Well, here we are, the final week before Christmas. In all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it’s all too easy to get overwhelmed with the holiday shopping process.  Poor Santa, can you imagine the stress he must be under as he attempts to please kids all over the world in one night?  Some of us find Christmas shopping completely overwhelming–others really seem to embrace the whole shopping experience and seem to always get gift giving just right.  For those of you that seem to be struggling a little bit with finding those perfect gifts for the recipients on your shopping list, here are a few pointers to help you in your quest for that perfect gift. 

According to our shopping pros, here are a few gifts you should always avoid:

Household appliances: Let’s face the facts, if you need one, you are likely to buy it yourself, getting one as a gift just isn’t very fun.  Even if your recipient is the most practical person on the planet, avoid these–no matter how you wrap up an iron or a hand held vacuum, it’s just not very exciting to open on Christmas morning.  If you were to give one to your spouse, you may even find yourself getting the holiday cold-shoulder.

Pets: Unless you are 100% positive that your recipient is ready for the responsibility of a new animal in the family, the gift of a pet is best avoided, especially if it is a legitimate surprise.  Not everyone is ready to become the new parent of a pet on Christmas morning. This is a gift that although well intended, could easily backfire on you. If your family has been considering adopting a pet into the household, find a less chaotic and exhausting time to introduce a new pet into your home as having a new animal around has challenges of its own. 

Heavily advertised on TV:  Whether it is jewelry you’ve seen about 1,000 times in holiday ads, warm body wraps with sleeves, pottery that grows plant life that looks like hair, or light switches that go on with a clap of your hand, no one really ever gets very excited about the cliché, oversold gifts that are heavily advertised on television.  These gifts often end up in the return stack for the weekend after the holiday-don’t be a victim that gets caught up in an advertising gimmick.

Pre-made Gift Baskets:  Assume your recipient has already received a few of these type of gifts, as they are everywhere that shoppers go over the holidays.  These baskets are very tempting to buy as they are packaged very festively and are a shopper’s dream as they are all ready to go.  The problem with them is that what is inside is often small on content and big on packaging–and some of the items grouped together may not necessarily appeal to your recipient.  The best gift baskets are those you put together yourself–then you can select the best goodies and items to fill your basket with based on the likes and needs of your lucky recipient.

Pre-Paid Gift Cards:  Be extremely careful with these as they often have fees attached to them when you buy them, or can be difficult to use if you are loading them with a smaller dollar amount.  Many of these cards (if not used promptly) will charge a monthly maintenance fee after a certain number of months have gone by.  This will lead to a lot of disappointment when the card is actually used.  It’s better to stick with a gift card or gift certificate for a store you know your recipient will enjoy as these type of gifts rarely have an expiration date or fee attached to them.

Still out of ideas?  There is help! Here Are A Few Ideas …

Gift an Experience:  Sometimes the best gift isn’t something that can be put into a box.  Tickets to an upcoming event that you know will be enjoyed make a fantastic gift.  You can go out on a limb and gift something crazy like a hot air balloon ride or scuba diving lessons.  Sometimes the gift of relaxation is wonderful, too–a spa day or a relaxing massage makes a perfect escape after enduring all the chaos that leads up to the holidays.

Gift of Imagination:  Kids get bored with the most popular holiday toys very quickly.  Consider the gift of imaginative playtime–with a gift full of fun accessories and children’s costumes just for dress up and creative adventures.  This type of gift never seem to lose its luster with kids and will give your children hours of playtime fun.

Family or Couple Getaway:  After the holidays are over, a family getaway may be the perfect way to recharge your battery.  If you live someplace cold and wintery, it may be fun to go someplace warm in order to unthaw yourself and relax a bit.   If you are lucky enough to live in a warmer climate, it’s still fun to go visit a colder, wintrier place to get a true taste of winter fun and to play in the snow. 

Finding the perfect holiday gift doesn’t have to be stressful or hard, with a little extra thought you will find that perfect present that brings Christmas smiles to all those on your own Santa’s gift list!

Costumes are a great way for a child to dress up in character as many of his Christmas toy favorites--and can easily bring your child’s favorite toys to life--straight out of Santa’s sack.

