10 Best Mardi Gras Crafts for Kids
Get ready to add some creative fun to your Fat Tuesday celebrations with these festive Mardi Gras crafts for kids! Create colorful masks, floats, necklaces, and more.
Mardi Gras is a time of vibrant celebration marked by bold colors, festive music, and plenty of fun. While the holiday is most famously associated with the lively parades and parties of New Orleans, you can bring the magic of Mardi Gras right into your home with these kid-friendly crafts. These hands-on projects are a fantastic way to introduce children to the cultural traditions of the holiday.
From making masks and floats to necklaces and sensory activities, these projects capture the spirit of Mardi Gras in all its gold, green, and purple glory. Kids will love exploring different materials, practicing fine motor skills, and expressing their artistic side. Plus, many of these projects are easy to assemble with items you already have at home, making them a budget-friendly way to celebrate the season. Whether you’re hosting a Mardi Gras-themed party or want to add a festive touch to your day, these ideas are sure to inspire some fun.
Looking for more Mardi Gras fun for kids? Check out these Mardi Gras bingo cards and this Mardi Gras word search!
Mardi Gras Crafts for Kids
Transform your child’s handprints into vibrant Mardi Gras masks with this fun project. By tracing and cutting out handprints from colorful cardstock, kids can create unique masks. Eye holes are carefully cut out, and a paper straw serves as a handle. You can add feathers, glitter, or craft jewels for decoration, making this craft perfect for parades or parties.
This is a festive sensory activity for kids. By mixing corn syrup, water, and glitter, this craft creates a mesmerizing swirling effect when shaken. Kids can experiment with glitter types and bead colors, learning about viscosity while creating a calming tool. Whether you use fine glitter for a slow settle or chunky glitter for vibrant visibility, the result is a soothing jar perfect for quiet moments. It’s a hands-on, science-infused project that’s both fun and relaxing!
Create colorful and edible candy necklaces with this fun idea! Using purple, yellow, and green Twizzlers as beads, kids can thread them onto the stiff beading thread to make festive jewelry. The activity also doubles as a lesson in patterns and fine motor skills while keeping kids entertained with a delicious reward at the end. Parents can assist younger children with cutting the Twizzlers and tying the finished necklace. This project is perfect as a group activity for Mardi Gras-themed parties.
Create beautiful masks using handprints as the base. Start by cutting out cardboard handprints and painting them in the iconic purple, green, and gold Mardi Gras colors. Add fine details with dots using Q-tips for a fun fine motor activity. Once decorated, assemble the mask, cut out eye holes, and attach a popsicle stick handle. Perfect for a festive living room dance party or a themed movie night!
From classic Mardi Gras masks and king cakes to musical instruments and jester hats, these coloring pages showcase iconic symbols of the celebration. Designed for kids of all ages, the pages range from simple designs for younger children to intricate coloring sheets for older kids. Perfect for a creative activity during the festivities, these printables also provide an excellent opportunity to discuss the traditions and history of this holiday.
This fun tambourine craft uses inexpensive materials like paper plates, colorful Mardi Gras beads, and ribbons. Children can create a noisemaker that doubles as a festive musical instrument by making small cuts along the edge of a plate and threading beads through. Add a ribbon for extra decoration, and staple the plate edges to secure everything in place. This festive project is great for introducing kids to rhythm and music while celebrating the vibrant spirit of the holiday!
This playdough makes a fun sensory activity. Using simple ingredients like flour, salt, and Kool-Aid packets, children can create vibrant playdough in Mardi Gras colors: purple, green, and gold. You can also add glitter for extra sparkle. Kids will have a blast molding and shaping their creations. This craft introduces sensory play and color recognition. Easy to make and long-lasting, this playdough is perfect for hands-on fun.
With this project, you can design your own miniature parade float using a shoebox. This craft starts by covering the shoebox with construction paper or gift wrap, then decorating it with ruffled crepe paper, beads, and small figurines. Kids can customize the theme, from clowns to circus motifs, and even add wheels to create a moving float. Perfect for imaginative play, this project captures the festive spirit of Fat Tuesday while allowing children to express their creativity and learn about the tradition of shoebox float competitions.
This free printable mask is the perfect craft for kids of all ages. After printing the mask template on cardstock, children can cut out the masks and decorate them with sequins, feathers, glitter, or paint in festive Mardi Gras colors. To complete the mask, add a paper straw as a handle or elastic for wearing.
These King Cake ornaments are perfect for decorating a Mardi Gras tree. Using oven-bake clay in traditional colors—purple, green, and gold—kids can roll and braid the clay into a circular King Cake shape. After baking, the ornament is coated with glue and glitter to mimic the festive sugar topping of a real King Cake. Once complete, attach a string for hanging. These DIY ornaments are a fun way to celebrate the holiday, whether displayed on a tree or as pendants.
Using simple household items like glue, shaving cream, and baking soda, kids can create fluffy slime in festive purple, green, and gold hues with glitter for sparkle. The texture is soft and stretchy, offering endless entertainment as children mix, stretch, and mold the slime. Perfect for keeping kids engaged during celebrations, this project is a festive blend of creativity and tactile fun.