6 Fun Mardi Gras Traditions to Celebrate at Home
While people from all over the world head to New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras each year, you don’t have to leave the comfort of your home to get in the Mardi Gras spirit.
This year, bring Fat Tuesday to you by incorporating the taste of Mardi Gras into your own celebration. These six Mardi Gras traditions are the perfect way to celebrate at home.
Eat a King Cake
This quintessential Mardi Gras dessert is the perfect way to celebrate Fat Tuesday at home. The festive Mardi Gras colors and sweet flavors will have you celebrating in no time. Most supermarkets sell traditional king cakes, so it shouldn’t be difficult to find this time of year.
This super easy “King Cake” recipe uses crescent rolls for a simple, yet delicious spin on the traditional King Cake you can easily make at home to enjoy with your family.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Or you can take some time and make your own from scratch. This King Cake recipe from What a Girl Eats is about as authentic as they come. Be sure to buy a plastic baby to insert in your King Cake for an authentic experince!
You can also purchase King Cake mix in a box for the easiest King Cake baking experience. You’ll often find a boxed mix at your grocery store during Mardi Gras season.
Or, if you want a true NoLa King Cake, several of the most popular bakeries will ship you a king cake! Some of my favorites are Manny Randazoo and Joe Gambino’s Bakery.
Toss Beads
Just because you’re not able to attend a Mardi Gras parade doesn’t mean you have to miss out on beads. You can order a bulk set of Mardi Gras beads for your party and toss them out to all your guests. Your friends will love the chance to look like they just left a fun party on Bourbon Street with a fun set of Mardi Gras beads around their necks.
Indulge
At the center of every Mardi Gras celebration across New Orleans is indulgence. That means stuffing yourself with delicious Cajun cuisine, decedent desserts, and drinking a sweet hurricane or two.
Make the adults in the house an authentic New Orleans hurricane and make the kids this adorable Rainbow Mocktail.
Green, Gold and Purple
To really get in the spirit of Mardi Gras, decorate your home with classic Mardi Gras colors – green, gold and purple. These colors don’t just look festive together, they actually have an important meaning. The Crewe of Rex gave these colors meaning in the late 1800s – purple symbolizes justice, green stands for faith, and gold represents power.
Wear Masks
Masks are a huge part of the Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans. Members of the parade krewes are required to wear masks while on the floats, so adding masks to your Mardi Gras celebration at home makes perfect sense. Whether you buy them online or make your own, masks are another Mardi Gras tradition for your at-home celebration.You can buy fun masks from a party store, or your kids can make their own masks. This free printable mask set will allow your kids to color their own masks, while this free template will allow them to cut out and decorate their own masks.
Mardi Gras Menu
No Mardi Gras celebration would be complete without delicious food. Your Mardi Gras menu should incorporate a variety of classic dishes that are traditionally eaten during the Carnival season. Red beans and rice, jambalaya, hot muffuletta dip, and gumbo are all great choices for your at-home Mardi Gras celebration. And for dessert, fry up some delicious beignets.
Have a fun Mardi Gras at home!
