Growing up in New Orleans, Mardi Gras was always a welcomed holiday that was celebrated with family, friends, and plenty of good food while attending the local parades. And as any Louisiana local knows, it's all about the throws!
Being able to catch those prized items like bounce balls, doubloons, long beads, or any of the many trinkets that came flying your way is a matter of precise measure. After the parades, we would proudly haul bags and bags of a hard day's work back to the car to bring home like the fatted calf. There would be beads for days that just sort of showed up around the house, in every room, until finally, we would spend an afternoon gathering up loose beads and creating new stacks for the next person to throw the following year.
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We donated beads to St. Michael's Special School in New Orleans for their bead recycling program, gave away plenty to friends and family that were riding in parades for St. Patrick's Day or in the parades for the next carnival season, and used some of those beads to have our own backyard or porch parade with the neighborhood kids. Though I must say, one of my favorite memories was making a Mardi Gras Shoebox Float.
Now, creating a Mardi Gras Shoebox Float is not for the faint-hearted, especially if you are a mom! Glitter, glue, and scraps of construction paper will be found for days after creating this spectacular work of art, but I promise, it will be worth it. Why?
 Image by Tracie Ysaguire / via CanvaPro |
This is the kind of craft where your child can truly use their imagination, creating from scratch what they see in their local parades. Your floats can be focused on showing your support for your favorite local sports team, your favorite movie or cartoon character, or even your favorite foods. There are no boundaries for what your Mardi Gras Shoebox Float can become!
So whether you are a Louisiana local who has experienced Mardi Gras plenty of times or if you have never been to a Mardi Gras parade, creating this Mardi Gras Shoebox Float with your kids will bring some carnival fun right to your home.
Here is what you will need:
Shoebox with lid and bottom
Glue and hot glue (with adult supervision of course)
Scissors
Tape
Small thumbtacks (optional)
Glitter pens or loose glitter (If mom is brave)
Construction paper, foil, or other decorative paper
Colors, markers, crayons, and colored pencils
Paint and brushes
Beads, doubloons, and other Mardi Gras trinkets
If you do not have the beads and trinkets that come from the local parades, know that you can always use other items around the house.
For instance, how many board games from your child's closet have missing pieces? Grab the ones that are left and use those to make characters or decorate your float. You can also hit the craft or discount stores to find items like pom-poms, sequins, and pipe cleaners in the traditional Mardi Gras colors to use for your float. The idea here is to use items around the house and just have fun.
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Instructions:
Get a shoebox and flip the box container upside down. You can then begin to cover the box with decorative paper, and foil, or even paint it to hide the writing and other markings from the box. You will want to do this to the lid as well to either match the theme of your float or decorate it as you desire. Feel free to get as detailed as you like on this part. Use your imagination!
Once you have both the lid and the container of the shoe box covered and decorated, then take the lid and place it against the shoe box, making sure to slide the box up to the inside part of the lid so that they are touching. You can hot glue the lid to the upside-down box, fasten it with tape, hot glue, or even use thumbtacks. This is what creates your backdrop and gives the shoe box its official float look.
Once this is done and everything has dried and set in place, you can then start adding your other items to the float. You can glue doubloons on the sides of the box, and drape beads from the top, sides, back, or front. Add your characters or other items from your list. Depending on your child's age, you can also just let them cover it in construction paper and color it. There really is no wrong way to make a Mardi Gras Shoebox Float!
 Image by Mia Barletto via CanvaPro |
I had the pleasure of demonstrating how to make this craft on one of our local morning news shows this week and we had a blast! Check out some of the clips and images from our visit with Alex Worstell and the News 15 crew this week here.
I really had so much fun and loved taking a simple craft that I learned to do as a kid growing up in New Orleans during Mardi Gras to the live screen to share with a whole new generation. I'd say that's a win! I was honored to be asked to speak about Macaroni KID, Macaroni KID New Iberia, and our community in New Iberia.
If you make a Mardi Gras Shoebox Float with your kids, please share your images with us and tag us on social media! We would love to see your creations!
If you make a Mardi Gras Shoebox Float with your kids, please share your images with us and tag us on social media! We would love to see your creations!
|  Image Created by Tracie Ysaguire via CanvaPro |
