Mardi Gras: The Feast Before the Fast
When people talk about Mardi Gras (literally "fat Tuesday" in French), they could mean the entire season that stretches from Twelfth Night (January 6) all the way to Ash Wednesday, or they could mean just that one wild Tuesday.
Either way, Mardi Gras is a time to celebrate and indulge in rich food before you give it all up for Lent.
In New Orleans, Mardi Gras partiers dress up in masked costumes and take to the streets with food, drinks, music, and parades. The closer it gets to Lent, the wilder the parties get.
Party People
How about hosting a Mardi Gras mask-making party? Even kids can get into that. Raid a craft store for blank masks, feathers, beads, sequins, glitter, and paints.
Need some party decoration inspiration? In New Orleans, traditional Mardi Gras colors are purple, gold, and green. You can take it from there with beads, flowers, balloons, and streamers.
And since Mardi Gras is about excess, let your motto be, "Why decorate when you can over decorate?"
What to eat? Try these tasty ideas:
Drink Up!
People have been known to have a drink or three on Mardi Gras. Here are some favorites:
King Cake
And now we come to King Cake. A Mardi Gras tradition, King Cake is shaped into a ring and decorated with green, purple, and gold sprinkles--the colors of Mardi Gras.
But there's more. A tiny plastic baby is baked into the cake, and the guest who gets the piece containing the baby has to host the festivities next year.