Free Printable Cinco de Mayo Word Search Puzzle
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with this free printable word search puzzle! Perfect for parties, classrooms, and family fun!
If you’re looking for a fun Cinco de Mayo activity, this word search puzzle is the perfect activity! Use this printable worksheet at a Cinco de Mayo party or as part of a lesson plan when teaching elementary kids about this holiday.
The puzzle includes 15 themed words to search for, so it’s not too difficult but still fun for all ages.
Get the free download below!
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What is Cinco de Mayo?
Cinco de Mayo (the fifth of May) is a Mexican holiday that commemorates a battle won by the Mexican army over France at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. It’s actually a much bigger holiday here in the United States than it is in Mexico. Cinco de Mayo has become a celebration of Mexican culture and I think it’s so fun: people celebrate with parties, parades, mariachi music, and eating traditional food items (yum! I’m definitely here for that part!).
Fun facts about Cinco de Mayo
- Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico’s Independence Day—that is actually celebrated on September 16th.
- The holiday commemorates Mexico’s victory over France at the Battle of Puebla in 1862.
- It is a bigger holiday in the United States than in most parts of Mexico.
- Americans consume over 80 million pounds of avocados on Cinco de Mayo each year!
- The first U.S. celebration of Cinco de Mayo took place in California in 1863.
- In Puebla, Mexico, the holiday is marked with military parades and historical reenactments.
Free printable Cinco de Mayo word search
There are 15 hidden words in this word search, and they may be hidden horizontally, vertically, or diagonally (I chose not to do any backward words because most people don’t read backwards and I just think those kinds of word searches are annoying 😆).
This is a fun activity for Cinco de Mayo parties and Cinco de Mayo themed birthdays, families, playgroups, classrooms, and more! I’m all for educational activities that also teach fine motor skills for kids…but even adults can enjoy this Cinco de Mayo puzzle!
If you’re a teacher, you can use this puzzle as part of a lesson plan to teach your students about the history of Cinco de Mayo and to introduce new vocabulary words to them. This printable activity would also be a great way to occupy early finishers. I’m not a teacher myself, so I can’t say if this particular puzzle is better for younger students or older students (and I only have a toddler who thinks all letters are A, B, or E)…so I’m going to let you decide that!
Words to find
These are all the words in this Cinco de Mayo word search:
- amigo
- battle
- burritos
- celebration
- fiesta
- France
- maracas
- mariachi
- Mexico
- piñata
- Puebla
- salsa
- sombrero
- tacos
- tamales
How to use this Cinco de Mayo word search puzzle
Note: These printables are for personal use only and may not be shared, sold, or distributed, in whole or in part. Please do not share this PDF file or the download link–they are for personal use only. Please share a link to this blog post instead!
Click the image or button below to get your free Cinco de Mayo printable:
The file is in PDF format. For best results, print on letter size paper at 100% scale.
I’ve included an answer key in the PDF file (if you want to print off the puzzle for yourself, don’t look at page 2 if you don’t want to know where the words are yet! And if you’re printing multiple copies of the word search, make sure you tell your printer to only print page 1 and not the answer key!).
Once you’ve printed the puzzle, you can get to work finding all 15 Cinco de Mayo words, circling them as you go!
Teacher/family tip: If you want to save your printed word searches for next year, you can laminate them and cross words off with a dry erase marker!
More Cinco de Mayo activities
Looking for more ways to celebrate? In addition to the Cinco de Mayo word search puzzle, you could try including one of these fun activities:
- play Cinco de Mayo bingo–get the free printable bingo cards HERE!
- make papel picado crafts (or buy a pre-made papel picado banner to decorate with)
- cook simple traditional foods like tacos or guacamole (don’t forget this amazing guacamole keeper to keep everything fresh!)
- listen to mariachi music and learn some new dance steps (I know these maracas are egg-shaped and nontraditional, but they’re awesome for kids and inexpensive!)
Free Cinco de Mayo word search
I hope you enjoy this free printable and have a fun Cinco de Mayo holiday, however you celebrate it!
Let me know if you’d like to see more free word search printables like this in the future!
