You may not want to take your children to New Orleans to party, but Mardi Gras crafts for children can be an excellent way to celebrate at home.

Masks are a necessity for a good party, and children love these! You can print out patterns that you find online or make your own by drawing on paper. Some favorites are butterflies for the girls and eagles for the boys. Once you have your mask on paper, glue it to a piece of cardboard or heavy paper. You can reuse old boxes, such as cereal boxes or the kind that can sodas come in. Then, cut around your design. Remember to cut out holes for the eyes. Younger children may need some help with this part. Finally, decorate with feathers, sequins, glitter, or whatever else your heart desires.

It wouldn't be Mardi Gras without the beads! Here is a fun way to make some of your own. For this you will need clay. You can buy it from the store or make some at home. A simple recipe for making it yourself: Mix 4 cups flour, 1 cup salt, and 1 ½ cups water. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes. Then take the dough and form it into your beads. Use a toothpick or straw to put a hole through the beads so you can string them later. Place beads on a cookie sheet and put in a 300 degree oven for about 5 minutes, or until the dough gets hard. Then paint your beads in your favorite Mardi Gras colors and string them on yarn or string to make your necklace.

Every Mardi Gras needs a float as well. First, cut the flaps off of a cardboard box. Flip the box over and cut a circle out of the bottom of the box. This will be so the child can wear the float. Make shoulder straps using ribbon or elastic which you can glue or staple to the inside of the circular hole. Then you can decorate any was you wish. Some great ideas include paint, crumpled tissue paper, shredded paper, or balloons. Make a few and your children can have their own parade.

Finally, a noise maker is essential for your party. You can make a simple one using paper plates. Decorate the bottom of the plates with crayons, markers, or paint. Tape streamers or ribbon to the front side of one of the plates. Next, tape or glue a popsicle stick or craft stick to the streamer side of the plate. Get the other plate and staple or tape it to the first one. Before you finish stapling, put a small amount of rice or dried beans inside the plate so it will make noise.

Another cute idea is to make necklaces using yarn and macaroni or other dry pasta. You can color or paint the pasta for more fun. Another twist would be to use food, such as Cheerios or Life Savers to make necklaces with.

Aazdak Alisimo writes about kid crafts for KidCraftsActivity.com.