One of the most iconic components of New Orleans’ Mardi Gras celebrations is the beautifully-decorated floats that partake in over 50 parades throughout the city. As the pandemic put celebrations on hold this year, Mardi Gras float fanatics found a new way to celebrate safely: by turning their homes into floats. 

Megan Boudreaux was the first resident to come up with the house float idea. She made the decision to decorate the outside of her home with large origami flowers and posted her idea on Facebook. Within two days she had 1,000 new followers and had informally become the city’s house float coordinator. 

In total, more than 3,000 homes were decorated in the spirit of the holiday. In addition to Boudreaux’s origami flowers, there are also ones with “under the sea,” “Queen of Hearts,” and “dinosaurs” themes. The St. Roch neighborhood has coordinated its decorations to fit a community-wide “Roch and Roll” theme. 

If you want to check out pictures of the floats yourself, you can find them on the Krewe of House Floats Facebook page. There’s even an online map so residents can drive through the city and see the beautiful homes. All bars will be closed in New Orleans for Mardi Gras weekend, but the Facebook page features a link to donate to the Greater New Orleans Foundation which supports restaurant and hotel employees affected by the pandemic.