Create a Fun Mardi Gras Party Buffet
This year I decided to create a fun Mardi Gras party buffet. I lived for a year in New Orleans, and in my opinion, everyone should experience Mardi Gras at least once. The parade of floats, the throwing/catching beads, the partying in the streets: there is nothing else like it in the United States.
I have fond memories of trying to catch beads and other trinkets thrown from the parade floats and stepping on them, so no one could pick them up. You learn very quickly that you need to step on items, instead of trying to pick them up, as someone else will step on your hand if you don’t!
Mardi Gras is synonymous with fun. What better party theme to have for your next gathering! I plan on having lots of friends and family over. So creating a buffet table is the best way to serve food for this kind of gathering.
When planning for your party, if you aren’t familiar with Mardi Gras, you need to know that purple (for justice), green (for faith), and gold (for power) are the colors associated with the holiday. I understand these colors have been associated with Mardi Gras since the late 1800s.
With Mardi Gras, everything is “over the top”! It’s not a “keep it simple” affair.
As with most holidays and events, there are things associated with it. Below are the ones I used on my Mardi Gras buffet table:
- Beads – which are thrown from the floats.
- Masks – must be worn on the floats.
- Bourbon Street – where the real partying takes place.
- Fleur de Lis – the symbol of New Orleans
How to Create a Fun Mardi Gras Party Buffet
Creating an attractive Mardi Gras buffet table is easier than you might think. *Reference my guide for creating a buffet table to set up the foundation for your buffet.
For my Mardi Gras buffet, I used a white twin-size sheet as the base, so it would completely cover and hide my dining table. To incorporate the colors of Mardi Gras, I used a gold tablecloth for the primary layer, and for an accent layer, I added a dark purple scarf I found at a second-hand store.
Next, I added the Mardi Gras decorations. I’m on a budget, so decided to make a few things and keep it pretty cheap.
I found the Fleur de Lis cutouts on clearance at a local craft store, and spray-painted them gold.
At the same time, I found a pack of plain white masks. So I decided to decorate them with the colors of Mardi Gras, which would tie in well with the buffet and theme. The Mardi Gras masks were SO fun to create!
Since this is a Mardi Gras party, I wanted to make a Bourbon Street sign. It was really easy to do, and cost almost nothing. Just a little of my time. The instructions are on my Bourbon St sign DIY page.
To tie everything together and make it “over the top”, I placed purple, gold, and green beads all over the buffet. I also added a large, eye-grabbing vase filled with glitzy floral pieces and a really pretty dark purple feather piece.
Voila! It turned out very eye-catching.
Enjoy your Mardi Gras party!
