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The perfect parade party starts with some pretty simple ingredients: a spot along the parade route and a handful of your favorite people.
But what if you’re ready to kick things up a notch? To find out what it takes to throw an amazing parade party, we reached out to Donna Travis, owner of Party Time, the largest, independently owned party store in Baton Rouge, and Shelly Fallin, legendary party hostess and a frequent Party Time customer.
Here’s their recipe for the perfect parade party.
Start with One Part Parade-Friendly Munchies
Parade parties tend to mean lots of grazing over several hours, and you can let the timing of the parade guide what you offer guests.
For earlier parades, Travis says she loves to serve brunch. If you can get a pancake assembly line working, that can feed a crowd. Fallin says she likes pigs in blankets, fruit, doughnuts and mini quiches. Fallin suggests meatballs, cookies and other quick snacks. Make these standard party foods feel more festive by incorporating fun little details like candy molds and cookie cutters that fit your theme into your cooking.
“Make it portable,” Travis says. “People will be walking in and out, grabbing food on the go on the way to view the parade. This isn’t the time for soup or a sit-down dinner.” Party Time offers festive tableware, plates, napkins and colorful go-cups to make easy and portable foods feel special.
Any Mardi Gras table should also include a king cake, Fallin says, or your own customized Mardi Gras beignets. Pick some up from Cafe du Monde or Coffee Call and then customize to fit the party. Another out-of-the-box treat that can be customized for any party? A sweet cheese ball. The recipe here is for a King Cake ball, but this could easily be transformed to solid green or pink to fit other parades.
A couple gallons of Raising Cane’s green lemonade is a perfect refreshment for a St. Patrick’s Day parade event. Homemade pink lemonade is great for Spanish Town. Fun cocktails are always welcome, too, especially when served in festive glasses that double as favors.
Then Add a Dash of Decorations
A parade party differs from other parties in that it’s more like an open house, Travis says. People will show up and eat, then all run out to the porch, yard or balcony as the parade comes by. Or, if you live close by but not directly on the route, they’ll leave and come back. It’s an inside-outside event, and you should decorate accordingly, she says.
For outside decor, Travis says she loves custom wreaths and banners. You can buy a premade wreath at Party Time, as well as the supplies to make your own. You can also have a banner made up announcing your own “krewe” if you like. Fallin suggests balloon arches and other balloon sculptures for outside. “I cannot have enough balloons. No party can have enough balloons,” she says, noting that Party Time once sculpted an entire circus tent for her out of balloons and table runners. Balloon options are endless, she says, and are always a hit with adults and kids. And, of course, a flock of these light up flamingos in your yard or on the porch will clearly signal to everyone that your house is where it’s at.
Inside, Travis suggests table runners, decorations for the mantle and beads everywhere as decor. Fallin says she likes to go a step further and add intetresting skirts to various tables to make them look like mini parade floats. Decorate your tables with some beads and doubloons: pink for Spanish Town; purple, green and gold for any Mardi Gras event; and solid green for St. Patrick’s Day, with gold coins tossed in.
Season with Some Flair for Yourself
You might be a buttoned-up CPA during most of the year, but on parade day you can get a little wacky. Travis says she sees many people buying costume accessories lately for parades, especially wigs. “There’s something about a wig. A wig and some sunglasses can make someone feel entirely different on parade day and really have a good time,” she says.
Other popular accessories include hats, feather boas, fake mustaches and tutus of all colors, she says. You can be as wacky as you like, but generally people do like to keep with the theme of the individual parade. All of these things can be done in solid pink for the Spanish Town parade, solid green for St. Patrick’s Day, or traditional Mardi Gras colors.
And of course, you can always take a costume all the way: full leprechaun, flamingo diva or Mardi Gras royalty.
Finish with Party Favors
And, of course, no talk of a Louisiana parade party is complete without discussion of beads. Fallin likes to keep them for decorating, and Travis agrees, with one special exception: The nicer, larger beads, make a great party favor. She likes to give one strand to each guest. And something unique, like a fleur de lis, crawfish, LSU emblem or the state of Louisiana, can signify your group as you all walk to and gather at the parade, she says.
Other fun favors to go with your bling beads include these fun light up rings and a full array of wacky glasses in every style and color you can imagine.
Stop by Party Time for more fun ideas for your perfect parade party.
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