How to Host a Mardi Gras Party at Home

Host a Mardi Gras party at home that incorporates all the fun of Fat Tuesday and a Bourbon Street parade! Get ideas for decorations, food, drinks and fun for adults.

round table decorated for Mardi Gras with mask and flowers.

These ideas are for grownups as Mardi Gras is knows for it’s wild and crazy ways, and plenty of alcohol. You could also celebrate by hosting a more modest affair like a Mardi Gras dinner party and serve New Orleans style cuisine.

What Is Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras is synonymous with Fat Tuesday, the final celebration before Lent begins. And it’s most notable for it’s parades, costumes, and food. A great start for an at-home party theme for adults!

In America we’re most familiar with the events in New Orleans, but it’s celebrated in other parts of the world too. Carnival is also huge in Venice (Italy), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and Nice (France).

When to Host

The best time to host a party is the Saturday before Fat Tuesday. That way people can let loose for the night and recover on Sunday.

Since Mardi Gras is tied to Easter, the date of Fat Tuesday will change each year. So check your calendar early and plan accordingly.

outdoor house gate with mardi gras beads hanging off.

Party Decorations

The traditional colors are purple, green and gold so go wild with the décor using this tableau. Purple represents justice, green for faith, and gold for power.

  • Welcome guests at the entrance with colorful beads hanging from a gate, porch rails, doors or columns.
  • Use the color scheme in tablecloths, balloons, flowers, and backdrops.
  • Hang beads everywhere! Hang from chandeliers, along stairway rails and banisters, fill glass jars, scatter on tables, hang them on mirrors, etc.
side table against a wall with white cake topped with flowers and gold crown, and large mardi gras mask hanging above.
  • Decorate with elaborate masks. Place them on stands, attach them to the wall, inside empty picture frames, or hang them on mirrors.
  • Print and frame a table top sign that says, “laissez le bon temps rouler” for Let the Good Times Roll!
  • Fill glass vases with doubloons (gold plastic coins) or scatter them on tables.
  • Hang street signs with famous landmarks like Bourbon Street, The French Quarter, St. Charles Avenue, or the Garden District.
  • Get really cheeky and hang a few bras, panties and boxers or briefs in strategic locations. If you know, you know!
  • Incorporate harlequin patterns and fleur de lis where you can.
mardi gras masks used as party decoration on table with beads.

Beads everywhere. The cornerstone to any Mardi Gras party is the beads. Load up on them so you can give them out to guests, use them in a centerpiece, and decorate tables with.

Masks. If beads are the first thing you think about, then beautifully decorated masks are the second. Gather some colorful masks to wear and to decorate with.

What to Eat

There’s such a wide variety of food and drinks that you can serve for a party. Start with traditional New Orleans favorites as well as simple Southern snacks.

small plate filled with almonds, prosciutto, cheese, dried apricots and potato chips.
Zapp’s potato chips
seasoned pecans served on vintage green and white plate on dark wood surface.
roasted seasoned pecans

Snacks

When we visited New Orleans I discovered these Zapp’s potato chips that originated in Louisiana. They are so delicious, and adding them to the snack table adds a touch of authenticity.

Seasoned pecans are another great snack to nibble on. Place small dishes around the room and on the bar. Choose your favorite recipe from sweet & spicy pecans, or savory pecans.

Another delicious Southern snack is cheddar cheese coins. You can make them ahead and place small dishes of them throughout the party space.

oysters Rockefeller served on vintage oyster plate with lemon wedges in the middle.
oysters Rockefeller
large round board filled with smoked sausage slices, cheese, crostini, dips and fruit.
smoked sausage charcuterie

Appetizers

Lighter bites and appetizers are great for a food table. Order oysters Rockefeller from a local restaurant or seafood shop. Or you can roast them like they do in New Orleans.

Prepare a charcuterie board filled with smoked sausage and kielbasa. Include the spicy Cajun flavor from Zatarain’s brand. Add these other recipes to round out the menu.

sausage and rice in white bowl sitting on gold plates on dinner table.
jambalaya
red beans and rice served in white bowl.
red beans & rice

Main Dish

New Orleans is known for it’s specialized Cajun cuisine, and it’s so flavorful! Add these dishes to the menu.

