With its parades and parties, its colored feathers and beads, its glitter, gold and glitz, Mardi Gras is a celebration not known for subtlety. It’s an occasion where you can go all out. This year Mardi Gras arrives on March 5th. That means you don’t have a lot of time to plan a vacation to New Orleans. However, you do have enough time to prepare your home for Mardi Gras celebrations.
Mardi Gras parties are celebrated worldwide and you may have attended some already. If you are thinking about throwing your own Mardi Gras party, we suggest you do something different. Instead of throwing a simple party, organize a Mardi Gras themed casino party. This will add a new twist to a Mardi Gras celebration and give your Guests something they’ll truly enjoy. Throwing a Mardi Gras casino party may not be simple for you if you haven’t organized one before. There are many details that go into the planning like décor, entertainment, casino games, food and drinks. Therefore, to help you out, we’ve prepared a list of things you need to do to throw a Mardi Gras casino party.
1. Invitations
Invitations for a Mardi Gras casino party should be sent two weeks before the party. Since these parties demand some preparation on the part of your Guests and outlandish outfits, two weeks would be enough time for them to arrange for all the necessities. Moreover, you’ll get a head count to make arrangements for food and drinks.
Write the invitation information on the back of festive masks in gold, green and purple colors. Mention all the details of your party like date, time, venue, theme and dress code. The invitations can also be sent online through social networking websites or email. In that case, just attach an image of a mask with the invitation.
2. Costumes
The more exciting your Mardi Gras party is the better. Costumes are an important part of the celebration and your party wouldn’t look like a Mardi Gras if the guests aren’t wearing them. When sending invitations, let your guests know the type of costuming you expect from them. Do you want them to wear a masquerade ball gown or would a mask and a t-shirt suffice? You could give clues about what they should wear to enter your soiree – green, gold and purple colors, face paint, feather boas, masks and crowns are all great ideas for your party.
3. Accessories
Accessories can add a little extra touch to the Mardi Gras costume, so tell your Guests to add some. Additional party attire can include beads as they are definitely a staple of Mardi Gras. The same is true for masks. Even if the dress is simple, a mask can elevate your looks.
4. Decorations
Green, gold and purple are the traditional colors of the Mardi Gras celebration, which stand for faith, power and justice, respectively. The decorations of your Mardi Gras casino party should revolve around these colors. Place a purple or green carpet that leads up to your doorway and decorate the venue with purple, gold and green colored balloons. Tablecloths should also be of these colors.
Costume pieces such as masquerade masks and feather boas don’t just exist to be worn by people. They can also be used for creating perfect centerpieces for your party along with strings of beads.
If there are trees outside the venue, decorate them as well by hanging Mardi Gras beads from the branches. Cover the entrance with colorful masks and beads. Set out some glow sticks, glow necklaces and glow bracelets for the Guests to wear. Decorate the dishes and bowls you are going to use for serving foods with glow necklaces as well.
5. Food and Drinks
Your Mardi Gras casino party would be incomplete without food and drinks. Traditional foods include Crawfish Bread, Jambalaya, Crab and Shrimp Appetizers, Gumbo, and Cheese straws. Bloody Mary and King Cake should also be there on the menu since it’s an important tradition of Mardi Gras. This tradition varies in different areas of the world; but generally consists of ring-shaped cake that has a plastic baby, nut or bean inside. The guests who get the cake with the baby, nut or bean inside are usually treated to specific privileges or required to carry out particular tasks. For your Mardi Gras casino party, the one who gets the King Cake could be given a special prize.
6. Casino Games
Since you are throwing a Mardi Gras casino party, it’s obvious you need to make arrangements for casino games. You can include Blackjack, Texas Hold ’em Poker, Roulette and Craps to your party. Rent tables for your casino games and hire Dealers to ensure that games run smoothly. Since, funny money (fake chips) are used to play casino games, you won’t have to worry about Guests losing their cool when they fail to win.
In order to encourage your Guests to play casino games at your Mardi Gras party, offer prizes in return for the chips.
7. Entertainment
Casino games may not be enough entertainment for your Guests as some may not like playing them. Therefore, you need to offer some additional entertainment. Mesmerize your Guests with the acts of Jugglers, Fire Breathers and Magicians. You can also hire a Comedian to make your Guests roar with laughter. Additionally, you can organize some games like a Mardi Gras treasure hunt to make the party more engaging for the Guests.
To plan a treasure hunt, buy some gold coins and hide them around the venue. Have your guests find as many coins as they can. Reward the person who finds the most coins with prizes. If you’re holding the Mardi Gras casino party at night, a treasure hunt would be even more fun and hard. Give your Guests flashlights so they can find the hidden treasures.
You should also include a photo booth in your Mardi Gras casino party. That way Guests will be able to capture silly photographs with masks and props and take away some great memories of your party with them.
8. Music
New Orleans is full of music. You don’t have to seek music out since its presence in the city is so strong. However, if you’re throwing a Mardi Gras themed casino party some place, you would have to make arrangements for music. It isn’t hard to find good beats to keep your Mardi Gras party going all night. Include a few classics from The Neville Brothers, B.B. King and Fats Domino. Mix them up with new hits like St. James Infirmary. Some great playlists for a Mardi Gras can be found easily on Spotify. Just make sure that your playlist is upbeat and fun – allow your Guests to let loose and ignite the party with their dance moves.
Throwing a Mardi Gras themed casino party is certainly not easy. However, if you do everything we have listed above, you can increase your odds of organizing a successful Mardi Gras casino party. Remember to send out invitations to your Guests early, ask them to wear lavish costumes with colorful accessories, decorate your space to reflect the Mardi Gras theme and make arrangements for food and drinks. Don’t forget to add casino games to your Mardi Gras celebration as there cannot be a casino party without casino games. In addition to casino games, offer some extra entertainment and liven up your party with the sound of music. If you feel that these are a lot of things to handle and you won’t be able to make these arrangements on your own, we suggest you hire us to do the job for you.
At the 4S Casino Party, we have what it takes to plan successful themed casino parties. Whether it’s a Mardi Gras themed casino party or any other, we know all the details that go into making them successful. Therefore, if you think that you can’t organize a Mardi Gras casino party, leave the job to us. From decorating your space to making arrangements for food, drinks and planning for casino games and entertainment – we’ll take care of everything. We can also provide Dealers to ensure that your Guests are made aware of casino game rules and the games can run smoothly.
Feel free to reach out to us for any questions related to our casino event planning services.
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by cvalle – yayimages.com
by Lamarinx – yayimages.com