There is absolutely no doubt about it–at Christmastime, kids want toys!  It’s traditional for Santa Claus to come bounding down the chimney with his infamous sack loaded to the brim with all the favorite toys that every kid wants.  This year, make sure that your Santa (dressed head to toe in one of our jolliest Santa Claus suits, of course!) is fully loaded with plenty of toys–and may we suggest a new twist on a few old favorites?  Costumes are a great way for a child to dress up in character as many of his Christmas toy favorites–and can easily bring your child’s favorite toys to life–straight out of Santa’s sack. 

Toy Soldiers:  Kids love playing army and pretend war games have been a favorite childhood imaginative play theme for many years.  Make sure that your child is fully outfitted in proper soldier apparel for a Christmas gift that will bring him hours of adventurous fun at playtime!

Dolls that coddle and coo:  If your little darling wants a baby or fashion doll from Santa, she’s likely to take great delight in dressing up as one, too!  We have many costumes that look exactly like your child’s favorite fashion dolls and all of the accessories she will find necessary and really fun to complete her best fashionista look. 

Sugar Plum Fairies: (and princesses, too!)  Your little girl may have many visions of Sugar Plums dancing in her head this holiday season, but one of her favorites is likely to be a lovely Princess or Fairy ensemble so she can dress from head to toe like the special royalty that she really is!  With a regal Princess or sweet Fairy costume your child’s holiday will have lots of extra Christmas magic!

Raggedy Ann & Andy:  This rag doll duo is a popular Christmas classic toy that your child will delight in recreating herself through a darling Christmas costume–don’t forget the red yarn-like wig!  Dressing as this sweet rag doll will bring hours of imaginative playtime fun to your child as she embarks on her very own Raggedy Ann adventures.

Western Cowboy with a Cap Gun:  Whether you choose the Disney favorite, Woody from Toy Story, or a more classically styled cowboy, dressing as a gun slinging cowboy from the Wild Wild West is great fun for any child ready to take his imagination on a truly wild ride.  Yee Haw!

Traditional Clown:  What could be more fun for a kid than taking an exciting and imaginative trip to the big top?  Running away to the circus can be as easy for your child as going straight to his costume box.  Make sure he has everything he needs to dress up as his favorite silly clown character, from the rainbow Afro wig to the squeaky horn. 

No matter what your child’s toy wish list has on it, Santa can easily bring a costume to thrill and delight him as he kindles his imagination with fun and excitement through dressing up like his favorite classic Christmas toys!

It doesn’t take anything overcomplicated to make your Christmas season extra special as well as very memorable. With a little extra planning, your holiday will be an exciting, happy as well as joyful time for your entire family.

Deck the Halls:  Gather the kids and make a family event out of decorating your Christmas tree as well as the rest of your home for the holiday season.  Even the youngest children will enjoy this annual ritual and will look forward to doing it every year.  Turn on some seasonal music, put some spiced cider on the stove to simmer while you are working and then quickly get into the Christmas spirit while you make your home ready for the holidays!  Getting out the ornaments each year and putting up the Christmas tree is always a special way for your entire family to reflect on Christmases past and make a few new memories in the process, too.

Making Spirits Bright:  Unfortunately, Christmas isn’t necessarily a joyful experience for everyone, and there are always many at this time of year who are in need.  Bringing Christmas joy to others is a wonderful way to lift your spirits as well as to help those who may need a helping hand.  Sub for Santa programs are in most every community and many localities have donation sites collecting items for Toys for Tots or other programs that give toys and necessary clothing items to needy children.  Costumes make a wonderful item to donate to these programs! Look into your heart and make sure that every child has something to smile about this Christmas!

Turn it on:  There really isn’t a better way to rapidly get into a Christmas mood than to turn on festive Christmas music.  Many radio stations switch their format during the holidays to play primarily holiday music.  Fill your CD player with your favorites and when you pile the kids into the car, make sure you have the music playing and make sure to sing along!  Don’t forget to assemble all your favorite Christmas movies as well and create some time to watch these films as a family.  It will become one of your favorite family rituals over the holidays to watch these old (and new) favorites.  Make the event extra special by having some of your favorite holiday treats handy to munch on while you are having your family movie night.

