All You Need to Host This Year's Best Mardi Gras Party

No matter your age (at least 21 for drinking please) throwing a Mardi Gras Party can be a memorable time for all. A majority of people in this country will unfortunately never experience a live Mardi Gras in New Orleans. That said, they shouldn't be deprived of the experience entirely. Here are some helpful tips for bringing the party to them this year:

Decorations:
Streamers, balloon, plates, cups, etc go along way for creating the festive mood. Gold, green, and purple are the traditional colors of Mardi Gras representing power, faith, and justice.

Music:
No Party would be complete without the traditional Louisiana Sound. The majority of good Mardi Gras music finds its roots in the Jazz, Zydeco or Cajun styles of music. Go to iTunes or your preferred music store and start by typing in "Mardi Gras Music" or Zydeco Music. A few staples would have would be "Preservation Hall - Live at the 2006 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Club", Buckwheat Zydeco (just about anything he has done will serve up great in the background), or you can just go with a standard "Mardi Gras compilation album). A quality faster paced mixed is important for the festivities. I've been at Mardi Gras parties that have lasted well into the night b/c the music was so good (of course the drinks didn't hurt any either)

Beads/Trinkets:
You can't have a Mardi Gras party and not bring the beads. In New Orleans, the beads traditionally are thrown to the crowds from the top of the parade floats. (They have also been given out to men and women who tend to do more provocative things like lifting their shirt or dropping trou, but I gather most of my readers have moved past this point, as have I (Hi honey)......unless highly intoxicated (in that case, see "drinks" below). But I digress. A great idea is to have a contest to see who can collect the most beads during the party. The winner could receive something Mardi Gras related.

Costumes/Masks:
While dressing up needn't be required for your guests, it always nice for the host to set the mood. Venetian half masks with or without a stick tend to be the standard fare. You can find them at most costume sites by searching for Mardi Gras masks. If you are feeling generous you can find cheap versions at your local party store. You can hand them out at the beginning of the party.

Drinks:
Hurricanes and Handgrenades. On the assumption you'll be having a non-dry event, two great drinks to make for everyone are Hurricane and the Handgrenades. Both of these drinks should be mixed in a large punch bowl and served cold.

Hurricanes - Made famous at Pat O'Brien's in the French Quarter. These drinks will be the life of the party! Locate the mix on-line at http://patobriens.creativeinternet.com/patobriens. The drink is mixed with dark rum and it is so delicious.

Handgrenades - A hand grenade is a melon flavored alcoholic beverage sold at Tropical Isles on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Marketed as the strongest drink on Bourbon Street, it is the equivalent of about 4 1/2 standard drinks. Normally it is mixed at home with Handgrenade mix from the Tropical Isles web site (www.tropicalisle.com) and either Vodka or grain alcohol (of course, things could get a bit dicey with grain is involved, but man it was crazy back in the day no?)

Food:
Click here for a great site for Mardi Gras recipes can be found - Here you will find a whole bunch of classic Creole and Cajun recipes that are not too hard to make.

King Cake - Many historic reasons for the cake dating back to the pagan days. Brought to Louisiana as a Christian custom, it was adopted as part of the Mardi Gras Celebration. Baking of the cakes traditionally starts on January 6th through the end of Mardi Gras celebration. Inside this delicious cake is a small plastic baby (representing the baby Jesus). In modern times, the person who finds the baby in their piece of cake is responsible for buying the next cake or hosting the next party.

By following these basic ideas and adding a bit of your own flair, a Mardi Gras party is a great opportunity to show off your fun side and "Laissez le bon temp rouler" (Let the Good Times Roll)