How To Throw A Party For Carnival

Americans typically associate the revelry before Lent with Mardi Gras, but worldwide the biggest celebration of the holiday that most refer to as Carnival is in Brazil. During the weeklong festivities the whole country is overtaken with the holiday, which is celebrated with feasts, parades, costumes, and dancing.

So where better to get the inside scoop on how to throw your own party for Carnival than SushiSamba? We spoke to Sean McCloskey about his best tips for making the party feel as authentic as possible. His first must-have is drinks. A Carnival party must serve "anything that is cachaça-based like a caipirinha," he says. He suggests that if you want to make something beyond the typical caipirinha, you could add tropical flavors like tangerine or lime.

In terms of food, he suggests serving "things that are very big in the brazilian cultures, like antichucos, which are skewers of meat or fish." And for décor there must be some green decorations, and perhaps even a few Brazilian flags.

For more, watch the video above, and if you want to go to a ready-made Carnival celebration you can head to SushiSamba in New York, Miami, Chicago, Las Vegas, or London!