Well Valentine’s Day has come and gone and the stores are already getting their shelves ready for Easter.  Whether you decided to make it a romantic couple weekend or a family fun weekend, I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

Now onto Mardi Gras, February 24th!  Talk about a party atmosphere in New Orleans!  Wow that is one city I would love to visit during Mardi Gras.  I’ve been there before and have done the whole Bourbon Street thing, but would love to see the parades and parties and the craziness associated with Fat Tuesday! 

If you can’t make it to the biggest party in the world in New Orleans, then by all means bring the madness of Mardi Gras to you!  Throw a Mardi Gras theme party right in your own back yard.   Decorate in the Mardi Gras colors so well known throughout the country of purple, green and gold.  Balloons, tablecloths, beads, hats, masks and noisemakers all in these colors will make your partygoers feel as if they’re in the French Quarter.  Don’t forget the music!  It can’t be a Mardi Gras party without the music!  It’s not one type of music but various sounds played together that make it unique to Carnival in New Orleans.  Rhythm and blues, jazz and brass/funk get people up and dancing.  Whip up some great Cajun cuisines like Jambalaya, Gumbo or Crawfish Boil.      

However, the ultimate Mardi Gras party, rest assured, is in the costumes!  The King’s Jesters can be found running around everywhere.  Masks and costumes made of sequins, metallic and lots and lots of feathers.  Around the necks of your partygoers will be feathered boas and multicolored beads.  Dressing up in the Mardi Gras theme is so much fun!  

HalloweenExpress.com has everything you’ll need for all your Mardi Gras party needs!  From Mardi Gras masks and jester hats to feathered boas and Mardi Gras beads. 

We’ve had a pretty mild winter so far here in Kentucky, so when the weather man said to plan for snow today, I didn’t think much about it.  Imagine my surprise when I woke up to eight inches of snow covering the ground!  I know that’s probably nothing for some people that live up north, but that’s a lot here in my neck of the woods.  Unfortunately it’s not over either.  The freezing rain is starting up and by tomorrow morning we’re to have another 2-4 inches of snow on top of all that lovely ice!  Like most people I can handle the snow it’s the freezing rain on the roads that I hate!  When is Spring supposed to be here??

Unlike adults, children love the snow – the more the better!  More snow means no school and that in itself is a min vacation for them.  My teen-aged nephew, Taylor (being the little entrepreneur he is) probably loves snow more than anyone I know.  Last week he put this big snow plow on the front of his quad-runner with the anticipation of our first big snowfall.  They live right down the street so first thing this morning he drives down, picks up my son Caden and off they went to plow driveways.  Caden is the front walk snow shoveler.  While Taylor is plowing the driveways, he shovels the walk ways.  Then at the end of the day, they split the money they make so it’s a win win for everybody.  As Taylor always says, “Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow…”, but me I’m more the “Snow, snow go away…and don’t ever come back”!  I should probably move to Florida!

However, a great way to warm up your significant other this winter is by wearing a nice little number from HalloweenExpress.com this February 14th.  You’ll have no trouble finding love in a Valentine’s Day Cupid costume! 

And don’t forget Mardi Gras is February 24th followed by Read Across America with Dr. Seuss on March 2nd and last but certainly not least the biggest Irish party of the year, St Patrick’s Day on March 17th! 

Well, it’s finally here – New Years Eve, the last day of 2008!  All the holidays for this year have come and gone and I’ve had so much fun giving my expert opinion, well maybe not so much “expert” but more along the lines of “from one mom, wife, aunt, daughter to another”.  I hope you enjoyed reading my blogs as much as I enjoyed writing them. 

Now, we’re on to bigger and better things for 2009!  HalloweenExpress.com will have more great costumes, assessories, makeup, decorations, props, etc… – I think you get the picture!  And with that in mind, don’t forget to check out all our great Valentine’s Day costumes,  President’s Day costumes and Mardi Gras costumes.  It’s never too early to find that one perfect costume for any holiday!  See you next year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

A couple weeks ago I wrote about throwing an awesome graduation party for your son or daughter with the Hawaiian Luau theme.  Since a lot of high school and college graduations are right around the corner I thought I’d throw out a few more ideas for some great themed parties that everyone will enjoy!

