New Years Eve Mardi Gras Celebration

Mardi Gras has always been viewed as the ultimate party experience. If you really want to celebrate New Year’s Eve why not have a Mardi Gras celebration? Picture yourself in the middle of the French Quarter wearing a colorful mask, and, of course, Mardi Gras beads. You are a stranger in the crowd of masked faces, and the smell of spicy Cajun cuisine is so close that it makes your mouth water.

The upbeat sounds of New Orleans carnival music are everywhere. Everyone is offering you beaded necklaces of all shapes and colors. People are in the streets celebrating the fun, colorful and exciting carnival that is Mardi Gras. Go ahead and combine New's Year Eve and Mardi Gras for a great celebration!

Mardi Gras Invitations
You can certainly choose a New Years party invitation, but a Mardi Gras theme invitation is a lot of fun and is perfect for this party. Include a fabulous Mardi Gras mask and everyone will want to attend your party! (You'll want to mail it in a padded envelope or even a box.)

Feeling ambitious? Try one of these other invite ideas:

What could be more fun than making your own Mardi Gras masks as an invitation? Use construction paper, glitter, sequins, feathers and anything else that will add sparkle to your works of art. Visit your local art supply store or craft store for some ideas and assistance. Put all of the party information on the reverse side of the masks.
Tie your invite with some classic Mardi Gras party beads. Guests can wear them later to your party!
Don't forget to add some fleur de lis confetti to the envelope to finish off the look.

Recommend that your guests wear your masks as they arrive. You might even want to encourage them to dress in costume. Be prepared when your guests arrive for Mardi Gras New Year's style! Have plenty of beads and masks!

New Year's Eve Mardi Gras Decorations and Party Supplies
As your guests arrive, let them hear the sounds of a Dixieland jazz band or Mardi Gras music playing in the background. Greet them with a life-sized cutout of you dressed as the Mardi Gras jester!

Purple, green, and gold are the traditional colors of the celebration, so stick to this bright color scheme. Hang Mardi Gras crepe paper on the walls, along with masks, balloons, and beads!

Mardi Gras is such a colorful and energetic holiday. Make sure your party reflects this by filling your venue with fun Mardi Gras and New Year's theme decor:

Make your venue a Mardi Gras paradise from the moment guests walk in the door! Hang a Mardi Gras theme banner over your entrance.
Arrange feather boas and Mardi Gras beads around mirrors. Add a little bit of Mardi Gras garland for accent!
Balloon bouquets in purple, green and gold are colorful additions to the buffet table and corners of your venue. The lights are perfect for New Year's Eve, too! (Don't forget to use a gold balloon weight.)
Make the important areas of your party, like the buffet and drink station, stand out with homemade Mardi Gras sgns. With 8 different iconic locations, turn your venue into a New Orleans hangout!

You're venue will be looking like Bourbon Street before you know it!

new year's table decorations and menu

Make different bouquets of New Years Eve noisemakers and 2020 glasses to use as your centerpieces. Have them coming out of fun green glitter top hats (or other fun Mardi Gras theme hats). Tie purple, gold, and green helium filled balloons to the bouquets to give them some height. Your guests can use the noisemakers later to join in the festivities!

Keep your menu easy and fun with a buffet. Naturally, use paper goods! Make sure to use a fun design.

Pick from either New Years theme paper goods or Mardi Gras theme paper goods. Plain gold, green or purple party supplies will do the trick, too.
Don't forget the napkin rings! Mardi Gras beads make a fabulous napkin ring AND favor.
Use Mardi Gras coins to scatter across tables.

Can't you just smell the zesty spices of traditional New Orleans cuisine? Well if you can't, visit Kyle LeBlanc Crawfish Farms to purchase crawfish so you can have an authentic boil! Yum!

You can also check out emerils.com and see what Emeril, the king of New Orleans himself, has to say about Cajun and Creole cuisine. And don't forget a King Cake for dessert!

Mardi Gras Activities
Make sure to keep your guests entertained until the ball drops. Try one or two of these Mardi Gras themed activities:

Along with the usual New Year's Eve hoopla, have a costume contest! Whoever has the most elaborate and creative costume is the winner!
Set up a photobooth with a Mardi Gras photo op. Family and friends will love posing as jesters!
Another fun game that you can play is "Hidden Treasure." Divide everyone into two teams, and have a treasure hunt for gold Doubloons and beaded necklaces. You can hide a bunch of stuff with or without giving the teams clues as to the whereabouts of the "treasure." The team that finds the most "treasure" wins a prize!
A balloon drop is always fun! Make sure to hand out gold confetti horns (they match the theme!) and confetti poppers for the countdown.

We have tons of New Year's Eve Games to choose from, too. Take a look!

New Year's Eve Party Favors
Send your family and friends home with some sweet treats to remember the last night of the year. Try one or two of these favors:

A bag of chocolate coins are always a nice treat for your guests to take home. But even better is a personalized Mardi Gras candy bar wrapper that will remind your friends how much fun they had the night before.
Custom Mardi Gras Lollipops are a colorful and delicious favor that will match your theme perfectly!
A fun theme calls for a fun favor. Fill a bowl with an assortment of toy favors for guests to choose from.
Don't forget favor bags! Check out these custom New Year's Eve favor bags.

It's going to be a great party, but be warned.... Your guests will have so much fun at your New Year's Mardi Gras party that they will want you to host another Mardi Gras party in February!