While Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) often refers to the day before Ash Wednesday (February 13th this year), anyone in New Orleans will tell you that Mardi Gras should last for weeks, if not the whole month approaching Lent. To get you in the spirit, and help you get your Mardi Gras on while there’s still time, here are some great up-cycled party ideas to inspire you.
The most important aspect of Mardi Gras, is the over-the-top carnival feel. This is your chance to go wild! Use it as an excuse for a great costume party, and yet another reason to buy the wackier clothes you find at Goodwill.
1. Masquerade. Masks are a common feature of carnival celebrations because they allow even the most conservative people to feel freer by hiding their identity. Make your own with recycled cardboard with holes for eyes, and nose. With the cardboard shape cut out, just glue away! Feathers, glitter, plastic toys, fur, buttons, pieces of paper, old record covers and cassette tapes (which you’ll find lots of at Goodwill), all make great masks. Or, forget that and just paint one on with face paint.
2. Costumes. Like Halloween, this is your chance to take advantage of the unusual costumes you find at Goodwill. Make a theme like: Favorite Saints, animals, vegetables, pop stars, or just tell your friends to wear something they would never wear out of the house. You can combine this with a masquerade, or supply bizarre accessories for your friends to put on once they get to your house (try Goodwill’s hats, belts, scarves, and more).
3. Color Bock Party. This is for those of you who don’t want to go through the trouble of making a mask or reinventing a costume. For this theme, have everyone find one purple, green, or gold clothing item at Goodwill (theme colors of Mardi Gras), and wear it to the party. Once everyone arrives, swap clothing items with other guests until you have created as many outfits of one solid color as possible (this is a lot easier if you include hats, gloves and other accessories). You can make it a competition to see who can deck themselves out in a single color the fastest, or go at your own pace. You will be amused either way.
4. Beads. These are one of the most fun parts of the celebration, and are typically thrown off of the floats during parades. Plastic beads are typically not the most eco-friendly. If you’ve got some time on your hands why not try making garlands out of old magazines or used books (follow the tutorial below for making these simple origami stars), used small plastic toys, colored paper circles or anything else you can string.
Origami star tutorial:
http://www.steppingthrucrazy.com/2012/01/origami-stars-tutorial.html
Don’t forget to provide food and drinks to go with your festive attire. Record covers make fun chargers or coasters for the table setting. You can also compile a mix-match of dishes (you’ll be surprised by the variety of things you can find at Goodwill) to give the party a more eclectic, festive feel.
Have fun, be wild, and enjoy a little extra freedom this week!
