[ 2023 ][ Holidays ]

Let’s Mardi Y’all!

What do you do when you don’t live in New Orleans and are having a “no spend” month but still want to celebrate Mardi Gras?

Here’s how we will be celebrating Fat Tuesday…

Movie Night

For at least the last six years, the kids and I have had a movie night on Mardi Gras.  What movie do we watch?  Princess and the Frog of course!  I’m sure there are plenty of other movies out there that celebrate “The Big Easy” (like maybe the movie The Big Easy?) but my moto is, if it ain’t broke, don’t try ta fix it!  And Princess and the Frog is our favorite mix of music and Disney magic.

Kitchen Fixin’s

Whether it’s Tiana’s Famous Beignets, Yumbo Gumbo or Cal’s Chicken and Biscuits, I’ll be cooking up a storm with one of my favorite cookbooks, Tiana’s Cookbook Recipes For Kids.  I’ve had this book for at least a dozen years and I love making the recipes.  We might even try a king cake this year with all the little baked-in goodies!

Decorations Galore

We actually have quite a stockpile of those pretty beaded necklaces!  No, we didn’t get them in New Orleans, we actually got them from New Orleans Square in Disneyland!  We used to love getting gumbo in a bread bowl and sipping mint juleps right in the square while listening to the Cajun bands perform.  We may not be able to voyage down to Disney, but we have lots of great knick-knacks that will help us with our Mardi party!

Crafty Gals

We’ll also be digging into our craft supplies to make our own Mardi-masks!  I know it’s a “no spend” month but we might break into our change jar and run to the dollar store for some mask bases, then decorate them with beads, tissue paper, feathers, gems, whatever we can find!  I could even let the girls play around with the embroidery machines because I was once an avid mask-maker and have lots of fun Mardi-inspired mask designs we could stitch up.

Dancing the Night Away

You may not know this but my mom is a seasoned zydeco dancer, she even won a contest once!  I may not have all the zyde-e-skills she has, but we will definitely be listening to some Cajun zydeco around the house all day.  Tuesdays tend to be a busy day for us, so hearing those fun and funky tunes is sure to put a spring in our step.  Maybe we’ll even have ourselves a little dance party!

So how will you be celebrating?  Let me know in the comments or feel free to tag me on your favorite social media because I would love to celebrate with you!  No matter how you Mardi, I hope your Fat Tuesday is full of fun and laughter!

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