-Ambiance

When you talk about New Orleans, there's a certain feeling people get who've been here. The lush tropical plants growing everywhere. The sultry, steamy southern clime that makes everything move just a little slower- after all, what's the rush, dawlin? Spicy smells waft from every doorway and since we're really not going anywhere anyway, why not just sit on a balcony with some good friends and watch it all go by until the sun goes down and things cool off?

Luckily, it's all in the attitude, and we can help you create it for your own party!

Just so you know, New Orleanians aren't much for planned activities...you'll find very few party games, scavenger hunts, etc. We've gotten calls here from people asking things like "what sort of things would be in a New Orleans-themed scavenger hunt?" Ummmm...a bar? A bucket of boiled crawfish? We'd much rather sit around, eat, dance and talk...this makes life on a host/hostess much easier as long as you're prepared!

 

 

One of the first things you need to do is define your terms: what kind of party do you want?

Even in New Orleans there are lots of different definitions of a Mardi Gras party. Here are a few to get you started:

Mardi Gras Ball

Each Krewe, or club, in the city typically throws one of these a year to celebrate their elected king, queen and court. These are much more formal than any other they’re typically black tie, formal dress affairs.

Absolute must haves:

Fancy(ish) Dress

Backdrop for keepsake photos of your guests

Champagne

Lowered Lights

Ideas:

Since these typically have themes, why not create your own? Who’s coming to your bash? What do they have in common? Use these things to come up with your own Krewe name and hang it on a banner, & incorporate it into your invitations. There’s some great clip art out there to make up a quick logo! Carry the theme as far out as your imagination take you- even coming up with a slogan or motto as the real Krewes do. Some are moderately serious (Muses: Happy are They Who the Muses Love) and many totally wiseass (Tucks: Booze, Beer, Bourbon & Broads), but come up with something catchy and they’ll remember your theme forever! We’ve even had customers turn this into an annual celebration, rotating the hosting duties!

French Quarter and/or Bourbon Street Party

Absolute must haves:

Scene setting is key. You can get design elements that feature balconies and cut outs of revelers for very little money, or you can go all out and contact your local plant nursery to see if they rent out tropical plants for just these sorts of occasions.

If you’re having the party in a backyard, you can have people periodically go yell out to people to get their attention and toss beads out to them- nudity optional, of course!

Ideas:

If you have friends who are so inclined, you can re-create some of the French Quarter’s “staple characters’ in your home- you can even go all out and assign a ‘personality’ to each guest, turning it into a costume party. They can come as people like:

Fortune Tellers- this can be anyone from somebody who actually reads Tarot to someone with a Magic 8-ball and wicked sense of humor

Vendors- Hot dogs, flowers, popcorn- any or all of these can be ‘sold’ by ‘vendors’ wandering through the crowd. A set of beads in exchange sounds like a pretty good bargain!

Vampires- Anne Rice may have left the city, but she’s left her stamp. Glowering kids in Goth getup telling dubious and over the top ghost stories about everything they see will fit right in.

Clowns/Jugglers/Mimes- Another strange brand of street entertainer that’s sprung up in the city. There are guys (and girls) who find a theme (one is a guy who’s painted himself and his clothes totally silver; another is a guy wearing an Uncle Sam hat, legs stretched wide, pretending to walk a dog) and stand still. That’s it. They stand as still as British Beefeaters and get tips. Now, your friends can do better than that, right?

Parade Party

Everybody loves a parade! We primarily have Carnival parades during 2 weeks leading up to Mardi Gras, but the only one people really go all out for, costume-wise- is Fat Tuesday itself. Feel free to have it with or without costumes, but you should at least have masks for your guests as party favors.

Absolute must haves:

Beads

Ideas:

The parades are raucous events with a very open and friendly feel. Upbeat music is a must, as is King Cake. You can pick a few New Orleans foods and supplement them with BBQ and/or fried chicken- grilling on St. Charles Avenue is an old and respected tradition, as is takeout Popeyes straight outta the box!

Each parade is thrown by a different Krewe, which chooses a new theme each year, and then a related sub-theme for each float. Themes are often based on current events & can be anything- cultural, satirical, political- it all depends on the Krewe, their history and audience.

Ask yourself who your audience is, and tailor the experience toward that. Making up signs/posters to hang around the party is a wonderful and easy way to personalize the experience. Punning is allowed and even encouraged, much as I hate to say it.

Birthday & Shower parties are particularly well suited to this idea!

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Have kids coming?

How ya gonna keep 'em busy?

Kids love dress up- and it's even better if they create it themselves. Having them make a mask is a creative activity that can keep them busy for at least an hour. Setting aside a table with crafting supplies in an area that's okay to get messy is a simple way to keep everybody happy at once.

You'll want to plan in advance, not only getting your supplies but starting things off by drawing a mask pattern or two onto stiff carboard and cutting it out for the kids to trace around- craft foam is a great and inexpensive material with no sharp bits to worry about. Pre-cut legnths of elastic to hold their masks in place, and let them go to town!

Material ideas:
Cardboard mask patterns for tracing Craft foam to trace the masks upon Age-appropriate scissors- one pair per every 2 kids Paints	Markers- the sort that wash easily from clothes and hands Glitter Feathers Fabric accents Beads

If you're not so sure about this stuff, you can start with our own mask kits. They come in 3 easy sizes with a pre-cut, shapeable mask, feathers and they're all you need to start off. We created them to be for any age- Kids can put one together without a problem, teens & adults can glam them up as far as they want! Add your own accents or theme colors and they'll have a fantastic party favor!

 

Once everyone's dressed in their party best, you can throw a Mardi Gras parade of your own- kids love to catch beads, but they really love to toss! It's very empowering, ya know, picking and choosing who gets bestowed with your offerings and having adults jumping around for you!   (Want to see more Mardi Gras pics? Click here!)

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-Eats & Drinks

Food is key in anything New Orleans related, and there are a few mandatory items at any Mardi Gras party-follow the links for easy recipes!

King Cake- this bread-like cake is covered in gooey icing and sugar sprinkles in Mardi Gras purple green and gold. A tiny plastic baby (symbolizing the infant Jesus) is hidden away inside. In New Orleans, whoever gets the baby in their slice has to bring the next King Cake, or hold the next party. Since yours is likely to be a one-off affair, you might want to offer a door prize instead.

Hurricane- whether you decide to make your from scratch with fresh fruit juices or from the authentic Pat O'Brien's mix, these drinks are sure to get your guests loosened up and ready to fling those beads!

Muffelleta- if you'd like to put together a sandwich platter for effortless self-service, these are the ones to make.

Jambalaya- this takes about an hour and half to put together, but is well worth the effort- you'll be surprised how quickly a huge pot disappears!

Fried Chicken- make it from scratch or pick some up from Popeye's, but no KFC- it's gotta have that spicy kick to be a New Orleans party!

-Favors & Trinkets

You've got to have beads, of course- but what kinds?

Throw beads- these are the basic beads; billions are tossed from floats every year. They come in several lengths, and we carry the nicer varieties of these:   Trophy Beads- these are the prizes- many fewer are thrown of these. They can have medallions, be oversized, have a theme, or be "Krewe" beads, with the club's insignia. When caught, they inspire everyone around you to work harder to top whatever you've got! A good mix of these would be 80% throw, 20% trophy beads. We've put together several inexpensive choices for you, or you can put your own package together.