Mardi Gras Carnival

Welcome back,

How would you like to experience Mardi Gras in New Orleans?

Mardi Gras is french for Fat Tuesday, would you like to know which Tuesday it falls on, which would be this year on March 8, 2011.

There is so much to do and see, Mardi Gras is all about music, parades, excitement and a lot more, also it has history and traditions, but one thing is for sure, it's a big holiday in New Orleans.

The people wear the colours of New Orleans, from having a picnic to watching the crowds walk between parades, etc.

There is so much activity in New Orleans, from having a picnic to watching the crowds walk between parades, etc.

All the shops and roads are almost closed for this event and people walk around and meet new friends.

Some people are dressed in crazy costumes and children are everywhere, and they all love Mardi Gras.

So, if you cannot go to Mardi Gras, why not experience it in the comfort of your home, you can send your own invitations depicting the New Orleans colours, invite your friends to attend an evening of fun and games, your guests can dress up in the colours of purple, green and gold.

You can have a simple menu of food and snacks, like for the menu you can make it simple and have snack foods throughout the evening.

For your menu, you can have Jambalaya, Chicken Gumbo, Dirty Rice, for those who cannot have spicy foods, you can also check the internet for meal ideas for Mardi Gras.

Instead of floats, you could play games, where the guests guess the answers and they receive the traditional beads of Mardi Gras of purple, green and gold, if the answer is correct.

For party favours, why not have inexpensive masks for each guest, when they arrive, why not check out a party supplier online for different Mardi Gras items for example:
- Masks
- Banners- Mardi Gras colours - purple, green and gold
- Beads - Mardi Gras colours also
- Decorations depicting Mardi Gras
- Punch - Mardi Gras
- Glasses - Mardi Gras motif
- Tablecloths, etc
- Music - pick music that everyone will like

Stay tuned to my blog for the next installment, on how to throw a fun and exciting Mardi Gras Party, and in a couple of days, we can go into details.

Now I am going to show how to get your party started and you should order your decorations, glasses, napkins, beads for games, masks, etc., about a couple weeks well enough in advance, so that you will be able to decorate the night before, so it that on the day of your party, you can prepare your food preparation and to address any last minute problems that may have been forgotten.

You have to make your guest list on who you want to invite, you can design your own invitations with the following items:
Date:
Location:
Time of Party:
Attire: Purple, Green,, Gold
BYOB- Your guests can bring whatever they want to drink
RSVP - Cut-off time for reply to party (example March 10, the day of the party, so the cut-off would be February 28) and the telephone number, so that your guests can reply if attending or not, in the event that responses have not been received by RSVP date, then the next step would be a courtesy call out to guests that have not replied, so that you can get a final number on whose attending, so you can plan your menu.

Once the invitations are sent out, planning your menu can be done in very different ways, if you are going with finger foods during the night, then invitation should show that the party starts at 7:30pm, as people will have eaten at home, if inviting your guests for 6:00pm, then you can plan a simple buffet and serve after your guests arrive.

When guests arrive, you can give name tags for each guest especially, if people don't know each other, and you can make a simple game of it, where everyone introduces themselves.

You can check the internet for different games to be played during the evening, keep it light and fun, the most popular game is charades, if you are having music, keep the sound down low to create a party atmosphere and that your guests can hear themseleves when they are talking to another person.

So, by preparing your finger foods ahead, so you that you can spend more time with your guests, for finger foods that require heating, put in oven half an hour before guests arrive, place all other finger foods out that don't require heating (chips, peanuts, etc.), and you can order from a party supplier plastic glasses for beer, soft drinks, wine, masks, etc.

So, being its a Mardi Gras Party, encourage your guests to dress-up as close as possible in the colours of purple, green and gold and when your guests arrive, handout masks in the Mardi Gras colours.

Just relax and enjoy the Mardi Gras celebration at home and by planning ahead, will help your party be a success.