My best party so far was a Fiesta I had last winter.

Since I have a variety of vegetarian to vegan friends, plus some doing Adkins, and others who are trying to cut calories and fat, the menu was pretty important. I made a taco bar and included several different fillings: a shrimp (low fat and calorie but high cholesterol), vegan (just veggies- no fat, no cholesterol, very low-cal), steak (great for the Adkins people and those who have no diet issues). I had all the fixin in separate bowls: cheese (Pepper Jack, Montery Jack, and Cheddar), lettuce, tomatoes, hot and mild salsas, soft and hard shells, etc. I also made a pot of bean soup that was vegan and could also be used as a dip. And of course we had margaritas, Sangria, and a variety of Mexican beer. Everyone had a great time, we had to do several beer runs though (apparently people REALLY like Corona), and judging by the amount of food left over (NONE except some tortillas and a little salsa for dips) they enjoyed the menu. I fell a little short on the decorations though, not quite enough to carry on the theme, but I did have a lot of paper flowers. I've been working on more decorations for another Mexican party celebrating the end of the holidays (Jan 11th), including papel picado (cut paper banners) and more chili pepper lights hanging all around.

So please share your success stories!