Oh, Carnival Tree! Oh, Carnival Tree!

Here in New Orleans we are lucky to have the carnival season as the perfect cure to post-Christmas blues. Taking down all of the gorgeous Christmas decorations (and maybe New Year’s Eve decorations) got you a little sad?! Well, turn that Christmas tree into a Mardi Gras tree!

The Tree

Since your tree is already up from Christmas, you could just change out the decorations. Or if you are a little extra (like myself), you could get a designated Mardi Gras tree at a discounted price once all the post-Christmas sales start.

I have always wanted a white artificial tree, so I purchased one on sale last year to use as my Mardi Gras tree. The purple, green, and gold really pop on the white. However, I am also loving this affordable champagne gold tree I found on Amazon.

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What to Put on Your Tree

The great thing about Mardi Gras is that the sky is the limit as far as decorating themes. Feathers, sequins, glitter, crowns, masks, oh my! You can literally take your tree in any direction you want. With purple, green, and gold as the color palette you can go as loud and delightfully tacky or as classy as your heart desires.

For my personal tree, I stuck to the the carnival colors themselves as the focal point. Carrying them throughout the tree with ornaments, ribbon, and sequin feathers. Some of my decorations were stuff I already had, such as the porcelain jesters and crown topper. Other decorations I bought locally. For my tree skirt, I bought a yard of purple satin fabric and bunched it around the base of the tree.

Where to Buy

Now that you know which tree you’re decorating and have a theme or direction in mind, it is time to put it all together. Decorating the tree does not have to cost you an arm and a leg. Like I said, some of my decorations I already had around the house. There are a ton of local and online retailers that carry Mardi Gras tree specific items. Such as crown and fleur de lis tree toppers that I found at Hobby Lobby.

Here are some of my favorite places to shop for Mardi Gras decor:

1. Hobby Lobby (in store only) – tree toppers, ornaments, and lights.
2. Gordon’s – ornaments, garland, and festive floral inserts
3. Walmart – ornaments, various types of lights, and other accents.
4. Party City – masks, accents, and lights.
5. Amazon – ornaments, trees and tree skirts.
6. Mardi Gras Zone – feather boas, beads, and Mardi Gras accents galore.

Get creative and have fun with your Mardi Gras tree. It is sure to put a smile on your family’s faces to have your home festive as the parades start rolling. Laissez les bon temps rouler!