
I like big beads and I cannot lie. Mardi Gras is right around the corner, and we have the best Mardi Gras party ideas for you. Coronavirus cancelled the big Mardi Gras parades and mass gatherings, but that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate with some King Cake at home. We partnered with CV Linens and Instaballoons to show you how to feast on Fat Tuesday from the comfort of your home. We are excited to share our Mardi Gras party ideas with you.
What is Mardi Gras?
Mardi Gras is a predominantly Catholic holiday and a global cultural phenomenon. Mardi Gras is also known as Fat Tuesday or Carnival. For many Catholics, it’s the last chance to party and splurge before Lent. This day is the perfect excuse to enjoy rich, decadent foods. During Lent, observers fast during the 40 days between Ash Wednesday (the day after Mardi Gras) and Easter Sunday. This year, Mardi Gras falls on Tuesday, February 16. Before Covid-19, the biggest Mardi Gras celebrations were held in New Orleans, Rio and Venice.

How to Style a Mardi Gras Party Tablescape?
From bead to shining bead. Mardi Gras party ideas are all about vibrant masks and beads galore. Our gorgeous tablescape featured the traditional colors of Mardi Gras: purple, green and gold. Purple symbolizes justice, green represents faith and gold signals power. We framed our dining table with a purple, green and gold balloon garland. The party planning hack here is Command Hooks. You can use them for your balloon garlands and remove them after the party without damaging your walls. Next we added Mardi Gras in gold letter balloons.

We dressed the table with a sparkly emerald green tablecloth and a sequin purple table runner. Each place setting featured a gold charger plate, gold confetti plates and dessert plates, purple sequin napkins and gold cutlery. We also scattered beads and masks on the table.

Mardi Gras party ideas should be over the top and vibrant. Our gorgeous centerpiece featured an ornate gold candelabra with crisp white candles and purple, ivory and green flowers. We used a vase to display the flowers, but in hindsight, we recommend using floral foam and select some flowers that dangle into the candelabra. This candelabra is so perfect for the decadence and extravagance of a Mardi Gras party. It’s also great as a wedding centerpiece. Try this setup and host your own Mardi Gras party this year. Best of all, you can use the code TWINS to save 10% at CV Linens (excluding polyester chair covers).

Mardi Gras Party Ideas: Drinks
Life of the Mardi. Our Mardi Gras cocktail was a Vena’s Sprit Sipper’s Blueberry and Sweet Apple Margarita. We added Casamigos to the mason jar, shook them and let them infuse in the fridge for a few days. These drinks were fantastic. No shaker, no infused simple syrup. Just the easiest cocktail you’ll ever make. And the deep purple color matched our color palette perfectly. This is one of the best Mardi Gras party ideas for cocktails.

Mardi Gras Party Ideas: Food
Fat Tuesday is the only Tuesday we like and our Mardi Gras party ideas for food are quite decadent. We created a Mardi Gras menu that transported our guests to the French Quarter. Creole and/or Cajun recipes are a must at a Mardi Gras party. We started our meal with Louisiana Deviled Crab Cakes with Remoulade Sauce. This was the first time we ever made crab cakes from scratch, and they were delicious. We are already talking about making them again. We skipped the Jicama Slaw and upped the Tabasco sauce. Next time, we would remake these as sliders (since it’s the starter).

Our main was a Chicken and Chicken Sausage Gumbo. We recommend making this recipe the day before your Mardi Gras dinner. It takes a while to cook! This recipe was more of a guide verses an exact recipe, so here are our adjustments. We made our own roux with 10 tablespoons of flour and 10 tablespoons of vegetable oil. We usually swap vegetable oil for olive oil, but Marc Savoy strongly advises against that. The Gumbo takes a while to cook. We cooked it for about 8 hours and served it with Basmati Rice.

Nobody puts baby in the King Cake. For dessert, you don’t need Mardi Gras party ideas because you have to serve a traditional King Cake with a baby. This recipe makes two cakes and has cream cheese filling and topped with purple, green and gold sugar. You can buy color sugar or just place sugar in a Ziplock bag and add food coloring. Then rub until you achieve the color you want.

Have a Safe and Fun Mardi Gras
Beads and bling, it’s a Mardi Gras thing. This February 16, be inspired by our Mardi Gras party ideas and host your own small dinner with your family or roommates. Remember everywhere else, it’s just Tuesday and that King Cake calories don’t count.


An American has not seen the United States until he has seen Mardi-Gras in New Orleans.
Mark Twain
This looks like a fun little dinner get together. I want to start planning something fun for mardi gras now. Thank you for the inspiration.
These are all such great ideas! The decor and setting are absolutely stunning, amazing work!
I should throw a little Mardi Gras party for my kids this year!
So many great ideas! love that big mask balloons. inspired to get onto Mardi Gras!
That sweet apple margarita sounds delicious ?.
I’m loving all the fun decorations! So colorful!