How to Design a Mardi Gras Party Table
Mardi Gras is the end of Carnival, the period from the Feast of Epiphany (January 6, also known as Twelfth Night) to Fat Tuesday, which literally translates into Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras can fall on any Tuesday from early February through early March, but is always 47 days before Easter. Although Mardi Gras is officially the last Tuesday before Lent, the week preceding is also known as part of the Mardi Gras celebration. Because it is the last opportunity to celebrate before the fasting season of Lent, it is often filled with raucous and often racy partying. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Design your table. You can sketch it out or just plan it out in your head. You can also just design it as you go. Use Mardi Gras colors: Gold, green and purple are colors commonly associated with Carnival and Mardi Gras. Gold symbolizes power and gold (as in the precious metal); green symbolizes faith and frankincense; and purple symbolizes justice and myrrh. Incorporate recognizable Mardi Gras symbols. For example, bead necklaces and doubloons (coins) are easily associated as objects thrown to Mardi Gras revelers.
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Start with your tablecloths. This is the first way you can incorporate the Mardi Gras colors. Get one tablecloth in each of the three colors, and lay them on the table, creating panels of color. Across the front of the table, you can hang a banner wishing people a Happy Mardi Gras or reading "Laissez Les Bon Temps Roule," which means "Let the Good Times Roll"---a popular Mardi Gras motto.
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Create levels, or platforms, for visual interest. Place a box or boxes of varying heights on the table, with the tallest at the center, and cover the boxes with more tablecloths. These additional cloths can be more Mardi Gras colors or colors that offset them, like black. You can place items such as tall, feathered centerpieces; your own personal Mardi Gras mascot, like a jester; or platters of food, such as colorful King cakes, on these boxes.
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Plan the placement of your dishes if you're using the table to set out a buffet. If it's a large table, consider placing two or three small platters of a single dish across the span of the table instead of all at one place. Gumbo, jambalaya and etouffee are good food choices for large groups. This same placement can be used with alcohol, if you're using the table for liquor---place similar bottles across the span of the table instead of all at one spot so people don't need to crowd around a particular part of the table.
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Intermingle all your other table decorations. Spread your throws (the items you throw out into crowds during Mardi Gras, such as beads and doubloons) and party favors around the table in small groups---piles, baskets or bowls of beads and doubloons; boxes offering masks and boas; and groups of noisemakers. Use these items to fill in gaps between food dishes, or just pile them on generously for your party guests to take as they walk in or out of your party.
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References
- Photo Credit Wikimedia Commons, stock.xchng
