Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in Saint Louis, MO

Mardi Gras Children's Art Fair

This Saturday is the big Soulard Mardi Gras Parade (the theme for 2009 is a Parade of History). It is definitely a party but not necessarily appropriate for kids. Sunday, the day after the parade, there will be a more appropriate Mardi Gras Children's Art Fair from noon to four p.m. at the King of Glory Lutheran School at the corner of 8th and Soulard. Mardi Gras Inc is providing art materials for kids to make masks and costumes.

 If the weather or reveling crowds don't appeal to you, celebrating Mardi Gras at home with your family is an alternative. You can decorate masks with your kids using colored feathers or markers and kids love to wear plastic Mardi Gras beads (found at any party supply store). Also, many local bakeries are selling King's Cakes this week of you could bake your own. It is more of a sweet bread than a cake and is traditionally covered with purple, green and gold icing or colored sugar and a small plastic baby doll or beads. Whoever is the lucky recipient of the plastic baby is crowned the king or queen of the party. Just make sure no one eats the baby!

Simple and Kid Friendly Mardi Gras King's Cake Recipe

1 can of iced cinammon rolls

3/4 cups of sugar separated into 3 equal parts

Blue, red, yellow and green liquid food coloring

 -Separate and roll out cinammon rolls into oval shapes.

- Pinch the ends together and place on a cookie sheet. Cook as directed.

- While cooking, dye sugar with a few drops of food coloring (not too much or it will dissolve).1/3 of the sugar will be colored purple (make purple by mixing blue and red), 1/3 will be yellow and 1/3 will be green. 

- When the cinammon roll ovals are finished baking, ice the top and sprinkle with the different color sugars. Top with a small plastic baby doll or beads if you feel it is safe with your kids.  

This Sunday, there is another unique way to celebrate Mardi Gras at the St. Louis Zoo. The Delta Dental Winter Zoo Mardi Gras Celebration will be going on from 12:30-3:30pm. Radio Disney will be playing music, there will be a parade through the zoo and a wagon/stroller decorating contest. Kids can also make and decorate masks and watch live music. At 1:30 pm, weather permitting, there will be a penguin march outside the Penguin and Puffin Coast exhibit. Several penguins that usually live inside the exhibit will be outside with their keepers for approximately 30 minutes. It is a unique opportunity to see the penguins in a different setting than usual.

The parade is scheduled for 3pm and entrance to the zoo and events is free.