Winter Wonderland:  Baby, it IS cold outside, but that shouldn’t stop you from taking the kids out on a starlit winter walk to get out and enjoy your neighborhood’s holiday decorations as well as Christmas lights.  If you know of a special place nearby that has an extra amazing holiday light display, it will be worth your time to head out and walk by, taking in all the special effects and the unique magic of the decorations.  The chill of the night air and the flicker of the beautiful lights will put everyone into the Christmas spirit.  After your frosty walk through your neighborhood, have some steaming hot chocolate with peppermint stick skewers ready to sip so you can warm everyone right back up! 

Dress like you mean it:  The holidays bring with them many opportunities to dress up in various Christmas-themed costumes, so make sure you have all the holiday attire and accessories that you will need to make your Christmas truly sparkle.  Beautiful Nativity costumes will keep you from using that bath towel headdress again to become a shepherd in Bethlehem.   Dressing as holiday characters is easy with the right costume.  You can even become the jolly old boy himself with one of our very special Santa Suits.  This festive get up will surely delight all the children in your household and wearing one will fast become a tradition that your entire family will look forward to every year!

It doesn’t take anything overcomplicated to make your Christmas season extra special as well as very memorable.  With a little extra planning, your holiday will be an exciting, happy as well as joyful time for your entire family.

This year’s hottest toys can be made even more exciting to your child when he or she has a fun costume that looks just like his favorite new and treasured toy! Imagine the hours of playtime fun your child will have as he takes his imagination and fun to a whole new and exciting level through both playing with and dressing up as his favorite Christmas toys!

Toys of course!  Undoubtedly this is true, but why not add a super fun twist to your Christmas gift giving this year by adding a new and imaginative dimension to your child’s playtime adventures.  This year’s hottest toys can be made even more exciting to your child when he or she has a fun costume that looks just like his favorite new and treasured toy!  Imagine the hours of playtime fun your child will have as he takes his imagination and fun to a whole new and exciting level through both playing with and dressing up as his favorite Christmas toys!  Here are some of our favorites that you may want to consider putting into your very own “Santa’s bag”! 

Elmo:  Elmo’s latest rock and roll version of himself is flying off the toy shelves this year and if your child is hot for this toy, he’s undoubtedly going to get super excited about recreating his very own ‘Elmo’ look for himself.  Make sure your little one has everything he needs to become his own imaginative version of Elmo as he rocks and jams through hours of playtime fun. 

Transformers:  The Transformers movie, The Dark of the Moon brought many exciting characters into the limelight that are sure to be on your child’s Christmas wish list.  Transformer’s toys and action figures are always a holiday favorite and adding an exciting Transformer costume to amp up the excitement factor is going to transform your child’s holiday into a full blown adventure.  Detailed costumes of your child’s favorite Transformer’s characters such as Optimus Prime and Bumblebee are sure to be an amazing hit with your youngsters!

These monstrous fashion dolls are a hugely popular holiday toy that are going to be exactly what many young girls want to find underneath their Christmas tree.

Monster High:  These monstrous fashion dolls are a hugely popular holiday toy that are going to be exactly what many young girls want to find underneath their Christmas tree.  Our Monster High costumes are so much like the original fashion dolls that your little girl will have hours of fun recreating her own vision of these characters through the perfect costume that looks just like her Monster High doll!  Choose from Frankie Stein, Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona Blue or Cleo de Nile for the perfect costume to go with one of the most exciting and novel fashion dolls around.

Barbie:  Barbie dolls are always a Christmas list favorite amongst little girls and this year is no exception.  Barbie’s latest Princess Charm School doll may likely have already been whispered into Santa’s ear as what your little sweetheart is dreaming of this year.  Make sure you have a Barbie princess costume for your child to dress up in while she takes her Princess Barbie into her imaginary playtime adventure!

Angry Birds:  The Angry Bird phenomenon continues to roll through America.  This year’s toy shelves are stocked with Angry Bird games, plush toys as well as novelties.  Your child is going to be very excited about having a few exciting Angry Bird experiences of his very own, made even more enjoyable by owning one of these quirky yet adorable Angry Bird get ups and really getting into the action himself!

Make sure your Santa’s sack is filled to the brim with exciting and imaginative costumes that will add a new level of fun to all your child’s favorite Christmas toys!

