Today is Cinco de Mayo, a holiday that is based on the Battle of Puebla but is more commonly known as a celebration of Mexican heritage, mostly in the in form of booze and nachos; It's been watered down in the same way that St. Patrick's Day is now mostly about green beer.
We at Lifehacker heartily endorse celebrations and wish to offer some of our best Cinco de Mayo related tips and tricks. Feel free to include anything we've left out in the comments below.
Food
- Bake Tortillas Into Hard Taco Shells on Your Oven Rack Why buy inferior hard taco shells when you can make your own for pennies on the dollar.
- Make your Own Taco Bowls by Flipping Over a Muffin Lid Likewise, if your taste for crunchy tortilla goodness involves taco salads or just festive guacamole containers.
- Pinata sugar cookies with M&Ms inside These might be the best holiday-themed cookies ever!
- Add Unexpected Ingredients to Change Up Your Guacamole I like the bacon guac variant best.
- Make a "Walking Taco" in a Bag of Fritos for an Easy, Portable Snack A great way to be mobile *and* consume fried corn chips.
- Make a Choco Taco Hey, if you're gonna have stereotypical quasi-Mexican food you might as well go all out.
Booze
- DIY Citrus Salt Most people love margaritas, and this five-minute trick will make everyone remember yours for having the best salt ever.
- DIY Margarita Popsicles Since you can't use too much tequila or they won't freeze I suggest pairing these with a shot of your favorite anejo tequila.
- Mix a Large Batch of Margaritas with an Igloo Cooler and a Garbage
Disposal It's probably too late to build this cocktail-dispensing monstrosity, but never too early to plan for next year. - Try a Beer Cocktail for Cinco de Mayo We enjoy pure beer as much as the next person, but here's something to do with the horrible beer your guests bring.
- Use Fresh Fruit as Jell-O Shot Containers Tasty *and* intoxicating!
Have a great Cinco de Mayo and make sure you party responsibly—we're not going to bail you out. Photo by Serge Melki
Who says you have to cook rice in water to cook it? All you need is something that's mostly water, and beer is a perfect, flavorful candidate. Much of the alcohol will cook away, and the effervescence will contribute to fluffy, non-sticky rice with a nutty flavor that's a world apart from plain white rice cooked in water. 
If you're a social drinker, it's likely that from time to time you may consume Jell-O shots. If you don't want to clean up hundreds of disposable cups after the party and especially if you have a compost bin you may want to consider using fresh fruit to contain your gelatin libations. 
Fresh ginger is wonderful to cook with and while most ginger aficionados have a microplane or ceramic grater, if you're new to ginger or cooking in someone else's kitchen you can get your grate on with a fork. 