Mardi Gras – you can’t go wrong with this party theme and as they say, Mardi Gras in New Orleans is known as “the biggest party in the world”.  Decorations, music and costumes are all part of this theme.   You’ll have fun decorating with all the festive colors of Mardi Gras in royal purple, emerald green and shiny gold.  Instead of with the Hawaiian Luau theme of putting a lei around the neck of your guests as they arrive, with Mardi Gras you would greet your guests with a string of beads or even a really cool feather mask. 

Mexican Fiesta – the word fiesta means “a festive celebration” and that’s exactly what a graduation party should be.  You can greet your guest senoritas and senoras with colorful sombreros.  The colors of the Mexican flag of red, white and green are ideal when decorating for the party.  Christmas lights around your deck gives the party a festive ambiance.  Pick up some Mexican ponchos, maracas and of course a Mexican fiesta would not be complete with a pinata!   

You’ll find everything you need here at Halloween Express.  We have all your Mardi Gras and Mexican Fiesta party costumes, decorations and accessories that you’ll need to throw the graduation party of the year!  

Today is the day for celebration!  Fat Tuesday is the last day of Mardi Gras with tomorrow being Ash Wednesday. I’m sure there will be plenty of celebrating going on in New Orleans tonight.  And of course, for those who follow politics, today is Super Tuesday.  The closest thing to a national primary this country has ever had.  Twenty-four states hold primary elections today.  Gosh, I can’t wait until the election is over in November.  I don’t know about you but I’m tired of all the commercials … and we’re not even to the general election yet!  Yikes.

Speaking of Presidents, check out the President Day costumes and masks online. President’s Day is February 18th.

Wow I can’t believe all the holidays that are coming up in the next two months!  

• Valentine’s Day – February 14
• President’s Day – February 18
• St Patrick’s Day – March 17
• Easter – March 23

Along with those dates we have Groundhog Day on February 2, Mardis Gras on February 5, Ash Wednesday on February 6,  Palm Sunday on March 16, Good Friday on March 21 and one of my favorite dates – March 20, first official day of Spring!  To me that date can’t come fast enough!  It’s been a really cold winter this year and I’m so ready for some Spring weather. 

If you’re reading my blog you’re obviously on the Halloween Express website.  Take a minute to check it out – there’s something for everyone!  We have costumes and accessories for every holiday that’s coming up as well as school plays, dance recitals, theme party’s or if you just get the urge to put on a costume and have fun every once in a while.  We’ve got what you’re looking for! 

Tuesday, February 5th is Mardis Gras, which is French for Fat Tuesday.  It is the final day of Carnival which begins 12 days after Christmas on January 6th.  Mardis Gras always falls exactly 47 days before Easter.  Traditionally, it is the last day for Catholics to indulge—and often overindulge—before Ash Wednesday starts the weeks of fasting that come with Lent. The whole point of Fat Tuesday is to gorge yourself on all the food, drink and revelry you’re about to give up for awhile.  In the United States, Mardi Gras draws millions of fun-seekers to New Orleans every year. Mardi Gras has been celebrated in New Orleans on a grand scale, with masked balls and colorful parades, since French settlers arrived in the early 1700s. Hidden behind masks people behaved so badly that for decades in the early 19th century masks were deemed illegal in that party-loving city. 

As we all know, the millions of colorful beaded necklaces thrown from floats are the most visible symbols and souvenirs of Mardi Gras.  People do outrageous things to catch the most throws. Some dress as priests hoping the many Catholics on the floats will shower them with goodies. Others dress their children in eye-catching costumes and seat them, holding baskets to catch the loot, on ladders that tower over the crowds. 

Here are some fun facts about Mardis Gras:

• Throws – Inexpensive trinkets including beaded necklaces and coins tossed from floats during the parades.
• Carnival Balls – Formal parties given by a krewe (private club) for its members and their guests.
• Parading with ladders – The ladder rule of thumb is, you place the ladder at least as many feet back from the curb as it is tall.

Other cities most famous for their Mardi Gras celebrations include Louisiana, Venice, Italy and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.