It seems like just yesterday that we were all dressing up in our Halloween costumes and venturing out for trick or treating adventures as well as for costume parties–now already, it’s time to start making our Christmas lists and start checking things off of them too!  No matter how well you make your holiday plans, the planning and shopping days seem to literally evaporate right before your eyes.  When you have a good idea and a game plan, it’s time to act on it while it’s fresh in your mind and before all the good stuff is gone.  Shopping and gift buying is all part of the holiday season, whether you enjoy it or not.  The more things you get done early, the more relaxed you can be to enjoy all the festivities that will be in full force a month from now.  Don’t we all say that ‘next year’ we are going to shop earlier?  Let this holiday season be your year to get some things done right now!

Post Halloween is a fantastic time to buy costumes for your kids dress up collection.  We know, as you probably do as well, that kids don’t need a holiday to put on a costume and instantly become a legendary character in their own minds.  Costumes are a fantastic Christmas gift idea for kids and will give them hours (yes…you heard that right….hours!) of imaginative playtime fun.  With many fantastic characters available, from your kids favorite TV shows, movies or cartoons you can be sure to find that perfect costume to get your child enthused and ready to dress up.  We also have some great occupational outfits from the ‘adult’ world that are exciting as well as stimulating for young minds.  Dressing as a fireman, police officer, army man, astronaut, race car driver, doctor or even a cheerleader can be extremely fun for a kid and give them a chance to pretend to be something more grown up.  Of course you wouldn’t want to forget some of the traditional dress up characters like stunning Disney Princesses, adventurous Superheroes as well as mysterious Ninja’s.  There are so many character possibilities that you may want to buy several costumes–your children will be delighted!

Don’t forget to enhance your child’s dress up experience with some fabulous costume accessories, too.   What is a Princess without her slippers and tiara or a Knight without his sword?  Make sure your child’s costume box has everything he needs to make his imagination truly come alive through experiencing a new character he finds within himself and expresses with the help of an appropriate outfit.   A costume is the perfect Christmas gift that your child will absolutely love to find underneath the Christmas tree this year.  With a costume, a child can be anything his imagination dictates–what better gift could there be this holiday season?  And the best part of all–no batteries are required! 

While you are making all these plans, you may also want to consider who is going to deliver the goods to your kids.  With a very special Santa suit, Santa himself can come to life right in your own living room!  With a special visit from a ‘real’ Santa, your Christmas can truly be a memorable and magical experience for all! 

Plan now to make your upcoming holidays as special as possible and make sure you have the photos to keep those memories alive. Using costumes as well as holiday themed accessories will add character as well as originality to your celebrations and will make this year’s family gathering the one everyone really talks about for years to come.

It almost seems like it happened overnight, but it only takes one brisk fall morning to remind you that we are knee deep into autumn.  The days are getting shorter and shorter and although (last time I checked) there are still 24 hours in a day, it’s a little bit difficult to stay motivated when you have less daylight to work with and cram everything in that needs to be done.  Make the most of your time by planning ahead for your holiday season.  Crossing some things off your Santa to-do list can only make your life in the ensuing weeks that much easier. 

One of the most treasured things we do during the holidays is take family pictures and portraits.  It’s fun to reflect back on family gatherings and holidays from days gone by and these events are recorded for posterity through our family photograph collections.  Inevitably with Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner, you will be taking plenty of family photos and will be recording your very own personal history for future generations to come.  We have a few ideas to give your family pictures some extra panache and festive holiday style this year that you won’t want to miss out on!

With all the relatives gathering for a Thanksgiving meal and obviously many pictures being snapped in the process, why not dress up the family in some appropriate holiday attire?  We have many costumes that are perfect for any Thanksgiving celebration.  Pilgrim costumes as well as Native American costumes will accentuate your holiday and put your entire family in a festive mood.  And as for the pictures that will follow–well, with authentic looking Thanksgiving apparel on some or all of your family members–this years Thanksgiving is likely to go down in your family history as one to be remembered.  You may even start some new traditions of your own!

While we are on the subject, be sure to start thinking about those Christmas pictures you are going to want as well.  Perhaps you want to take an extra special picture for your Christmas card or just want to capture your children’s excitement on film when they get a visit from Santa Claus.  You can easily recreate all of these special holiday moments if you wear one of our amazing Santa Claus suits.  Even if you don’t have children around, what a great Christmas card picture it would make to have your sweetie dressed in full Santa attire and you dressed up as one of his very sweet and sexy helpers, or even as Mrs. Claus herself. 

