Create a mini Mardi Gras Parade Float out of a shoe box

In Louisiana, schools around the state have their own version of Mardi Gras with small parades at school. Children craft parade floats out of wagons, boxes, crates and shoe boxes. This precious tradition is one that children and parents alike look forward to each year.

Want to create your own mini Mardi Gras parade? Here is our tutorial for a Mardi Gras shoe box float. Making a tiny Mardi Gras float out of standard shoe box is a fun craft for a children's Mardi Gras party. It also makes a great art project for a school class.

The shoe box parade floats pictured here were created by a local kindergarten class for their Fall Festival. 

Thank you to the Krewe of K1 for sharing their Mardi Gras floats and to Lori Stoekle, their talented room mom,  for sharing her tips and tricks for creating this cute shoe box Mardi Gras float complete with mini Mardi Gras float riders (my favorite part).

We recreated a similar mini Mardi Gras shoe box float. Here is the tutorial showing the steps to create your own shoe box Mardi Gras float: 

  Use a shoe box with unattached lid as the form for your mini Mardi Gras float. Choose a color for the float. The traditional Mardi Gras colors are purple, green and gold (preferably one of these colors). We chose a bright kelly green. You can paint the shoe box or cover it in paper. 

We chose to paint our shoe box. Spray paint is an easy and fast paint option. Once the paint is dry or box is covered, attach the back of the shoe box lid as shown to form a backdrop for your mini Mardi Gras float.

These are the Mardi Gras supplies we used to decorate our Mardi Gras float.

Purple, green & gold craft feathers
Mardi Gras garland
Mardi Gras flags
Metallic crown decorations
Gold tinsel pipe cleaners
Mardi Gras beads
Glue and/or tape

Here are some other Mardi Gras items you could use to decorate a float:

Mardi Gras floral sprays and picks
Comedy and Tragedy mini cutouts
Mardi Gras Doubloons
Mardi Gras Centerpiece

Small Mardi Gras Dolls

Floral Sheeting/ Petal Paper
Mardi Gras Ribbon or Ornaments or Masks

Start decorating the float by adding a Mardi Gras garland around the perimeter of the shoe box.

 Attach the Mardi Gras garland with glue or tape. Line both the box and attached lid with garland.

We added two Mardi Gras flags on sticks.

Attach a group of purple, green and gold feathers to each of the front corners of the shoe box.

Glue or tape on the crown decorations. Add one to each side of the box and to the back as well.

  

Layer Mardi Gras beads across the top of the float deck. Attach as necessary.

Create your own mini Mardi Gras float riders. These float riders are made out of standard size pipe cleaners. Each "rider" is made of 1 whole pipe cleaner and 1 cut in half. This photo shows each step.

STEP 1: Cut one pipe cleaner in half

STEP 2: Form a loop for your head and twist to form the body.

STEP 3: Bend the end pieces to form feet.

STEP 4: Twist the 1/2 pipe cleaner onto the body portion to form arms. Bend to form hands.

Add your Mardi Gras float riders to the float deck.  Use these shoe box Mardi Gras floats as decoration or add a string to the front of the shoe box and you can pull them down the school hall for your own mini Mardi Gras parade.

With your mini Mardi Gras float and riders ready to roll, Laissez les bons temps rouler!

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