37 Fun Ideas for a New Orleans Theme Party

New Orleans theme party

Mardi Gras is one of the most exciting events of the year, so keep that in mind when throwing a New Orleans themed party. There are a number of activities to celebrate occasions with your New Orleans themed party. The date of Shrove Tuesday, which means Shrove Tuesday, changes every year, but it is always 46 days before Easter. It is a time for rejoicing as it is the day before Lent begins – the weeks leading up to Easter, which are traditionally spent fasting or giving up luxuries.

With many states reopening amid the pandemic, you might want to throw a little party and invite your friends. Celebrate your reunion with some enthusiastic New Orleans air! We've put together an exclusive guide to guide you step-by-step through throwing your own Mardi Gras party for your friends, family, techies and/or community members.

There are three colors associated with Mardi Gras: purple (symbolizes justice), green (symbolizes faith), and gold (symbolizes power). Using this color theme, we've put together recommendations for decorations you can buy or make at home, party favors, and an event menu!

New Orleans themed party decorations

1. Mardi Gras Garland & Tinsel

Decorate your party’s venue with tinsel and garland strands in Mardi Gras colors. Since Mardi Gras is known for decorating with excess, don’t be afraid to completely cover your venue with draped garland! With all this color, how can your guests not have a great time at your party?!

2. Decorating the Tables

Stick with the classic Mardi Gras colors of green, gold, and purple for your table decorations. Use combinations like a green and gold tablecloth and maybe a purple table runner. Scatter Mardi Gras beads, gold coins, and Mardi Gras confetti all over the table. Place feathered masks on the table as centerpieces. Choose different colors for Mardi Gras-theme plates and utensils, and make them look as extravagant as possible!

3. Mardi Gras Beads

Not only can your guests wear festive Mardi Gras beads, but you can also use the beads to decorate for your party. For this idea, use gold, purple, and green beads and hang them on lamps and ceiling fans, and also decorate with them between tableware on the dining tables.

4. Festive Streamers & Balloons

Green, gold, and purple balloons and color-coordinated crepe paper streamers are some of the more inexpensive and easy ways to decorate for a festive celebration! Be sure to use purple, green, and gold streamers and balloons to cover your venue, which you can grab at your local party store.

5. Colored Lights

To create a perfect Mardi Gras ambiance, buy some purple or green twinkle lights. Also, you can get some festive scented candles in green and purple and light them around your venue. To create the perfect Mardi Gras ambiance, purchase candles that smell like sweat and musk; who doesn't love that smell?! Obviously, this scent is not desired, but it is the truthful scent of the holiday. For a better scent, purchase a more preferable candle that is sweet and citrusy.

6. Costumes & Accessories

Set up a variety of Mardi Gras costumes around your room, including green/gold/purple hats, beads, and masks. Have your guests dress up in them to make the party even more festive! Consider having a fashion show to show off all of the costumes. Be sure to take loads of pictures to remember the event! You won't want to forget this.

7. New Orleans Music

When choosing music for your New Orleans theme party, be sure to choose a selection of music from New Orleans-famous musicians, including Fats Domino, Louis Armstrong, and Trombone Shorty. You can also play general Jazz and Zydeco. If it fits in your budget, consider hiring a traditional Jazz band to play at the party through our list of local musicians.

8. Masquerade Masks

How can you have a New Orleans theme party and not have masks in your list of party supplies? You can either encourage your guests to wear their own masks or set up a mask-making table for extra fun! For this table, you will need masquerade masks and whatever you wish to decorate the masks with - glitter, feathers, jewels, etc. You will also need glue to ensure the glitter and feathers stick on the masks. Make sure you set up a table cloth as well so that your table is not ruined with tons of glue!

New Orleans Theme Party Favors

9. Mardi Gras Beads

New Orleans giveaway ideas must start with lots of Mardi Gras beads for your guests! Mardi Gras beads are such a significant symbol of the carnival and are quite affordable to have as party favors. If you place beads on the tables, make sure your guests know they are welcome to take them home as party favors!

10. Masquerade Masks

As a recognized symbol of Mardi Gras, colored masks make easy and decorative party favors. You can find beautiful, feathered masks in green, gold, and purple at party stores for reasonable prices as well as mask-shaped candies and other mask-related decorations. Not only do these masks serve as great party favors, but they can also serve as great costume pieces throughout the party.

11. Fleur-de-lis Favors

The fleur-de-lis is a symbol that is symbolic in New Orleans for decorating. For small, fleur-de-lis trinket favors, find items like compact mirrors, candles, or wine bottle stoppers decorated with fleur-de-lis emblems or in the shape of them!