Plan now to make your upcoming holidays as special as possible and make sure you have the photos to keep those memories alive.  Using costumes as well as holiday themed accessories will add character as well as originality to your celebrations and will make this year’s family gathering the one everyone really talks about for years to come.  Start planning your holiday photo album now!

It’s highly possible that your child is learning about the Pilgrims, The Mayflower, Native Americans and the early Colonists in school during the autumn months. If you are looking for an authentically styled costume for your child to dress up in for a school or community Thanksgiving-themed event, we have many appropriate styles to choose from.

Now that Halloween is over and you are packing away your Halloween decorations and costumes until it’s time to bring them out again for next year–you may want to give some items a second glance.  Kids costumes are certainly not just for Halloween use anymore.  If you noticed how much fun your child had getting all dressed up in his or her Halloween outfit, then you already know how exciting it was for your child to role play a new and exciting character on Halloween night.  Dressing up is fun for children on any day, and costumes are great for imaginative playtime to make their daily creative adventures more realistic as well as exciting.  Costumes also make fabulous Christmas presents and you will want to be sure your kids find their favorites under the Christmas tree on Christmas morning.  Now is a great time to find some fabulous deals on many of our costumes, too.  Your child is going to love dressing up as his favorite characters all year round.

With fall in full-throttle now, your thoughts are probably also quickly turning to the upcoming holiday season.  A favorite holiday amongst many, but one that often gets a bit lost or even overlooked during the Christmas shuffle is that of Thanksgiving.  It’s highly possible that your child is learning about the Pilgrims, The Mayflower, Native Americans and the early Colonists in school during the autumn months.  If you are looking for an authentically styled costume for your child to dress up in for a school or community Thanksgiving-themed event, we have many appropriate styles to choose from.  History can come alive and will also be more meaningful to any child with a proper costume to role-play any historic and time-honored Thanksgiving character, from Squanto all the way to Myles Standish.  We even have an adorable rendition of a Thanksgiving turkey!  Don’t miss the opportunity to dress up and get into the spirit of gratitude and appreciation by celebrating this traditional holiday in bona fide style.

Even though it’s time to say goodbye to Halloween this year, you can hold onto the memories you’ve made by leaving those costumes out for your kids to dress up in and play with for a little while longer.  Learning about historic figures at school and watching interesting characters on TV and in the movies is one thing, dressing up as and ‘becoming’ them during playtime is quite another.  Let your child’s imagination soar while taking advantage of fall’s many golden opportunities that teach kids things about life, the world, as well as historic events–all while having some pretty serious fun through the creative use of costumes!

Only 54 Shopping Days Till Christmas

You know what’s funny about Halloween?  Well, lots of things actually and we’ve been spelling them out for you for weeks here– but what is also quite phenomenal is that crazy thing that happens as soon as Halloween ends.  (Yes, folks, sadly Halloween is over <sniff, sniff> and won’t be back for another year.)  Interestingly enough, however, the morning after Halloween you wake up, and suddenly you’ve found yourself smack in the month of…November.  Oh my goodness!  That means in the space of one night we’re now, according to protocol, right on the threshold of the holiday season!  How in the world did that happen?

Not to alarm anyone here, but the countdown now has officially begun.  There are only 54 shopping days until Christmas.  No need to panic because if you are reading this you are already one step ahead of everyone and can start your holiday planning now.  A great Halloween is now in the tank and what lies ahead is a magical season filled with friends, family and wonder.  There is plenty to look forward to, and certainly we hope that you are as excited as we are to make this the best holiday season ever.

Let’s also not forget that one of the best gifts you could ever give to a child is one that fosters his imagination and allows him to use his inner creativity.  Dress up and creative playtime is a fantastic way to allow your child to experience his favorite characters for himself.  Costumes are certainly not just for Halloween, and kids love to wear costumes on any day just to explore the world of different characters or to pretend to be a more adult role.  We have everything your child could envision for his or her dress up adventures such as army costumes, fairy princesses, superheroes, Disney characters, and hundreds of other possibilities.  Costumes are a wonderful gift for your child that will offer up many hours of imaginative playtime fun!

