How to Have a Mardi Gras Celebration at Home
When you think New Orleans, you probably immediately think of Mardi Gras, and it’s obvious why. Mardi Gras is known worldwide for being a colorful Carnival of masks, beads, floats and feasts. We covered New Orleans previously in our post New Orleans Them Date Night Ideas, but today we’re breaking out our masks and beads for our date night Mardi Gras party at home.
What is Mardi Gras?
The biggest thing to remember about Mardi Gras is that it is a celebration of Catholic faith. The Carnival celebration begins on the Epiphany (January 6) and lasts through Ash Wednesday. The actual Mardi Gras parades and festivities begin 10 days before Fat Tuesday. While it’s not recognized as a holiday across the US, it is celebrated in states with a deep French history, like, you guessed it, Louisiana – where it has been celebrated since the late 17th century.
Mardi Gras translates to Fat Tuesday (which is now the nickname for day before Ash Wednesday). The tradition is to enjoy in indulgences like rich foods and drink before the fasting season of Lent that leads up to Easter. One more fun fact: Mardi Gras is also known as Shrove Tuesday in other parts of the world. We’ll spare you the rest of the rich history but if you want to learn more about the origins of Mardi Gras, check out their official website. It’s pretty interesting!
Regardless of what you call it, we thought a Mardi Gras Carnival was a great travel from home event. So let’s get to it!
Create Your Own Mardi Gras Carnival
Set the Scene with Gold, Purple & Green!
Yellow, purple, and green are the official colors of Mardi Gras, representing Justice (purple), Faith (green), and Power (gold). You’ll see it reflected in all Mardi Gras decor from beads, to masks to floats. Fleur-De-Lis is a lily (or iris), and the flower of New Orleans, originally associated with French monarchy and the Royal House of Bourbon.
Masks have been a part of Mardi Gras from the start, and were originally worn so people could escape the expectations of their social class and be free to be who they were. Today, masks are everywhere in Carnival and actually required on floats.
Beads (aka throws) date back to the 1920s when krewes (social clubs that put on the Mardi Gras parades) started tossing trinkets from floats to parade viewers. Today the tradition lives on with beads.
To prep the vibe of your Mardi Gras Carnival you’ll need:
Jazz It Up
For any of our date night themes, we love setting the vibe with music from our destination. While we typically make our own playlist, we also love convenience, so this Youtube video of 2+ hours of Mardi Gras tunes worked perfect for us. Throw it on for some background music to get into the Mardi Gras spirit.
Create Your Fat Tuesday Feast
Like we mentioned before, Mardi Gras translates to Fat Tuesday, and represents enjoying (indulging) food and drink before the fasting of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. While we’re all for amazing feasts, we also try to be health conscious, so we’ll also give you a vegan option for each of the epic dishes you’ll want for your Mardi Gras Carnival. And no don’t worry, we definitely didn’t make all of these, but they’re all great options for your at home Mardi Gras Carnival.
- Authentic New Orleans Red Beans and Rice
- Vegan Option: New Orleans-Style Vegan Red Beans & Rice
- Classic New Orleans Muffuletta Sandwich Recipe
- Vegan Option: Vegan Muffuletta
- Shrimp Po’ Boy Recipe With Remoulade Sauce
- Vegan Option: Vegan Po’ Boy with Tofu
- Mardi Gras Jambalaya
- Vegan Option: Vegan Jambalaya
- Mardi Gras Gumbo with Shrimp and Sausage
- Vegan Option: Vegan Gumbo
- Beignets (Note: You’ll need powdered sugar with this mix)
- Vegan Option: Vegan Beignets
A Toast to Mardi Gras
Let’s be honest, Mardi Gras is widely known for their fun adult beverages. You may recognize a few of these from our previous New Orleans post, but we’ve added a few Mardi Gras specific drinks as well. Whatever your drink of choice may be, cocktails, beer, water, just remember the point of Mardi Gras is to enjoy the richness that life has to offer before giving up one of those pleasures for lent. So relax and have fun!
- Sazerac – The Official Drink of Mardi Gras
- Carnival Queen Mardi Gras Cocktail
- Mardi Gras Hurricane
- Mardi Gras Milk Punch
If cocktails aren’t your thing and you’d love to sample some of the local brews, here’s a great list of some local NOLA favorites to track down for your celebration.
Don’t Forget the King!
King Cake
We put King Cake into it’s own category because it’s such a deliciously important fun part of any Mardi Gras party. This one is DEFINITELY a recipe you’ll want to include in your Mardi Gras party at home!
If you remember, Mardi Gras starts on the Epiphany – aka, 12th Night, or, King’s Day. The King Cake dessert is a bundt style sweet bread, stuffed with things like cinnamon, chocolate, and cream cheese. It’s then COVERED in yellow, green, and purple frosting.
Most importantly, is the tiny baby figurine hidden in the dough of the cake. The baby today represents Baby Jesus, and the winning finder of the baby is traditionally is named King or Queen of Mardi Gras. It’s so delicious though, everyone is a winner. * Disclaimer: Be careful with baking this little plastic baby in your cake. Some websites recommend just keeping him on the side as decoration. *
- Mardi Gras King Cake
- Easier Option: Crescent Roll King Cake Recipe
- Vegan Option: Vegan King Cake
- Don’t forget the baby!
Mardi Gras Fun!
Grab Your Mask and Catch Your Beads
Ok, so you’ve got your food cooked and ready, now bring on the night life!
Mardi Gras at Home Breakdown
So you got all that?! To recap, here’s a breakdown of how to have an amazing Mardi Gras at home:
Now as they say at Mardi Gras, Laissez les bons temps rouler! Aka, Let the Good Times Roll! We hope you enjoyed our Mardi Gras at home breakdown. Let us know how you celebrated!
