re probably not used to eating.

In her husband’s hometown of Chilpancingo in Mexico, “they put pieces in it that we don’t eat, like feet and ears and snouts,” Mrs. Bautista says.

Of course, with all the spicy foods you’ll want to have plenty of cool drinks on hand. And one of the first things that comes to mind when you think of Cinco de Mayo is usually tequila, whether it be in the form of margaritas or straight up.

When it comes to tequila straight up, how much you spend on a bottle directly correlates to how you should drink it. The cheap stuff is for mixing or shooting, says Alison Franz, assistant manager of wine and spirits at Hy-Vee, and the pricey stuff is to be sipped. Yes, sipped, in a cognac or red wine glass and without the usual accompaniments.

“With the higher-end stuff, a lot of times you don’t need the salt and lime,” she says, “because it’s a lot smoother.”

Mr. Palma suggests drinking your tequila with sangrita, a mixture of tomato and citrus juices. In Mexico, he says, a sip of tequila is followed with a sip of the sangrita.

For nonalcoholic drinks, Mrs. Bautista recommends aqua frescas, which are sweetened, flavored waters, tamarindo, a tart drink made from tamarind beans, or horshata or rice water, which is boiled rice water flavored with cinnamon or sugar.

“It tastes like sweet milk, but it’s not as thick,” she says. “It’s the consistency of water.”

Some festive decorations will complete your fiesta atmosphere. Pinatas are always popular and are available at stores like Kmart, Wal-Mart and Target.

You could also try hanging up papel picado, which are hand-cut party banners with designs on them. You can buy them, Mrs. Bautista says, or find directions online and make your own out of construction paper.

“It’s just like making a snowflake,” she says.

Throw in a mariachi CD and your fiesta is complete. Now all that’s left to do is sample your salsa bar, sip on some tequila and enjoy.

Lifestyles reporter Lacey Storer can be e-mailed at lstorer@ngpco.com