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Mardi Gras for Kids

Cupcakes at Mardi Gras for Kids

Though it has a reputation for its festivities, those of us who live in New Orleans know that Mardi Gras is much more than just a party, it’s a cultural, community, and even family tradition. New Orleans Mom believes Mardi Gras shouldn’t be just a celebration for the grownups.  

Our Mardi Gras for Kids section is filled with ways to create “Fat Tuesday” celebrations for family members of all ages, but especially on how to make the carnival an event that your kids will remember forever. 

There are a lot of reasons to get your kids and family involved in Mardi Gras. Here’s just five that show what Mardi Gras for kids is all about. While there are a lot of ideas in this section, the readers’ favorite is also one of the most fun. Highlighting what is a tradition for many New Orleans kids, our step-by-step instructions on how to make a Mardi Gras float from a shoebox is just one of the posts that keep bringing readers back.

Of course, our Mardi Gras for kids coverage has a healthy number of posts on the carnival’s favorite foods, especially that timeless classic, the King Cake. Here’s one of our recipes for the dessert that’s as much a part of the Mardi Gras as parades and beads. Speaking of which, we also talk about how to make beads as part of our Mardi Gras celebration. 

Our team of more than 30 writers are local moms, with years of experience parenting through Mardi Gras. So before you break out the beads, take a bite out of the King Cake or find your favorite parade route, turn to New Orleans Mom for everything you need to know about how to celebrate Mardi Gras with your kids.

When you are a parent, any day can be a stressful day. Things with kiddos twist and turn on the turn of a dime, and often things that are going perfectly turn dark at a moment notice. Did you...
10 Clues You Are a Working Mom During Mardi Gras Motherhood is a constant struggle for work-life balance. Family pressures are constant, but what does it look like when you add Carnival season to the mix? Companies tend to be...
If you have recently moved to New Orleans, Mardi Gras can be extremely intimidating at first. But never fear; New Orleans Mom is here to help! While you shouldn’t plan to sleep a lot during parade season (yes, you need...
Rain on Your Parade In New Orleans, Mardi Gras is the most wonderful time of the year. A few weeks of all-bets-are-off, broken diets, candy for breakfast and "what bedtime?" and the season is over. Just as you can count on...
So what if your child has an exceptionality, they deserve to be part of the enormous fun and culture of that once a year experience of Mardi Gras. Navigating a parade can be stressful for any family with kids,...

The Good Side of Glitter

Across the city of New Orleans, just before and all during, women (and men too) are breaking out the glitter. We are in prep mode for our parades across the city in Cleopatra, Muses, Nyx, King Arthur and more....
Let's be real, Metairie parades have a bad reputation. The big show is in New Orleans. All the super krewes with coveted throws roll there. The city is party central from the Quarter to the Avenue. The tourists may book a...
One of my favorite aspects of being a New Orleans mom is giving my kids the gift of Mardi Gras. I married into a New Orleans family, and I lived a childhood void of what I now consider THE BEST...
This is our year. This is the year that my family, due to an unforeseen financial windfall and a late Mardi Gras, has decided to visit that place. THE place. The place with the magic. Yep … we are...
I know, I know. If you're not from New Orleans, family and Mardi Gras are the last two words you would ever put together. But, I'm here to tell you, erase everything out of your mind about crazy tourists...

Riding Down the Avenue

The year was 1992, and I was 10 years old and about to ride in my first parade as a tomato. I rode with my grandma on Mardi Gras Day in one of the very loud truck parades that...
As I walk into work tomorrow clad in my purple, green, and gold 504 sweatshirt and my kids in their Mardi Gras striped polos, Randazzo’s kingcakes for their classes in hand, everyone will just stare blankly. “Happy Mardi Gras!!!”...
Prepping for the Magic: A Disney World Packing List It is almost time for the annual migration of New Orleanians to Orlando. Yes, I am talking about the large number of locals who will head to Disney World for the...
The sounds of drumlines cadence interspersed with the faint wail of a siren. The smell of diesel fuel combined with wafts of hot dogs and hamburgers on barbecue pits. The sights of twinkling lights from the floats as the...