The holidays are a distant memory, along with your New Year’s resolution. You’ve eaten your last piece of Valentine’s chocolate and the next official holiday is months away…what to do? Throw a Mardi Gras party!
Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday, is a day of merrymaking and carnival, a last fling before Ash Wednesday and the solemnity of Lent. New Orleans celebrates extravagantly with balls and parades. You too can have an elaborate affair by following the traditions of Mardi Gras, which were established back in the 1800’s.
Decorate in purple, green, and gold, the official colors of Mardi Gras. Encourage guests to wear costumes, in step with the countless costume balls held throughout the Mardi Gras season. Greet your arrivals at the door with a feathered mask, a Mardi Gras staple, and bejewel your guests in beads. During Mardi Gras, parade spectators call out “give me something, mister,” and are rewarded by dazzling strings of beads tossed from the floats.
Adorn your table with festive colored doubloons, aluminum coin-like objects embossed with a symbol. Doubloons are thrown from the parade floats as well, and the insignias upon them represent the krewe (sponsoring group) of the float. Doubloons and beads make amusing mementos for your guests.
As they say in New Orleans, Laissez le bon temps rouler, “Let the good times roll!”
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