12. New Orleans Chocolate Favors

You can never go wrong with chocolate! Make your own, or order New Orleans chocolate pralines for a yummy treat. Chocolate pralines are candied sweets with sugar, chocolate, and nuts known to melt in your mouth. For simpler chocolate favors, make goodie bags full of gold-foiled chocolate coins and mask-shaped chocolates!

13. Mini Bottles of Hot Sauce

Since hot sauce is a staple in New Orleans cuisine, buy an assortment of miniature hot sauce bottles, and give them to guests in goodie bags to take home! Popular hot sauces in New Orleans include Tabasco, Crystal, and "Slap ya Mama." Test your and your guests' palette with a classic New Orleans hot sauce!

14. Bottles of Wine

For a New Orleans/Mardi Gras-theme celebration, alcohol is usually a welcome party favor, even better if it’s not too expensive. This could be as easy as grabbing a few extra bottles of the wine you plan on serving at your party and tie ribbons and personalized tags around the top of them. Bottles of wine are great favors, but they also serve as great gifts in general!

New Orleans Theme Party Menu Ideas

15. Jambalaya

New Orleans is known for its jambalaya. There are two main types: Cajun and Creole. Cajun jambalaya has a smokier flavor from the browning process and is a darker color than Creole jambalaya. Creole is known as "red jambalaya" since it includes tomatoes, and because it is, well, red. Natives of New Orleans are keener to Creole jambalaya, whereas natives of rural Louisiana are keener to the Cajun version. The most popular meats to add to the dish are chicken and andouille sausage. Take your pick, and impress your guests with a fantastic pot of jambalaya!

16. Crawfish

Crawfish is one of the many famous foods of New Orleans and can make an excellent party menu! Set up tables and chairs outside for a crawfish boil, and serve the crawfish with potatoes, corn, and sausage. Since it’ll get pretty messy with all your guests tearing up the crawfish, make sure to provide a lot of napkins and trays for guests to pile their mess on. Supply kits for crawfish boils are always an easy option!

17. Gumbo

If you are never able to find your way down to New Orleans, at least find a recipe for gumbo so that you can understand the flavor of the city through a dish. Jambalaya is primarily rice-based, while gumbo is more of a stew. It is made with a roux and thickened with your meat of choosing (seafood, chicken, and/or sausage). The most important part of a great gumbo is the roux. It may take some time to cook your gumbo, but trust us, it will be worth it in the end, and your guests will certainly thank you!

18. Red Beans and Rice

Is it Monday yet? This dish is traditionally eaten on Mondays, so if you wish to treat your guests to a hot bowl of red beans and rice, consider planning your party on a Monday. This dish has a small ingredient list. The basics include rice, kidney beans, and sausage. Red beans and rice is considered a soup but can be thickened, depending on preference. Many also enjoy adding hot sauce to add spice to the dish. Enjoy!

19. Drink Menu

Serve a variety of cocktails in hurricane glasses. Choose rum-based New Orleans hurricane cocktails to stay true to the New Orleans theme. You can also serve daiquiris, a New Orleans staple. They are easy to make virgin for the children, as well as for your guests who don’t drink.

20. Bread Pudding

Bread pudding is a classic New Orleans dessert. It is served in many critically acclaimed restaurants. Although great restaurants sell the dessert, there is no reason why you cannot make it yourself! Look up a recipe to understand the full detail of making the bread pudding, but know that you should start with stale bread; it sounds weird, but it will make it good, I promise! Make your stale bread into something everyone will be sure to enjoy.

21. Mardi Gras King Cake

For a traditional New Orleans dessert with a Mardi Gras theme, bake a King Cake! The cake was created in honor of the Three Wise Kings. Find a recipe online to guide you through baking this cinnamon-roll-like cake. Traditionally the cakes have a tiny model of a baby, to represent baby Jesus, baked into the cake. The guest who finds the baby figurine in his or her piece of cake wins a prize!

22. King Cake Baby

If you're making your own King Cake for the party (you'll obviously need a King Cake), then you're gonna need a baby for the inside of the cake. The best part about eating a King Cake is seeing who gets the baby, and that person has to buy the cake for the next party!

New Orleans Theme Party Activities

23. Carnival Doubloon Toss

Since Mardi Gras is a carnival, setting up carnival activities is a great idea! Whether this means face painting kits, setting up a doubloon (Spanish coin thrown at Mardi Gras parades) toss, or a balloon-pop game, all of these are easy and relatively inexpensive activities. Consider playing a game of doubloon toss with your guests; many New Orleans natives collect doubloons and seek them out during parades. Have a bit of fun with this game.

