Ok, we all know how important kids costumes are at Halloween, but did you know that a little accessory known as the “trick-or-treat bag” is probably just as, if not more important to the kids?  The main objective for all children is to get as much candy as possible during those fun and exciting trick-or-treat hours.  That’s what it’s all about right? 

The amount of candy each child gets while out trick-or-treating is the determining factor in whether they had a great Halloween or a good Halloween.  Last year my son had to run back home to dump some of his candy to make room for more.  Now to him that was a great Halloween!

Your child’s trick-or-treat bag is really a pretty important accessory on Halloween night.  This is one accessory that your child will never leave home without!  When I was young, everyone used the same type of bag, the good old plastic bag with handles.  Today though, you have a lot more choices for your child when it comes to treat bags. 

This year I decided to get my girls personalized trick-or-treat bags and they love them!  They’re simply adorable and they can use them again and again every Halloween.  It helps to have bags with their names on it so that there’s no mistaking whose candy is whose.  My son Caden explained to me that he was way too old to carry anything with his name on it and that he was just fine using an old pillowcase like all his friends.  No complaints from me, that was simple.

Today, you’ll find trick-or-treat bags come in all shapes and sizes and made out of different materials; plastic, vinyl, cotton and felt.   They have great Halloween designs for both boys and girls.  Remember, candy is the life-line of every little boy and girl on Halloween night, so get them a trick-or-treat bag that they can be proud of!

There is nothing I like better than personalized holiday decorations!  I think they are simply adorable and add the perfect touch to any home.  Having your last name on a ghostly welcome mat at your front door is a great way to welcome all the little trick or treaters in your neighborhood.

HalloweenExpress.com now has personalized Halloween items on their website and to tell you the truth I just spent about an hour checking out everything from welcome mats and candy bowls to trick or treat bags and apparel.   I think I want one of everything!

One of my favorite items that the kids love as well are the personalized trick or treat bags.  It makes it so much easier with their names on them so that we don’t have any fighting over who took who’s bag by mistake.  When it comes to their Halloween candy it’s amazing how children know exactly what candy is in there!  Now if I would ask my son what he did in school today, he wouldn’t have a clue, but ask him what kind of candy he has left in his Halloween bag he can tell you piece by piece!  It’s amazing isn’t it?!

Children love personalized Halloween clothing as well.  Each year my kids have a Halloween party at school and they’re allowed to be out of uniform that day.  Instead of costumes they want the children to wear something that falls in line with the Halloween theme.  That’s where the personalized sweatshirts come in handy.  With “too cute to spook” or “pumpkin princess” written across the front they’re perfect for any child.

So this year don’t forget your personalized Halloween decorations!  It’s the perfect way to add that little extra something to your home and/or yard.

Everyone knows how important accessories are to give your outfit that finished look.  Well, the same goes for Halloween costumes.  What goes on your feet is just as important as what goes on your body.

I know that with young children comfort and safety are way more important than style when they are running around the neighborhood trick-or-treating.  They could care less what’s on their feet as long as they can run fast and keep up with the other kids.   My children usually wear their tennis shoes no matter what their costumes are.  However, my oldest daughter Sydney is getting to the age when style does mean something and she would rather look cool with a nice pair of flat boots or sandals depending on what her costume is.

If you really have a great costume this year and want it to stand out be sure to find a pair of Halloween shoes that will do that.  Shoes really do make the costume!

At HalloweenExpress.com all the hard work of figuring out which shoes go with which costume isn’t a problem.  Every costume is pictured with the shoes or boots designed to make the costume complete.  You can even order the shoes at the same time you order your costume without even leaving the costume page.  Everything is right there on one page to make it as easy as possible for you to get the complete look of your Halloween costume.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen once again held on to the top spot at the box office this past weekend but shared the title with another great movie, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.  Both earned an estimated $42.5 million over the July 4th weekend!  I’m a big fan of both Transformers and Ice Age so it was a fun weekend here!   

I’ve been reading everywhere that this Transformers sequel is the “worst-reviewed movie to ever make the $400 million club.”  Well that just goes to show you what the critics like and what the mass movie-going population like are completely different.  Who cares what the critics say!  If that many people are going to see the movie then they must be really wrong on this one!  We loved it.  My son is a huge Transformer fan and has recruited his dad and I into that same category.  It really is a great movie!

