A Simple Mardi Gras Celebration for Kids

Next Tuesday is "Fat Tuesday" and it is another opportunity to have a little fun with your kids and family. I don't plan anything elaborate for Mardi Gras, but my preschool-aged children and I enjoy dressing up in costumes (it doesn't take much to convince preschoolers to dress up!), making our own parade float from a cardboard box, and having a backyard Mardi Gras parade.

The cardboard box we used for our float had holes in it and we threaded a rope through those holes. I then was able to pull my kids around in the box by pulling the rope and they loved it. The rest of the decoration on the box was simply created with crayons, construction paper, and dot painters. We also got bead necklaces from the dollar store for them to toss from the float as we paraded around. Even though the only audience for the parade was little sister and dad, the activity was a hit with the kids!

We also always like to pick up a few books about Mardi Gras from our local library. My kids' favorite Mardi Gras book was still hands-down Mimi's First Mardi Gras that I shared in an earlier Mardi Gras post. Since that book is written from the perspective from a young girl experiencing her first Mardi Gras, my children really connected with it. They also love to look at the illustrations with all of the different costumes that characters wear.

For dinner last year, I cooked this Gumbo-style Chicken Creole. The recipe was much less intimidating than traditional Gumbo and a little more appealing to my family who prefer chicken over seafood. It was very delicious!

Also, check out the Mardi Gras masks and necklaces we made from construction paper a couple of years ago. A little glitter and construction paper go a long way with preschoolers!

And above all, my kids love eating beignets! Here they are all with big smiles enjoying their beignets last year...

The recipe we used can be found here:

We can't wait for more fun this year. If you have any other great ideas for celebrating Mardi Gras, I would love to hear your comments!