And while we’re on the subject…don’t forget that someone needs to deliver the goods to all the good little boys and girls out there.  We have a huge assortment of Santa suits and Santa’s helper costumes that are going to add some extra Christmas magic to your holidays.  Try to imagine the sheer delight that your kids would have if Santa were to come and pay them an actual visit!  Think about making a Christmas memory that your child will have for a lifetime if a real Santa were to actually arrive at your home or party.  With one of our beautiful Santa suits you can make it happen easily, before you can lay a finger on the side of your nose and say…”Merry Christmas to all!  And to all a good night!” 

PS: Be sure to check out The History of Santa Claus!

Learn About Our Nation’s History:  A great way to engage your children in both learning about the history of the Fourth of July as well as to have some fun is to play a game of Fourth of July trivia.  Assemble an assortment of fun facts, history and trivia about Independence Day and quiz the kids or play a game that is focused around the information you have gathered.  Your kids will love learning the facts about the holiday and will get excited about why we celebrate the Fourth of July.

Dress Patriotically:  Whether you are attending a family or community Fourth of July event, you are bound to get into the spirit of the day all the more with an appropriate patriotic costume.  Colonial costumes are a fun choice or you can dress up as the traditional Uncle Sam.  Other unique costume choices for your Independence Day celebration are the Statue of Liberty, or any assortment of political figures, perhaps even George Washington.  Of course a very easy way to get into the spirit of the day is to just dress up in the colors red, white and blue from head to toe—use your imagination and be creative.  Don’t forget to wear your stars and stripes!

Create Neighborhood traditions:  Create a neighborhood tradition for your Fourth of July that everyone on your block is going to look forward to.  Have a neighborhood potluck or BBQ with all of the trimmings.  This is a great time to have a watermelon-eating contest or a chili cook off to get your neighborhood chefs motivated.   Have the kids decorate their bicycles in red, white and blue colors and have a bike parade.  Buy some inexpensive and small American Flags at a novelty store and attach them to everyone on your street’s mailbox.  This Fourth of July event is bound to become an event that your entire neighborhood looks forward to.

Uncle Sam Photo:  This is a fun tradition that the entire family can participate in.  Have everyone in the family make an Uncle Sam hat and take a traditional family portrait-Fourth of July style.  You can get very crafty with this if you like by adding spinners, glitter, etc. to the hats.  Start an album with your Fourth of July photographs including the pictures that you take during other fun activities that you do that day.  This family album will begin a fun tradition that you can keep adding to on a yearly basis.  Over time the photo album will become something your entire family will certainly cherish.

Take a Patriotic Vacation:  There are some very fun as well as traditional locations that you and your entire family can visit over the Fourth of July.  If you want to make the most of your family vacation and celebrate the holiday weekend in a patriotic fashion consider visiting one of our nations more historic locales.  New York City, Washington D.C., Philadelphia as well as Colonial Williamsburg, VA are some cities to consider visiting.  Immersing yourself in the local 4th of July festivities of one of these heritage rich cities is bound to be memorable for all your family members. 

The Big Finale:  No Fourth of July celebration would be complete without watching a fireworks display after dark.  Scout out your community’s local fireworks event or perhaps try a different venue out of town for a change.  Many beach communities have amazing fireworks displays that you can watch down on the pier.  Plan your holiday barbecue to coincide with your evening’s activities and get that perfect spot to watch the fireworks from after the sun goes down.  If you don’t live near the beach, many cities set off fireworks at local venues or community parks. 

No matter what you choose to do for your Fourth of July celebration, it’s a perfect opportunity to bond with your friends and family as well as to create memories that you will have for a lifetime.  Let your inner patriot fly free and make this Fourth of July be your best one yet! 

However, between now and Easter we do have a little holiday called St Patrick’s Day, you might have heard of it?  I love St Patrick’s Day!  Between the parades, the parties and the celebrations it’s one heck of a fun holiday!  Bring on the Leprechauns, shamrocks and green beer!  St Patrick’s Day is next Thursday, March 17th and whether your Irish or not, head on out and celebrate!  Your corner pubs will probably be serving Irish food, playing Irish music and of course serving green beer!

Don’t forget to dress the part this St Patrick’s Day!   HalloweenExpress.com has everything you need from your luck of the Irish hats to deluxe Leprechaun costumes.  Surprise your friends and show up decked out as a little piece of Irish folklore!