Pass The Beads: The Must-Have Items For Mardi Gras 2023

Written By Ryan Barrett

What comes to mind when you think of Mardi Gras 2023? A big parade of purple, green, and gold. Wacky joker-themed Mardi Gras outfits, people catching Mardi Gras beads like foul balls, and big floats. Huge joker head floats making their laughing way down Bourbon street. To any onlooker, it could seem such a sure of itself festivity that it was always this way. But like anything it wasn’t always this way. Let’s take a further dive into a holiday that is synonymous with fun. And don’t forget to catch the above coupon code like a string of flying beads!

What is Mardi Gras?

Like all of our holidays, the history of Mardi Gras is a combination of religious and pagan elements. In the Mardi Gras background lore Earth-worshipping pagans invented it in the days when the moon was king. Then the Catholic church took it over and vualá! In the US the holiday dates back to the late 17th century when a French-Canadian explorer camped near New Orleans. Missing home, he and his soldiers celebrated something called Fat Tuesday where they wore Mardi Gras masks and held large feasts. The celebrations eventually traveled downstream to New Orleans, where they took off!

What does Mardi Gras mean?

In French, Mardi Gras means Fat Tuesday. It’s also called Shrove Tuesday, which essentially means going to confession if you’re Catholic. Additionally and arguably, the most fun name for ol’ Mardi is Pancake Day. This strange and soft name refers to the fact that Mardi Gras is the last day before Ash Wednesday. The last day people can shove mountains of flour, bricks of butter, and rivers of syrup down their throats. Because to Catholics Ash Wednesday represents the start of Lent, which means 40 days of fasting. (You know like that super holy hippie Jesus did in the desert).So you’re telling me the Mardi Gras meaning is serious? It’s about preparing for 40 days of….fasting? Well, yes and no.

What does Mardi Gras celebrate?

Why is Mardi Gras celebrated you ask? As aforementioned Mardi Gras marks the day before Ash Wednesday when 40 days of fasting begin for Catholics. Traditionally, here in the US, there are 10 party-filled days leading up to Mardi Gras. The day on which dressing up in a Mardi Gras costume is the status quo. And Mardi Gras colors are purple, green, and yellow. Mardi Gras beads are tossed like confetti and people eat ‘King Cake.’
There are many ways and reasons for celebrating soft pancake day. Over 50 countries celebrate it with something more or less carnival related. So yes it does signify something serious for some. But for others, it means time to throw or catch some purple Mardi Gras beads and galavant down Bourbon Street! Though our reasons for celebrating may differ, one thing about Mardi Gras 2023 holds for us all: It’s time to party!

When does Mardi Gras start?

Usually, Mardi Gras is 47 days before Easter. Do the math and this year that’s on the 21st of February. But then take into consideration that in most places around the world, especially New Orleans the happy Mardi Gras carnival begins on January 6th. So in total, there are about 8 weeks of crazed carnival partying before the actual Mardi Gras finale.

If you’re living in the US you more than likely assume the answer to ‘Where did Mardi Gras originate?’ It is New Orleans. The Big Easy. Though the Big Easy’s Mardi Gras celebrations are arguable, the best in the world, they didn’t start there. As briefly mentioned above Mardi Gras started hundreds of years ago, somewhere in Europe. Where the celebration developed and traveled around until it ended up in France in the 18th century.

How long does Mardi Gras last?

Mardi Gras lasts 4 to 8 weeks depending on where you live and how tired your arms get from tossing beads. These weeks are filled with Mardi Gras attire, vibrant parades, and parties. Mostly, though, the parties turn up the heat 2 weeks before Mardi Gras. Leading up to the day itself.

When is Mardi Gras this year?

When is Mardi Gras 2023? Officially the Mardi Gras 2023 date is the 21st of February. Now, of course, this might differ a little depending on whom you ask. Again, you might be asking, if Mardi Gras is on the 21st, why do people start parading and partying on January 6th? January 6th is the end of the 12 days of Christmas. Then every day leading up to Mardi Gras. If you’re still a little puzzled, think of how there’s a month-long party until Christmas Day after Thanksgiving ends.

Huge Fun In The Big Easy: Mardi Gras Party Ideas

It’s more than likely you have some idea of what Mardi Gras looks like. Intoxicated revelers stumbling down the French quarter. Mardi Gras colors purple, green, and gold confetti raining down like a slow rain shower. Mardi Gras wreath and large jester heads made of paper mache float along streets of revelers. Although these are great images, you might be asking yourself ‘How am I supposed to replicate that?! Especially in the living room of my house?’ Believe it or not, it’s easier than you think. 
For Mardi Gras party ideas, there are a few must-have items that will turn any room into a scene from Bourbon Street. First, get yourself some yellow, green, and purple balloons. Along with balloons try getting lights of the same Mardi Gras color. What about the floats? How am I supposed to replicate those you ask? Any party store in your area should have Mardi Gras pinatas. Additionally, to top it off, think of setting up a temporary photo booth. For this, you can use any sort of backdrop related to Mardi Gras. And if you are setting up a photo booth better get some fun props for your guests to take photos in. For this, we offer a great selection of Mardi Gras hats, masks, and headbands which you can read further about below.

