Mardi Gras Sips under the Sun

So…here’s a little secret. I have no idea what the meaning of Mardi Gras is. That’s right. No clue. I do however know all of the traditions of it as I once threw a Mardi Gras bridal shower for my dear friend Swanna who was hosting her wedding in New Orleans and it was AMAZING. (both the shower and the wedding!!).

I think it’s now time I look up the meaning of Mardi Gras though…and learn the reason for the celebration because tomorrow…we are going to celebrate!

Here we go:
Mardi Gras (French: Fat Tuesday) is a Christian holiday and popular cultural phenomenon that dates back thousands of years to pagan spring and fertility rites. Also known as Carnival or Carnaval, it’s celebrated in many countries around the world—mainly those with large Roman Catholic populations—on the day before the religious season of Lent begins. Brazil, Venice and New Orleans play host to some of the holiday’s most famous public festivities, drawing thousands of tourists and revelers every year.

Ah ha! Well now this Jew knows what it’s all about and is ready to partyyyyyyyy.

From what I read, it’s customary to host a masked ball or a fancy dinner or of course party through the streets with cocktails, costumes and beads!

While I’m not traveling to New Orleans or the South of France to celebrate Mardi Gras this year, I am celebrating in the backyard with my best party girls. Natalie and Maggie are all dressed up in the traditional colors with me and Shaylan is behind the scenes stirring up a festive punch and throwing beads at us. Around here, we’ll take any excuse to PARTY!

On the bar cart we’re serving a Hurricane Passion Punch that we adapted from the Food Network. I have a large gold beverage bucket that my sister got me years ago that felt too perfect for this party cocktail. To serve we mixed together:
2 x cartons of passion fruit juice
1 large can of pineapple juice
3 cups light rum
2 cups fresh orange juice
2 cups club soda
Garnished with sliced limes, oranges and starfruit
Serve over tons of ice

To mark our glasses and ensure there is no cross contamination (!!) I used beads that I tied around the neck of each goblet and gave a different color to each friend.

As part of our dress code for this Mardi Gras celebration, we each wore a hand made hair piece. Maggie DIY’d these gorgeous hair accessories and will be sharing her DIY for them on the blog tomorrow so stay tuned.

The drinks were so delish, we threw beads at each other and acted super silly and carefree and was a lovely way to celebrate this fun holiday.