24. The Mardi Gras Game

Tell your guests that if they say “Mardi Gras” anytime throughout the night they must give their strands of beads to whomever they were talking to. At the end of the party, the guest with the most beads around his or her neck wins the game!

25. Treasure Hunt

Gather a bunch of inexpensive Mardi Gras coins and beads. Spray paint the beads and coins with glow-in-the-dark paint in the colors green, yellow, and purple. Hide them, and whoever finds the most wins!

26. Mardi Gras Costume Contest

Be sure to include in your invitations that your guests should dress up in theme costumes for your Mardi Gras party! Give prizes to the winners with the best costume and other categories, including the most original, best design, and most ridiculous. These prizes will entice your guests to have a bit more fun with their costumes!

27. Dancing to Dixie

Dixieland music is a genre of Jazz that is famous in New Orleans. What better way to celebrate this festive city’s culture than playing Dixieland music and setting up a dance floor for a dancing Dixie activity! Consider hiring a Dixieland band to play if it works with your budget.

New Orleans Theme Party Supplies

28. Tableware

Purchase Mardi Gras-themed party tableware for your party, such as napkins, plates, and cups. This will spice up the mood of your party (if all the other decorations haven't done that already!) and add an extra flare. When your guests take a sip out of their purple, green, and gold cups, they're sure to be transported to the streets of New Orleans during Mardi Gras season!

29. Party Cups

Mardi Gras-themed party cups are super popular amongst those who attend balls in the height of Mardi Gras season. Party cups are useful for balls because they are an easy way to keep refilling your drink, so why not provide party cups for your guests for the same reason? Order custom-made cups with each of your guests' names for more of a unique experience!

30. Tablecloths

Without a tablecloth to cover the table, things are sure to get messy, especially when you plan to decorate masks with your guests! Consider getting tablecloths to cover your lovely tables so the cleaning process is easier for you at the end of the day. Tablecloths can also be a fun addition to the party! You can purchase a Mardi Gras-themed tablecloth so that you and your guests are more immersed in the New Orleans culture.

31. Mardi Gras Party Hats

What's a New Orleans style party without crazy colored hats? These hats can help your guests fit right in with the Mardi Gras style theme and having one for everyone will complete their costume. From tall hats to fedora-styled purple hats with LED lights, there are many to choose from. Even if you want simple party hats those are available as well!

32. Confetti

Confetti is one of the most essential parts of Mardi Gras. Include this confetti to make your party one to remember! On the tables would be a nice spot to add this into your party. It will almost be as if your guests actually were at Mardi Gras!

New Orleans Theme Party Invitations

33. Bourbon Street

There are many routes you can go with the invites to your guests for your New Orleans theme party, and a Bourbon Street-themed invitation should definitely be in your top choices. Bourbon Street is the most famous street in New Orleans, and that is for a reason - people love to have a good time in New Orleans! Show your guests your party will be phenomenal with a Bourbon Street-themed invitation - they're sure to expect a true party.

34. Krewe de...

In New Orleans, a "krewe" is any group that comes together to host a ball or a social event during the Mardi Gras season. While this is what the term traditionally means, New Orleanians like to call themselves "Krewe de *last name*" or the name of their friend group. If your friend group has a name or just a fun name that describes everyone, consider naming your krewe after your friends; send out the invites and tell your friends to get ready for the best social event of their lives - they're in a krewe now!

35. Saints

The Saints are the New Orleans football team, and they are seriously coveted in the city. Consider having a Saints-themed invitation, as they are such a huge part of New Orleans culture. You could even incorporate the Saints theme into your party - have your guests come in Saints jerseys and have some Saints decorations! Your guests will be saying "Who Dat" by the end of the night; I promise you!

36. "We Got the Baby"

If you're planning a baby shower or a gender reveal party - something along the lines of having a baby - this invite theme is for you. Because there is a baby in every King Cake, the "we got the baby" is a way to relate the New Orleans theme to the mother expecting a child.

37. Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler

"Laissez les bons temps rouler" means "let the good times roll" in Cajun French, and it is a widely used term in New Orleans around Mardi Gras. This phrase would make a great invitation and will seriously reel your guests in! Who wouldn't want to go to a party that is telling the guests they will have a great time?!

New Orleans Theme Party: Conclusion

New Orleans is a fascinating place, and decorations alone can make your New Orleans Theme Party amazing. To make your party a hit, include traditional New Orleans-style dishes, party favors, and activities to keep your guests entertained. We hope you use these tips and enjoy living like a Nola native for a day! For more theme ideas and birthday party ideas, check out our website!

Written by Madeleine Desmaris and Yi Yang; Contributor: Sydney Pattison