Deck the halls for Mardi Gras with purple, green, and gold! It’s easy to get the celebration started early, even before the parades begin, with this Mardi Gras Tree tutorial. Festive, lighted paper lanterns add all of the extra ambiance you need! Just so you know, I did receive fun decor from Oriental Trading® to facilitate this post, but all opinions are entirely my own.

There’s no need to take down the Christmas tree! The Christmas season (my FAVE) is over at the end of December, right? You loved the lights and magic of the season, right? Yea, me too. Keep that magic going because Mardi Gras is right around the corner and you can leave your (fake) tree up (sans the Christmas decorations, of course) and repurpose it into a Mardi Gras Tree! I’m about to tell you how to do that beautifully, affordably, and how to add some extra ambiance to the PAR-TAY. Y’all ready for this?

First, let’s set the mood! There’s no better way to set the mood for any party or celebration than festive colors and lighting. For Mardi Gras, as I’ve done with many other holidays, I chose to adorn my living spaces with paper lanterns! But for Mardi Gras, I stepped it up a notch and my paper lanterns are lit up like Mardi Gras Trees (see what I did right there?).

How to decorate a Mardi Gras Tree

Let’s get back to the star of the show…the Mardi Gras Tree, shall we? It’s fun, it’s festive, and it’s so easy to create with affordable Mardi Gras decor! All you need are a few simple things and you can set it up however you’d like!

• The tree, of course, which you still have left up from Christmas…score!
• Mardi Gras Feather Masks
• Purple Glitter Tulle
• Random Party Favors and Peacock Feathers (to poke out from the tree for added flair and dimension)
• Christmas Tree Ornaments in Purple, Green, and Gold
• Tree Topper (Since I live in Galveston, I was able to find this crown table topper at my local big box store, but you can get creative here with whatever you can find or make!)

Simply drape the tulle around the tree – or down it as I did in this case – then add your ornaments, masks, feathers, and random party favors, then top it off with your star, crown, or whatever else you can imagine. The result is fun, festive, and a party atmosphere that everyone will love!

Mardi Gras Paper Lanterns for Ambiance

Now, let’s talk about those paper lanterns again, shall we? You can get these in a variety of sizes, textures, patterns, and colors from Oriental Trading®. For Mardi Gras, I obviously went with purple, green, and gold. I chose the 12″ lanterns, got a set of six each, and hung them all around the house for a night time parade experience. These would look fantastic outside on a deck for a party, but it’s so windy in Galveston ALL. THE. TIME that I just can’t take that route!

To get the lighted lantern effect, I got some submersible (yup, they work under water too!) white LED lights and just tucked them into each lantern for that night time glow and ambiance I was going for. It worked out beautifully, dontchathink?

After that, just toss a few beads around, put up some themed tinsel and boas, and you’ve got yourself a full-blown parade right in your own home…just like that!

It’s your turn! Mardi Gras festivities are starting soon – February 2 through 13th, 2018 in fact – and you need to get ready for the party. Here at my house, every day’s a parade thanks to a little imagination, a lot of fun, and affordable decor from Oriental Trading®. I still have a Mardi Gras door wreath to make, so wish me luck (my first ribbon wreath ever) and stay tuned for that post in the very near future! Happy Mardi Gras, y’all! If you’re in the area, I sure hope to see you at all of the parades!