Fat Tuesday Gift Ideas For The Skinny Minny Who Needs A Hand

"Mardi Gras" Flower Arrangement

Believe it or not, I do get asked a lot of questions of a trivial nature. Answering them (or finding an answer) seems to be my forte in the eyes of my friends. One friend recently asked me what Fat Tuesday is and what gift he should take to a Fat Tuesday party. Interesting enough, right? Having never celebrated the holiday but having enough Catholic friends to know the basic ins and outs, I gave him the following ideas but not without a bit of information first.

Fat Tuesday is traditionally celebrated as the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. In the Catholic and Episcopalian churches, it can also be called Shrove Tuesday. Either way, Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent. The tradition of Lent is when people give up something valuable to them such as a food or a habit like smoking. Such a chaste period is hard to enter into without one last run so Fat Tuesday is pretty much the free-for-all (within reason) day of celebration.

So what would you give someone at a Fat Tuesday celebration of just as a Fat Tuesday gift? I can’t in good conscious pass up the opportunity to say “Flowers! Flowers! Flowers!” It just wouldn’t be right. I can recommend a Mardi Gras flower arrangement in the traditional colors of purple, green and gold. In the celebration, purple represents justice while green represents faith and gold stands for power. Perfect!

"Fleur De Lis" Iris Arrangement

Another good idea is a king cake. Now while picking up this party cake from a New Orleans bakery may not exactly be “on the way home,” it’s still a great gift idea. Local bakeries may carry them for this special occasion or find a recipe online. The more traditional the better but it’s still the thought that counts.

What kind of enthusiast would you be if you didn’t think of a fleur-de-lis symbol first when Mardi Gras in New Orleans came to mind? This tiny symbol permeates nearly every part of my existence from jewelry to home accents. I say that to say that it’s really easy to find gifts with this name or symbol. It’s traditional and powerful all at the same time. In other words, a great hostess gift for your festive friends.

Have any more ideas? Feel free to share your Fat Tuesday gift ideas or stories of recent celebrations with us!