Mardi Gras Madness! Sweet 16 Theme

Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, is an opulent celebration of crazy costumes and wild make-up, masked balls and colorful parades. Picture yourself walking down Bourbon Street wearing a colorful mask, an elegant costume and tossing beads to all of your friends. Whether or not your birthday falls near the actual Mardi Gras, it is the perfect Sweet 16 theme for anyone who wants a magnificent carnival to celebrate their special day!

Sweet 16 Mardi Gras Invitations
Let everyone know if they want to attend the best party of the year they are expected to dress the part! Get them started by including a Mardi Gras mask and a string of beads with their personalized Mardi Gras Sweet 16 invitation. If you're going to have a costume parade and judging include it on the invitation as well. We have a bunch of Mardi Gras invitations to choose from.

If you want a completely unique invitation go with a personalized caricature invitation from Party411. What could be more fun than an invitation featuring a custom illustration of you dressed in your masquerade costume? These fabulous invitations are works of art to be treasured long after the party is over. And the caricature can be used again for your sign in board, centerpieces, even thank you notes.

If you want to make your own invitation use layers of purple and green paper. Write out the invitation information with gold gel pen, and add some gold glitter at the edges. Now you have an invitation with traditional Mardi Gras colors.

Your Sweet 16 Party - Make an Entrance!
One of the biggest events at Mardi Gras is the parade. Staging your own Mardi Gras parade is a fabulous way to make your grand entrance! Start by selecting some close friends and family to walk in before you. Give them special Mardi Gras wearables like feather boas and Mardi Gras beads. Have them walk into the party room in groups of 2 or 3, and while the DJ announces them they can toss Mardi Gras beads to the waiting guests. Everyone will be so excited when you come in at the end (save the best for last!)

If you want to make your entrance over the top, rent a convertible and sit in the back as you are driven up to the party. You can toss beads out to your guests who have gathered outside to see your entrance, and remember to wave!

Keep in mind that your guests will be waiting for you to make your entrance, so make sure there is something to keep them busy while the anticipation of your arrival builds. A Mardi Gras sign in board near the front of the room where your guests can leave you a message is always fun.

Mardi Gras Sweet 16 Decorations and Party Supplies
As your guests arrive greet them with a life-sized cutout of you as a Mardi Gras jester! Place a basket of beads and masks near the cutout for people to decorate themselves with as they come in.

You'll want to make your party look like Bourbon Street! Here are some great decor items:

Another great way to spread color and decoration throughout the room is with balloon bouquets. Group purple, green and gold balloons together. Place these bouquets at the entrance to the party, by your sign in board or book, in the corners, along the wall, and in any large area that needs a little decoration like a lobby or sitting area.

Sweet 16 Mardi Gras Table Decorations and Menu

Think feathers for your tables! Start with colorful feather masks and a balloon bouquet anchored through a Mardi Gras hat (poke holes in the top of the hat). Snake a green, purple or gold feather boa around the base, alternating the colors on different tables. Sprinkle gold coins (called doubloons at Mardi Gras), king cake babies, and more beads on the table. Some Mardi Gras paper goods finish off the perfect Mardi Gras table. Here are some of the items we recommend for the tables:

Colorful feather masks
Gold top hats
Gold coins
Mardi Gras paper goods

You should have a separate area for drinks. Why not serve purple, green and yellow colored slushies? Have them served up in LED hurricane cups!

For your menu go with an assortment of finger foods like shrimp, crab, and crawfish, alongside mini servings of jambalaya, red beans and dirty rice. End with a traditional dessert; King Cake!

Sweet 16 Mardi Gras Games and Activities
Have a costume contest, and whoever has the most elaborate and creative costume is the winner! You can have you guests vote, or you can be the judge. Just make sure to let everyone know on the invitation that there will be a costume contest so they can prepare!

Another fun activity is a bead collecting contest. If any guest catches another guest saying the word "party" they get to take their beads. The person with the most beads at the end of the night wins!

Most of the activity at your party will take place on the dance floor. You can make dancing extra fun by giving your DJ glow jewelry to hand out. Make sure you stand out in the twirling lights by wearing a feather boa!

Another common activity at a Sweet 16 party is the candle lighting ceremony. Checkout out the Sweet 16 Candle Lighting Ceremony Guide if you need instructions. And don't forget to check out our complete list of Sweet 16 Party Games!

Mardi Gras Party Favors
Favors are an integral part of the Mardi Gras festival. Make sure you are handing out goodies all night long, just like the Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Mardi Gras Beads - beads, beads and more beads! Toss them at your grand entrance, leave them on the tables, exchange them throughout the night!
Mardi Gras Masks - hand these out at the entrance to help get everyone in the Mardi Gras mood.
Personalized Mint Tins - a personalized Mardi Gras Sweet 16 mint tin at each place setting is a treat guest will savor.
Glow Jewelry - Mardi Gras colored light ropes are the perfect dance floor giveaway
Personalized Candy Bar - give this out at the end of the night so everyone will have a sweet reminder for your fabulous Sweet 16 Mardi Gras Bash!

We here at Party411.com hope you have fun at your Sweet 16 Mardi Gras Bash!