Mardi Gras Christmas

The Clarkson Christmas theme for 2010 was Mardi Gras. My MIL goes all out with decor, food, drinks, etc. Chris and I had a low-key Christmas Day with just the two of us so we were ready for a fun night.

Julie's home was decked out for the occasion!

Living room and bar area. Notice all the hats that were available for people to wear. Yours Truly is not a hat person and passed on this unique opportunity.

More decor. I think there were enough beads for the entire city of New Orleans.

Entry to the kitchen.

Every year the theme decor is mixed in with traditional Christmas decorations.

The food was great! I made this brie. Yum! For dinner there was jambalaya, chicken, blackened catfish, gumbo, and a ton of sides. I was a big fan of all the sides.

The whole group. Mostly family but a couple very close family friends were there too.

Had to get one with the props!

One really fun thing this year was a characteriture artist! Just like on the streets of New Orleans..

Chris getting his portrait done.

Almost done with Chris'! The artist was so good and fast. She only needed a few minutes per person.

My turn! I asked her not to include any pregnancy swelling. She laughed and then said she barely noticed I was pregnant. :)

The Hubs and Me. Not to bad!

It was so fun to watch everyone get their picture done.

Love this pic of my nieces.

Katarina and Jadon

Audrey and Reese.

Reese was very proud of this Mrs. Clause outfit. She kept showing it off all night. Another hand-me-down for Baby Girl!

One of our best friends Timmy stopped by later in the evening. He lives in Arizona so it was so great to see him!

Even though Mardi Gras wasn't your traditional Christmas, it was still perfect to celebrate with our family and friends!