However, my all time favorite movie – the one that can make you belly laugh through the whole thing – is Ice Age!  Sid the Sloth is hilarious!!  So it was no surprise to me that this new 3rd sequel Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs did well at the box office.  What’s so neat about Ice Age is that even though it’s a Disney/Pixar animated series the humor is for children and adults alike.  You never stop laughing!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is coming out on July 15 and is sure to be a huge hit!  People of all ages just can’t seem to get enough of old Harry!  This will be the 6th novel turned big screen hit by J.K. Rowlings.  They’re saying this might be just the movie to beat out Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen at the box office.  Well we’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we!

Movies make such a big impact on Halloween that movie costumes are flying off the shelves.  Transformer costumes and Harry Potter costumes will be huge this Halloween.  If you plan on attending the movie premiere of Harry Potter be sure to get all your Harry Potter costume and accessory needs at HalloweenExpress.com.   Both movies make for great group costumes too!

The biggest aspect of the Halloween holiday is of course, costumes.  For children it’s the fun of dressing up and going out trick-or-treating; for adults a costume makes up the character or “thing” they become for a night out with their friends clubbing or going for that 1st prize win at costume parties.

Halloween costumes are all fine and good, but what makes a costume complete is the costume makeup.  Even though many costumes today have masks as part of the look, many rely on accessories such as makeup to put the finishing touches on their costume.  And it’s definitely not your mothers makeup!

Halloween makeup kits are so easy to apply since most are geared toward your specific costume.  Clowns, devils, vampires and witches are just a few costumes in which makeup kits are easy to apply.  Instructions on how to apply the makeup is included in each kit and easy to follow.

So before you just throw on a mask, ask yourself if makeup would be a better alternative to give your costume the edge you’re looking for!

The costumes aren’t the only great things happening at HalloweenExpress.com!  Check out their new and improved website!  It’s amazing and so easy to navigate through.  It makes you wish for Halloween to be sooner than October!  However it’s never too early to start shopping for that perfect Halloween costume.  Remember, the early bird gets the worm (or costume in this case)!

With today’s economic crisis, more and more people will be looking for discounted Halloween costumes for themselves and their children this year.  Well, look no further!  Even with the great low prices at HalloweenExpress.com on their costumes you’ll still find even lower deep-discounted priced costumes, masks, props and accessories in a special section on their website called “Super Saver Costumes.”  There you’ll find amazing costumes for both men and women for just $19.99.  Plus a “Closeout” section with a little bit of everything in it for a fun-filled low-priced Halloween!

Super Saver costumes for men include a Valiant Knight costume, a Vampire costume or a Scally Wag Pirate costume. 

Women can dress in an Egyptian Princess costume, a Belly Dancer costume or a French Maid costume. 

The possibilities are endless and the prices low at HalloweenExpress.com! 

Surprise, surprise, surprise it’s Friday 13, 2009 and I’ll give you two guesses at what remake slasher film is being released today – and the first one doesn’t count!  Does Camp Crystal Lake and a hockey mask give you any ideas?  You guessed it – Friday the 13th, and if you didn’t guess it then you must have been living under a rock for the last 29 years.  This popular film franchise has lasted almost three decades and is still going strong.

Once again Jason Vorhees is evil reborn and is back on his old stomping ground in this grisly campsite killing spree.  As usual the movie will be a big hit with the young audience that has followed the Friday the 13th series.  Did you know that the original movie Friday the 13th was released in May 1980 and since then 12 sequels (including today’s) have followed.  My nephew went to the movie theater at midnight last night to catch the first showing and said the theater was packed!  So, no matter what the reviews say by the professional movie buffs, people are going to flock to this slasher film just because…..Jason’s back!

If you really want to get into the Jason theme of the movie get a Friday the 13th hockey mask or really go all out with the whole Friday the 13th Jason costume from HalloweenExpress.com.  The Jason trademark hockey mask is always a big hit on Halloween too!

Bram Stroker’s Dracula, Blade, Fright Night, The Forsaken and who could forget, the teenage cheerleader Buffy the Vampire Slayer!  These are just a few of the moives that portray the darker side of vampires and the crusaders that slay them.  I love most vampire movies because the “slayer” always wins in the end plunging a wood stake into the heart of the vampire (or something like that).  

