The best Mardi Gras party ideas for anywhere outside New Orleans are simple: get a real king cake shipped in, put a pot of red beans on, stream WWOZ and the parades, and cover the place in purple, green and gold. You don't need a float. You need the right food, the right sound and people willing to wear a feather boa at 3 p.m. on a Tuesday.
If you grew up here and live somewhere else now, you already know the feeling. Your coworkers think Mardi Gras is one day of beads on Bourbon Street. You know it's a season, and you're missing it.
So bring it to you. Blake first sketched Be A New Orleanian. Wherever You Are. on a sticker at Mello Joy coffeehouse in Lafayette while evacuated after Katrina. Two decades later it's still the rule for every New Orleanian living in a city that doesn't close for Fat Tuesday.
Start the Season Early
Carnival starts on Twelfth Night, January 6, and runs to Mardi Gras Day. In 2027, that's Tuesday, February 9. Don't wait until the week of. If you throw one party, sure, make it Fat Tuesday. But a king cake on the office break table every Friday from January on is how you convert people.
We call them Nola Converts: people who weren't born here but love the city like they were. Blake has said it plainly, "These folks knew the city much deeper than I did." Your Mardi Gras party is a recruitment event. Act accordingly.
The King Cake
This is the centerpiece and it has to be real. A grocery store cake with purple sprinkles won't fool anybody who grew up eating the real thing.
A number of New Orleans bakeries ship king cakes nationwide during Carnival. Order early, because shipping windows fill up fast in February, and pick a delivery date a day or two before your party in case of weather delays. If you want the full story on the cake, the baby and who has to buy the next one, read our post on king cakes. And for a laugh, read about Larry Ragusa's King Cakes, the greatest bakery that never existed.
Set the rules out loud before anybody cuts a slice. Whoever gets the baby brings the next cake. And The Knife Stays in the Box. Every time.
The Food
Red beans are the easy answer. Monday has been red beans day in New Orleans for generations, and a big pot feeds a crowd for almost nothing. Cook them low and slow, serve them over rice, and put hot sauce on the table.
If you want to go further, a pot of gumbo or a tray of muffulettas works. Pick one big thing and do it well rather than trying to cook the whole city.
Make sure there's something to drink out of plastic cups. That's tradition, not laziness.
The Colors
Purple, green and gold aren't random. 64 Parishes credits Rex, which first paraded in 1872, with setting them as the colors of Carnival.
Go all in: purple napkins, green plates, gold streamers, beads draped over every lamp. A Happy Almost Mardi Gras Ornament left on the tree from Christmas counts as a decoration here, and frankly, plenty of us leave ours up until Ash Wednesday anyway.
If you have leftover throws from past years, this is their moment. Put the good stuff on display.
The Music
Turn on WWOZ. New Orleans' community radio station streams online, and during Carnival season it's the closest thing to standing on St. Charles you'll get from a thousand miles away. We've written about why WWOZ matters to the city.
Have a backup playlist ready for when somebody inevitably asks for "the Mardi Gras song." Professor Longhair, the Meters, the Wild Tchoupitoulas and the Rebirth Brass Band will cover you. Play "Mardi Gras Mambo" at least once. Then play it again.
The Parades
Several New Orleans TV stations stream the big parades live, which means you can put Endymion or Zulu on the TV and narrate for your guests. This is where you get to be the expert. Explain what a krewe is. Explain why you're yelling "throw me something" at a television.
It's also a good excuse to teach people the vocabulary. Neutral ground. Flambeaux. Lundi Gras. Where y'at.
Games and Extras
A deck of New Orleans Playing Cards on the coffee table gives people something to do between parades. Each suit is built around a piece of the city's culture, which starts conversations.
A mask station by the door is cheap and gets everyone in the spirit. So is a costume rule, even a loose one. Locals know: you don't have to dress up for Mardi Gras, but the people who do have more fun.
Send Them Home With Something
The party ends, but the guests should leave with a piece of it. Leftover king cake goes in foil. Beads go around necks. And if somebody falls hard for the city, point them toward our For the Ex-Pats collection or our New Orleans diaspora gift guide.
Next year, they'll throw the party.
Mardi Gras Party Ideas: FAQ
How do you throw a Mardi Gras party outside New Orleans?
Order a real king cake from a New Orleans bakery that ships, cook a pot of red beans, decorate in purple, green and gold, and stream WWOZ and the parades. Throw it on Fat Tuesday or any weekend during Carnival season.
What are the colors of Mardi Gras?
Purple, green and gold. According to 64 Parishes, Rex established them as the official colors of Carnival after it first paraded in 1872.
Can you watch Mardi Gras parades online?
Yes. Several New Orleans TV stations stream the major parades live during Carnival, and WWOZ streams its radio broadcast online year-round.
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