Mardi Gras Colors Makes The French Quarter Go Round

A crucial aspect of decorating for Mardi Gras is using the right colors. Just imagine if you showed up at a Christmas party decorated in rainbow swirls and college tie-dye T-shirt colors. Though Santa might look cool in a psychedelic sort of way, it would be cause for raised eyebrows. 

The colors of Mardi Gras are purple, green, and gold. What is the meaning of Mardi Gras colors? Each of the Mardi Gras colors mean something different. Gold means power, purple signifies justice, and green signifies faith. If you go to a Mardi Gras 2023 parade or festivity you will no doubt see a sea of these colors. Furthermore, at any Mardi Gras festivity, they have plastic toy coins called doubloons comprised of these Mardi Gras colors. If you go to a Mardi Gras party or parade watch out! You’ll be dodging doubloons as Neo dodges bullets, coming from every which angle! Keep scrolling to check out all the doubloons we offer in our different Mardi Gras sets.

Get Your Mardi Gras Decorations On

One thing that has always existed with Mardi Gras is the decorations. Traditionally the Mardi Gras decoration ideas were limited to Mardi Gras masks, Mardi Gras outfits, beads, and floats. There are no limits to what can be a Mardi Gras decoration these days. The only requirement is that something has the purple, green, and gold trifecta of Mardi Gras colors. There are Mardi Gras, banners, sequin top hats, Mardi Gras ball gowns, wreaths, tableware, and even massive inflatables.

Mardi Gras Yard Inflatables To Blow Up Bourbon Street

So you’re having a Mardi Gras party conundrum. The inside of your house is, in your opinion, perfectly decorated for the Mardi Gras theme. The problem is you’d like the outside of your house to match the happy Mardi Gras vibe. Something in the front lawn to give your arriving houseguests a Fat Tuesday punch in the face! Sure you could string purple and yellow streamers all through your trees, but that might be a bit tacky looking.

To solve this problem inflatables with a Mardi Gras theme are an all-in-one solution. They are usually massive and take up a lot of space. Meaning you won’t need any other yard decor. They are also easy to set up and clean so you won’t have to spend a lot of time setting them up or taking them down. We have a great selection of Mardi Gras inflatables, each with unique characteristics. 

Our extremely fun Joker, or Jester, in the Box inflatable, comes in a whopping 4 feet tall! This purple, gold, and green funny man wear all the Mardi Gras colors. And moves in an up-and-down motion like an actual jack-in-the-box. With built-in LED lights, your guests will run to your house to view this inflatable that not even the French Quarter has. If a 4ft jester isn’t big enough check out our 6ft inflatable jester sitting on a Mardi Gras ball. This also lights up and would make a great pair with the Jester in the box inflatable, or on its own.

We also have a 9-foot inflatable that is an archway! This inflatable archway is the colors of Mardi Gras and is great to line any door with or even use as a doorway to your Mardi Gras party yard! Kids and adults alike will have a blast walking through this Joker’s face and mask-decorated archway! They might even be fooled into thinking they’re entering Bourbon Street this Mardi Gras 2023!

Mardi Gras Table Decorations Go Wild!

A big part of any Mardi Gras party is the table, the centerpiece. Imagine the scene(if you haven’t lived it already). You walk into a party. The walls are beautifully decorated. Garnishes the colors of Mardi Gras are hanging everywhere. The Mardi Gras theme is almost perfect. Almost. Then you get thirsty and find the nearest assortment of Mardi Gras drinks. Why did the atmosphere just change? Everything all of a sudden got a whole lot colorless. Then you realize, it’s the table. The table’s lack of decoration almost seemed like it sucked the color out of the room. Then you start to notice that the rest of the decorations start to look incomplete. 
This is how important table decor is. Without it, the rest of your hard work decorating the house is canceled out. Especially for Mardi Gras, an incredibly colorful and vibrant holiday! That’s why we devised a purple, gold, and green Mardi Gras colors table skirt. Stick this around any table and watch as it changes the atmosphere in the room. The tassels on the skirt hang to the ground. So even if you have a really basic table, this skirt will turn it into the vibrant center of the Mardi Gras 2023 party!