How many times have you heard “I want to suck your blood” on Halloween night with all the black caped vampires running around trick-or-treating?  From ages 2 – 22 you’ll find these dark forbidden souls out for blood as darkness falls on Halloween night (or maybe it’s just the candy they’re after)…

The vampire has been a staple of Halloween costumes forever.  I remember running around in my little princess costume when I was about seven years old and my older brother Brian dressed as Dracula with his long black plastic cape, white make up on his face and the scariest set of fangs I had ever seen.  Actually they were only the white plastic fangs that came with the costume that were way too big for his mouth, but for a girl at seven it was pretty scary.  Today the vampire has transpired into Dracula, King of Darkness waiting for nightfall to quench his bloodlust by preying on the living.  Ok, so it might not be that grim but you get my point.  The vampire costume has come a long way from the plastic cape and big white fangs of yesterday.

Today on Halloween night, it’s not only the “king” of darkness that walks upon the earth at nightfall, but the queen and lots of little vampires running around as well.  With just the right touch of Halloween makeup and a perfect fitting set of fangs these vampires are amazingly frightening (and not only to seven year olds)!

HalloweenExpress.com has the largest selection of vampire costumes anywhere!  From the traditional evil vampire to a more sexy take on the vampiress.  With our great costumes, anyone at any age can become the next Dracula!

With Halloween this Friday everyone is excited and running around picking up last minute costumes and candy, but in all our rushing around let’s not forget one of the most important priority’s for children – safety!  All children can think about is getting out there Friday night and grabbing up all that sugary candy in the time frame they get for trick-or-treating.  The heck with the little orange plastic pumpkins to carry their candy, now a days kids want a pillowcase to use because they can get a lot more candy in one of those! 

So when the kids (especially younger children) are getting ready to run out your door Friday night to head out into the neighborhood for some good old trick-or-treating it’s going to be up to us as adults to make sure our children are safe.  You can tell them time and time again to look both ways before crossing the street or don’t go into anybody’s house they don’t know, but all that goes in one ear and out the other Halloween night.  So again, you have to be their eyes, ears and voice of reason while you follow them around the neighborhood. 

Here are a few ways that we as parents can do to protect our children and keep them safe this Halloween:

• If you’re driving, you have to drive slowly and be aware of the children.  Watch for them to run out between cars or even the middle of the street.  When backing down your driveway be careful and look twice to make sure it’s clear.
• Have your child wear clothing with reflective markings or tape.  If your child’s costume doesn’t have any, have them wear a glow stick around their neck or pin it to their costume. 
• Check your child’s costume and make sure it’s not dragging the ground where they could trip and hurt themselves.  Halloween makeup is always a good substitution for a mask, however if they do wear one make sure they have nose and mouth openings and large enough eye holes so they can see clearly.
• Have them bring their candy home first before eating anything.  Go throught it with them and throw out anything “homemade”, wrappers that are opened, or anything else you’re not sure about.

Just remember your kids can have a great time trick-or-treating AND be safe at the same time.  And because safety is not your child’s priority Halloween night, it has to be yours!  Happy Haunting!

For Halloween most people are looking for a costume that will turn them into something or someone else.  If that’s the case then there is nothing else that can change how you look completely like a latex mask. 

I remember when I was young we always wore the plastic mask with the elastic band that went around your head.  Remember those?  I hated those things!  Even before we headed out to trick-or-treat in the neighborhood my mask would be filled with moisture just from me trying to breathe out that little tiny hole they cut out for the mouth.  My dad would always have to cut the hole bigger for the mouth and eyes just so I could see and breathe properly.  Three doors down from my house and I would already have the mask pulled up and sitting on top of my head instead of down on my face. 

Thankfully the mask design has come a long way since then!  Today, latex masks are so unbelievably real looking and are much more comfortable to wear.  What I like about a mask is that really with a lot of them that’s all you need as far as the whole costume goes.  For instance with a lot of the famous faces Halloween masks all you need is the mask and people will automatically know who you’re portraying without really giving a thought to the rest of your clothing.  If  you’re going with a person in politics whether it be a President, Governor, or any other political figure, just put on a suit and tie and you’re ready to go.  Unless of course your political figure is a female, then a dress suit would be fine (anyway you get the picture).   By the way, with the Presidential race in full swing now is a great time to become your favorite Republican or Democratic nominee by wearing one of our Barack Obama or John McCain Halloween masks. 

On Halloween if you see someone trick-or-treating with a hockey mask on you automatically know it’s Jason from Friday the 13th movies without even looking to see what clothes he’s wearing.   

So this year try one of our amazing life-like Halloween masks with your costume.  We have so many great masks to choose from at HalloweenExpress.com the hardest thing you’ll have to do is decide which one you want!