PARTY TIP: For a cocktail-style party where people are standing and mingling, serve a large batch of jambalaya or gumbo from a crock pot. Use paper cups with corrugated wraps to eat from.

white tall cake topped with purple flowers and a cold crown.

Dessert Ideas

While king cake IS king for Mardi Gras, there are some other southern desserts that you can serve too.

  • Pick up a prepared king cake at the local bakery, or serve a layer cake that’s decorated with the play on words. Serve this “king” cake with a small gold crown on top and pretty edible flowers. It’s unexpected and whimsical.
  • Grab some sugar coated beignets from the bakery while you’re at it.
  • Make some pecan pralines, or try sugar coated candied pecans. They’re easier to make and just as delicious!
  • This banana pudding mini desserts recipes is so great for parties because of the individual portions that make them easy to eat.
  • Easy pecan pie bars are simply irresistible.
  • New Orleans is all about the bourbon! Make some yummy bourbon balls to nibble on or as a take-home treat.
  • Decorate some sugar cookies with cream cheese icing and purple, gold and green colored sugar.

PARTY TIP: King cake usually has a tiny baby figurine baked inside. It is said that whomever gets the slice with the baby will have good luck all year. Another tradition is that whoever gets the baby has to host the party next year.

two bourbon drinks in short glasses with dried orange slice garnishes.
sazerac
bloody mary in tall glass with pickled vegetable and bacon garnish.
bloody mary

What to Drink

The truth is, Mardi Gras celebrations focus a lot on the cocktails. You can provide a big batch punch or a signature cocktail with instructions to make it. Here are the classic choices.

  • Hurricane drinks pack a punch with light rum, dark rum, and fruit juice.
  • Sazerac has whiskey, cognac and bitters, with a hint of absinth.
  • Bloody Mary or a do-it-yourself bloody mary bar.
  • Bourbon drinks or a bourbon bar. Place a sign that says “Bourbon Street.”

PARTY TIP: Make 1 to 3 batches of Hurricane punch, each with a different level of alcohol. Name the punch with the least amount of alcohol (or a non-alcoholic version) a “Category 1 Hurricane.” Add more rum for a “Category 3 Hurricane,” and make a very strong batch as a “Category 5 Hurricane.”

black background with macarons and mardi gras mask and text says laissez le bon temps rouler!

How to Make It Fun

  • Encourage guests to dress up as wild as they want. Wear feathers, boas, fringe, hats and masks. Have plenty of beads to hand out to guests.
  • Crank up the music and dance! In lieu of a Mardi Gras parade, make a Soul Train line and show off some moves.
  • Crown a Mardi Gras King and Queen later in the night and give them gold crowns to wear.
  • Start the party by playing themed music to create the ambiance. Make a playlist with The Big Easy Soundtrack, When the Saints Go Marching In, Iko Iko, or simply search Mardi Gras music, New Orleans jazz, and Cajun Zydeco music.
purple, green, and gold fringe backdrop with 3 ladies taking photos with masks and feather boas.

Hang a backdrop of green, purple and gold fringe for guests to take photos in front of. Provide decorative props like feather boas, masks, beads and fun hats.

black backdrop with purple, gold, and green macarons with favor box and mardi gras mask, overhead view.

Make cute party favors by filling small boxes with colorful macarons to take home and enjoy later.

More Theme Party Ideas

Are you ready to celebrate with a Mardi Gras party for adults? It’s a great way to let loose and have rowdy fun!

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4 Comments

  1. Luv the centerpiece idea with the masks! The colors are used very elegantly. It’s time to party!

  2. Kendall, between my girl friend and I, we have had these decorations for 3 years. They have hosted some Great Mardi Gras parties! So, I didn’t make the masks. I did cut out the diamonds, though. Some of the foods at previous Mardi Gras Cocktail parties were Bourbon Meatballs, Cajun Cocktail Shrimp, Jambalaya, and Level 1,3, and 5 Hurricanes! Good luck with your party. I can’t wait to see pictures.

  3. I love that you celebrate every holiday!! You are one friend I would like to party with! Nice job!

  4. This looks so good! I am in the process of decorating for a Mardi Gras party too! I love the beads in the vase idea…I am still struggling with a centerpiece. Did you make or buy those masks?

    I am doing a cocktail party instead of a sit down dinner so I’m trying to figure out what to serve and how to decorate the table. I love the diamonds you cut out…I’m going to steal that idea!

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