Mardi Gras Garland Madness

Maybe it’s not the table you’re having trouble decorating, it’s the rest of the house. A house’s inside, outside, or yard covers a wide area. Because of this, it can make one feel like a dizzy octopus stretching to decorate every nook and cranny. That’s why we have created a Mardi Gras garland decor set. Along with a garland of the colors of Mardi Gras, this set comes with fleur-de-lis cut-out banners in purple green, and gold. Use them to decorate a single door or spread them around the house! These decorations are great for covering a wide area or a small concentrated Mardi Gras blast

Mardi Gras Signs Are The Life Of The Mardi

You enter the French Quarter. You’re in the midst of a Mardi Gras parade. You take a right on Bourbon Street. Joker’s head floats bob by you. Mardi Gras beads whoosh past your head. You take a left on Decatur Street, and there’s a….table of food?? Oh right, it’s just a party. For a minute there the signs had you fooled. We offer a Mardi Gras colors set of 12 Mardi Gras street signs. If they don’t fool guests into being in the French Quarter, they will at the very least turn any living room or yard into the French Quarter!

What to wear to mardi gras?

So what to wear to a Mardi Gras party? Or what to wear to Mardi Gras– the big French Quarter bonanza itself? If you’ve ever been to a Mardi Gras celebration or Bourbon Street, then you know that when it comes to Mardi Gras outfits, there’s almost nothing people won’t wear. (And sometimes they won’t wear anything at all!). If you feel like you don’t have anything to wear to a Mardi Gras Party, worry not! It’s easy. You can wear anything in the purple, green, and gold Mardi Gras colors to fit right into the festivities. And if you want to go a step further there are generally 5 specific Mardi Gras clothes items that are staples of Mardi Gras fashion. Mardi Gras beads, Mardi Gras hats, Mardi Gras masks, headbands, and/or wigs. Furthermore, if you want to turn any party into a raving scene of excitement like the likes of Bourbon street, these Mardi Gras costume items are essential!

Mardi Gras Beads Are Kind Of A Bead Deal!

There’s nothing more synonymous with Mardi Gras than flying Mardi Gras beads. At this point, if anyone asked you your thoughts on the meaning, something obscene probably flashes to mind. Ironically the Mardi Gras beads meaning is the opposite of obscene, it’s holy! Originally people threw beads in the air because they were inspired by the Renaissance festivals of old. Where people threw things in the air to mark the holy holiday of Lent. To celebrate the ensuing fast. And as aforementioned the meaning of Mardi Gras colors represent the Christian morals of faith, justice, and power.
Regardless of why you wear them, we offer a set of 98 Mardi Gras beads bulk necklaces. So if you and your guests do want to toss them in the air you won’t run in short supply! This set also comes with 192 temporary tattoos. Use them as party favors or play party games with them. Either way with this set you can decorate the most important thing at your Mardi Gras 2023 party- the people!

Mardi Gras Hats Jazzy and Snazzy

If you were in a Mardi Gras parade you’d probably be tickled. The feathers of top Mardi Gras hats and floppy tails of jester hats would be brushing your nose, neck, and ears. And then you look out at the sea of green, gold, and purple Mardi Gras attire and give out a wail. A laugh at the joy this Mardi Gras hardware gives off. To attempt at replicating this joyous feeling we have a large assortment of Mardi Gras hats. For example, one of our sets has a trio of purple, gold, and green sequin studded fedoras. They also come with matching bowties. One might have hesitation that these are silly but think of all your partygoers donning one of these flashy fedoras. It would be a wave of sequin-laced joy. The joy their hats give off matches that of their beaming faces!

Mardi Gras Masks Will Mystify Your Party

If you imagine a Mardi Gras parade passing you by there are probably ample images of Mardi Gras masks. Gold-lined masquerade masks with feathers exploding out of them. Or purple and green shining phantom of the opera pieces. To give your Mardi Gras theme party this flowing river of a Mardi Gras parade feel check out our Mardi Gras mask set. These Mardi Gras masks come with purple, green, and gold feathers protruding from them, and they also have flash LEDs. Come night time your entire Mardi Gras 2023 party might start marching. It feels natural since you’ll all feel part of a parade!

Rock Out with Mardi Gras Headbands

Mardi Gras is also known for its festive Mardi Gras hats and headpieces. Whether it’s an electrified gold and purple gemstone tiara or a feather-friendly headband. It would be hard to imagine anyone in a French Quarter Mardi Gras celebration without something colorful attached to their dome. That’s why we offer a Mardi Gras 2023 headband set. Say your partygoers aren’t feeling the hats or masks. It would be an utter shame if they didn’t have something festive to do. And surely these purple, gold, and green feathery headbands will get their head in the game. The bourbon street game!

Fat Tuesday: You’re Made For This

This Mardi Gras 2023 let us help you bring the parade of gold, green, and purple to you. To elevate your Mardi Gras theme spectacular let us provide you with those Mardi Gras outfits. Give you a helping hand with those Mardi Gras beads. I to shower your party with! Kids and adults alike will be conversating in that cool Big Easy drawl as they don their Mardi Gras clothes! Also never forget: the beads fly like the above coupon code! Catch it to see something nice with spice!