Beads and feathers are common in Mardi Gras themed gift baskets.
Mardi Gras is a time for color and festivities, parades and beads. It is most notably celebrated in the city of New Orleans, but there are other festivities around the globe. French for "Fat Tuesday" this event is celebrated the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday in accordance with the Catholic calendar. To commemorate this special annual event, you may want to give Mardi Gras-themed gift baskets for your friends and loved ones, even if they can't be in New Orleans for the big event.
Color Scheme
The classic color combination of Mardi Gras is purple, green and gold. Gold is also sometimes depicted as more of a yellow, where convenient. Your Mardi Gras basket should instantly set the tone for the big occasion by displaying these colors. This is a time of excess, so using these colors liberally in striped, polka dot or even checkerboard pattern will look festive, if perhaps a bit gaudy. For a more reserved basket, you could choose one solid color for the basket and accent with decorative fabric ribbon along the handle or woven throughout.
Food Items
For contents that will fill your basket, food items are a favorite to consider. This is the time of year for gumbo, jambalaya, crawfish boils and red beans and rice. Look for ingredients, cookbooks or recipe cards that spotlight these dishes to display in your basket.
Because the main event takes place in New Orleans, you can include symbols of the city in the basket as well. For example, Caf du Monde is an institution in the French Quarter of New Orleans that sells espresso drinks and fried doughnuts in powdered sugar called "beignets." Coffee cans and beignet box mixes from this landmark could be included in the basket.
One more Mardi Gras dessert is the "king cake" only eaten through Carnival season. It is a cinnamon bread covered in icing and colorful sprinkles. Inside is a small plastic baby that is supposed to provide luck to the person who finds it. King cake ingredient kits can be purchased online or in specialty grocery stores during the festival season. You can also package your own recipe in mason jars and cover wih ribbon for a more homemade look.
New Orleans Music
New Orleans is famous for being a very musical city. From the French-inspired zydeco to blues and Dixieland jazz, live music is heard everywhere on the streets of New Orleans. You can incorporate that into your basket contents in the form of CDs and compilations from famous New Orleans artists, such as the Meters, the Neville Brothers and Jelly Roll Morton.
Masks and Memorabilia
Other symbols of Mardi Gras can be incorporated into a gift basket. For example, masks are often seen at Fat Tuesday celebrations. These can be used as gifts for inside the basket or simply decoration. Also include other elements for a festive costume, such as feather boas in official Mardi Gras colors or beaded necklaces, like the ones thrown at parades.
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