The best Mardi Gras throws are the ones a rider made or picked out by hand: a Zulu coconut sits at the top, followed by a Muses shoe, a Nyx purse and a Tucks plunger. Cups and doubloons are good. Plain beads, the thing everybody pictures, are near the bottom of the list for most locals.
That surprises people. Visitors come expecting beads to be the prize, and by the second parade they're draping them over the nearest tree. Ask anyone who's been catching throws since they were small enough to ride on a ladder and they'll tell you the good stuff has a name on it.
Here's how we rank them, from behind the counter on Magazine Street and Chartres Street, where we hear every parade story there is the morning after.
The Signature Mardi Gras Throws, Ranked
1. The Zulu Coconut
Nothing beats it. The Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club traces its roots to 1909, and its members were giving out coconuts long before anyone thought to paint one. According to the club's history as summarized on Wikipedia, early members bought coconuts at the French Market because they were cheap and unusual, and they couldn't afford the glass necklaces other krewes were tossing. Painted, glittered coconuts took off in the late 1940s.
The tradition nearly ended in 1987, when the club couldn't renew its insurance after coconut injury lawsuits. The next year Louisiana passed what everyone calls the "Coconut Bill," which shields the club from liability for coconut injuries. That law is why you can still go home on Fat Tuesday with one on your mantel.
If a rider hands you one, say thank you like you mean it. Someone decorated that thing.
2. The Muses Shoe
The Krewe of Muses formed in 2000 and first rolled in 2001. It's an all-female krewe that parades the Thursday before Mardi Gras, and its signature throw is a single high heel that a member has spent months covering in glitter, paint and whatever else she could find. Wikipedia notes the shoe was inspired by the Zulu coconut, which tells you exactly where it belongs in the ranking.
You get one shoe, not a pair, and you can't wear it. Nobody cares. People build shelves for these.
3. The Nyx Purse
The Mystic Krewe of Nyx was founded in 2011 by Julie Lea and rolled for the first time in February 2012. Nyx parades the Wednesday night before Mardi Gras, and its riders hand-decorate purses. Like the shoe, a purse is the kind of throw that gets saved, labeled with a year and pulled back out when company comes over.
4. The Tucks Plunger
Tucks started in 1969 as a group of Loyola students and took its name from Friar Tuck's, an Uptown bar. It rolls the Saturday before Mardi Gras and has always leaned into bathroom humor: toilet sunglasses, toilet paper dolls, hand-decorated toilet brushes and plungers. In 2017, students from Magnolia Community Services hand-decorated more than 10,000 plungers for the krewe, per the krewe's Wikipedia entry.
It's a plunger. It's also the most New Orleans thing you can bring home in a carry-on. Ranked fourth only because the throws above it take longer to make.
5. Cups
Krewe cups are the workhorse of a New Orleans kitchen. Open any cabinet in town and you'll find a stack of plastic cups printed with parade themes from years ago. They hold leftover red beans and drinks on the walk home, sometimes on the same day. We wrote a whole piece in praise of the go-cup, and if you want one that'll survive the dishwasher, the silicone Fairgrounds Go-Cup is the grown-up version.
6. Doubloons
The doubloon has a birthday. Local artist H. Alvin Sharpe pitched the idea to Rex, and in 1960 Rex ordered 3,000 aluminum coins, according to New Orleans & Company. Other krewes started minting their own soon after.
They're collectible, and they sting a little when they bounce off your forehead. A lot of people will tell you to step on a doubloon before you reach for it, so it doesn't get kicked away. That works.
7. Stuffed Animals, Spears and Everything Else
Somewhere in the middle of the pack is the stuff that's fun in the moment: plush toys, light-up necklaces, spears, footballs. Kids love them. Your back seat will hold them until July.
8. Plain Beads
Here they are, at the bottom. A strand of plain beads is the default throw, and there are a lot of them. In early 2018, the city's Department of Public Works said crews had pulled 93,000 pounds of beads out of clogged catch basins, as Stormwater magazine reported, most of them along St. Charles Avenue between Poydras Street and Lee Circle.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't catch them. It means you don't need to dive for them, and you definitely don't need to take them from a kid. Specialty beads with a krewe's emblem are a different story and sit closer to the cups in our book. We cover the bead story in Throw Me Something, Mister.
How to Actually Catch the Good Stuff
You can't buy a coconut on the route, and you can't demand one. The handmade throws go to people the riders choose, and sometimes that's the person with the best sign or the kid on the ladder.
A few things help. Make eye contact. Yell for something specific instead of "throw me something" over and over. Hold up a sign, especially a funny one. Stand somewhere you're not fighting a crowd, and be nice to the people next to you, because you'll be standing there for hours.
Uptown on a weeknight, the blocks around Napoleon Avenue are full of families who've been doing this a long time, and they'll show you how it's done without saying a word. If it's your first season, start with our guide on what to do during Mardi Gras.
Display It Like You Mean It
The real reward comes after Ash Wednesday, when you figure out where to put everything. Coconuts and shoes go on a shelf. Purses hang on a hook by the door. Doubloons end up in a jar on the counter that nobody is allowed to empty.
A Marching Boots Pin on a jacket keeps a little of the season with you after the floats go back in the barn, and a King Cake Baby Flag on the porch lets the neighbors know you're ready for next year.
Mardi Gras Throws: FAQ
What is the most sought-after Mardi Gras throw?
For most locals it's the hand-decorated Zulu coconut, given out during the Zulu parade on Mardi Gras Day. Painted coconuts became popular in the late 1940s.
What do the Muses and Nyx krewes throw?
Muses riders throw hand-decorated high heels, one shoe at a time. Nyx riders throw hand-decorated purses. Muses is an all-female krewe, and both parade the week before Mardi Gras.
When were Mardi Gras doubloons invented?
Rex threw the first doubloons in 1960, after artist H. Alvin Sharpe pitched the idea. The original run was 3,000 aluminum coins.
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