King Cake | Crawfish | Throws | Decorations | Costumes & Masks | Drinks
Party Suppliers
MARDI GRAS PARTY PLANNING
How to Host a Mardi Gras Party
If you’re not able to break away from the demands of everyday life/cabin fever and head to Mardi Gras somewhere warm (or at least not at home), thanks to the Internet, and cheap/free and quick shipping, there’s no reason that you can’t embrace the warm communal feeling of Mardi Gras with friends and family right there in said cabin.
Imagine coming home from work on a chilly Tuesday evening. You enter to find that you’d wisely planned ahead and festooned your living and dining rooms with colorful green, gold, and purple party store ribbons the night before. Your mask and costume are waiting for you. There’s a knock at the door, and friends enter bearing a King Cake ordered from a Gulf Coast bakery that ships. In quick succession friends arrive with Hurricane drink mix, mixers, and crawfish flown in that day from the Gulf Coast. Within a few moments, all thoughts of jobs and weather are subsumed in a Mardi Gras frenzy of good food, colorful trinkets, and fruity adult beverages. Masks, beads, and a casual trinket economy assure a playful festive atmosphere.
Thanks to the Internet, sharing the various procurement tasks involved in staging a Mardi Gras party is a mostly painless and fairly inexpensive proposition. The bare minimum list of required items needed to hold a respectable Mardi Gras party are:
King Cake
- a tasty fondant covered pastry with a plastic baby baked inside. Whoever gets the piece with the baby inside is responsible for buying the next King Cake. Check your local bakery well before Mardi Gras (sometime in mid-January) and see if they make these. If not, look online for a good (look for reviews) Gulf Coast bakery that ships. There are plenty.
Crawfish
- sweet, succulent, and perfect for étouffée, jambalaya, gumbo, nachos, burritos, and even pizza. Look online for a purveyor on the Gulf Coast who packs them fresh, and ships them the same day boxed with dry ice. Pay for fast delivery. Serve fresh.
Throws
- green, gold, and purple plastic bead strings, cups, tiny balls, or anything lightweight and non-destructive that people might enjoy hanging onto as a party favor, or trade for that last crawfish nacho. Check your local party store, or look online for a Mardi Gras party store that ships.
Decorations
- Almost anything as long as it’s green, gold, or purple. Check local party stores and online.
Costumes/Masks
The more colorful and crazy the better. Check local party stores or order online.
Drinks
Supplies for Hurricanes can be ordered from the Pat O'Brien’s website. Other supplies can be had from Cajun grocers, and party stores (local, or down on the Gulf Coast).
The point here is to have one last good time with friends and family before Lent. So don’t stress about it, or make it too much of a burden on any one person. Just divvy up the tasks, and get it done. Then, enjoy one another and eat/drink a bit too much while you can.
Disclaimer: For your safety and the safety of others, All About Mardi Gras pleads with you not to drink and drive ever, under any circumstances. It’s illegal, unnecessary, unsafe, foolish, and is guaranteed to ruin your vacation.
Mardi Gras Party Links
Most of these have not been tested, and are intended to help you get started. I/we make no claims about quality of good or services.
Delicious Donuts & Bakery
337-479-2986
Lake Charles, Louisiana
This One I know makes an excellent King Cake
Haydel’s Bakery (in New Orleans)
1-800-442-1342
Shindigz Party Supply
A full service party supply store.
Cajun Grocers
These folks offer a bit of everything from Alligator, crab cakes and jambalaya, to King Cake, Shrimp French bread, and Turducken.
888-CRAWFISH (888-272-9347)
Shopping Louisiana
An outlet for live crawfish, Cajun seasonings, party supplies, pralines, coffee, and drinks.
Sadly, no website just yet.
Email: [email protected]; 800-221-8060