With the President’s Day long weekend right around the corner, as well as the GOP primary elections heating up, in honor of all things presidential we’ve compiled some bizarre as well as interesting factoids about our elected presidential leaders, both past and present.  They say that truth is stranger than fiction–we think you will absolutely agree!

John Adams-It is said that John Adams and his family wandered aimlessly for hours before finally figuring out how to find their way to their new home, The White House.  (Perhaps a map was in order?)

Thomas Jefferson-When old Tom wrote his own epitaph he failed to even mention his time as president.  (Apparently it wasn’t a big enough deal…)

William Howard Taft-Weighing in at well over 300 big ones, President Taft holds the distinction of being the heaviest man to ever be the United States president.  Sadly, Taft once got stuck in the White House bathtub.  To avoid a repeat of this embarrassing gaffe, a new (and 4 times larger) bathtub was installed.  (It’s likely too, that this was prior to the Presidential physical fitness program!)

William Henry Harrison-This president, considered by many to be one of the most long winded when it came to giving speeches, gave one of the longest inaugural addresses in history, in spite of the fact that he was standing outside in very inclement weather without a coat or hat.  He died of pneumonia about a month later.  (Didn’t your mother warn you about not taking your coat?)

James Buchanan-When the Prince of Wales visited the White House with a ginormous entourage of people; President Buchanan was actually forced to sleep out in the hallway! (No respect…whatsoever…)

Grover Cleveland-President Cleveland enjoyed answering incoming phone calls to the White House himself. (That’s one way to screen your own calls…)

Woodrow Wilson-Enjoyed raising sheep for their wool during his stint in the White House. (so baaaad)

Warren G. Harding-President Harding had the distinction of having the biggest Presidential feet–rumored to be a size 14.  (But at least he didn’t get stuck in the bathtub…)

Calvin Coolidge-President Coolidge absolutely refused to use the telephone during his Presidential term. (Can you say paranoid?)

Herbert Hoover-President Hoover was known to donate his entire salary made as President to charity. (awwwwwesome.)

Harry S. Truman-This musical president was known to rise long before dawn each day to practice the piano for about 2 hours. (Such inspiration to budding politically inclined musicians everywhere!)

Gerald Ford-Gerald Ford’s former jobs include being a fashion model and also working as a Yellowstone park ranger. (Strike a pose…with bears…)

Jimmy Carter-President Carter was considered an expert speed-reader and was purported to be able to read approximately 2000 words per minute. (War and Peace in 60 minutes flat…)

Barack Obama-President Obama was known as O’ Bomber during his high school basketball days.  Obama is also known for collecting Spiderman memorabilia as well as Conan the Barbarian comic books.  (Now there are some interesting allies…)

Want more?  Here are a few tidbits of trivia on the GOP candidates:

Mitt Romney-Was named Mitt after his father’s cousin named Milton Romney.

Newt Gingrich-Was named Time magazine’s Man of the Year in 1995.

Rick Santorum-Karen Santorum, Rick’s wife, wrote a book about etiquette for children.  (And mother’s everywhere are still grateful…)

Ron Paul-During his career as an OB/GYN he delivered more than 4,000 babies.  He enjoys gardening and growing his own crops when he is at home in Texas. 

Be sure to check out our collection of President’s Day costumes and accessories.

Ring in the new year dressed as your favorite Hollywood star, a character from your favortie movie or perhaps even a superhero. The possibilities are endless! Make a political statement and dress up as a president (past or present). There’s plenty of crazy politicians out there that you could dress up as. Take the humorous route and portray a famous sports figure that made headlines this year…Tiger Woods instantly comes to mind!

Be the life of the party and try out a sexy costume from Halloween Express! Make the guys notice and the girls jealous by making this a New Year’s Eve party to remember! And don’t forget the accessories…never underestimate the power of a mask and cape!

However, there is a little “catch” to the party!  All the boys that come have to wear a President’s mask or they can go all out and come dressed as their favorite President.   It can be any President they want, from George Washington to President Obama AND they have to know at least two important facts about that President.  At first I didn’t think Caden would go for the idea, but after he told his friends about it, they were all for it.  Although I’m pretty sure they’d do just about anything for a party!

Caden suggested we have games and prizes and lots of food.  We’re going to decorate the house with everything and anything red, white and blue with those small plastic American flags everywhere.  It should be a lot of fun and the kids will have a blast!

This year if your kids are off school on Presidents Day, think about throwing a Presidents Day Party for them.  They’ll be having so much fun they won’t even realize they’re actually learning about the different President’s as well!

I was filling out my calendar and checking out all the big and small holidays that are coming up in February; Valentine’s Day, Groundhog Day, Presidents’ Day and George Washington’s birthday.  Now those are some great holidays for costumes! 

Presidents’ Day costumes and masks are a big hit in February.   Ask your history teacher if you can put on a play displaying your school’s patriotic side.  HalloweenExpress.com has everything you need to make a really cool shout out to America’s history from the years of former President George Washington to present day President Barack Obama.  

Start checking out the website now for your holiday costume needs.  Believe me, you can never have enough costumes!

Barakula: Full Over the Head Latex Mask

I’ve never been one to get all that worked up about politics.  Perhaps I’m nieve or just not all that interested in the subject matter but it does surprise me at times how far some folks will go to stir things up.   For as long as there have been Halloween masks it seems there’s a certain segment of the public who just love to make a statement by dressing up as a political figure.  Personally I would have thought the demand for these political masks would have subsided after last year’s election but apparently not.  This season it seems there’s a new mask getting a lot of attention recently. It’s called ‘Barakula‘ and according to the manufacturer, it has a striking resemblance to a cross between President Barack Obama and a blood-sucking vampire.  Hmmmmm.  I wonder why the manufacturer chose this name?   The name notwithstanding, depending upon your political persuasion you may or may not find this mask amusing.    To each his own I suppose.  One thing  is for sure, if you’re looking for Halloween costume ideas this year and you can’t make up your mind … you’re sure to get plenty of looks with the Barakula mask.

• using a Bible when taking the oath of office
• reading an inaugural address
• attending an inaugural ball

Attending the 2009 Inauguration is a hot ticket by any means.  Hotels around the Washington D.C. area have been booked to capacity for months now.  A lot of people will be throwing parties and celebrating this historic event with their family and friends. 

If you’re thinking about having an “Inauguration 2009″ party, HalloweenExpress.com is the perfect place to get all your Presidential party needs!  With the help of some of their great presidential costumes and masks, you can actually have President-elect Barack Obama at your party along with Bill and Hillary Clinton.  How cool would it be to have President’s George Washington and Abraham Lincoln there as well, not only in spirit but with the help of an amazing mask from HalloweenExpress.com they can be there in person as well! 

This will be one Inauguration party that your friends will be talking about for years to come!     

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!

With the political race for the US President in full swing you can bet we’ll see a lot of people dressing up as Barack O’Bama and John McCain this Halloween season.  Whether you’re voting for your favorite Republican nominee or favorite Democratic nominee all you need is the full vinyl mask that you’ll find here at Halloween Express, add to that a suit and tie and you’re set!   It’s really a very simple costume that will make a big statement this year.  By October the Presidential race will be hotter than ever! 

If it’s Presidential masks you’re looking for, but would rather step back a year or two, or six or ten then don’t let that stop you.  Check out our Bill and Hillary Clinton masks or Richard Nixon and Ronald Regan.  For a more up-to-date look you could always go with the current President George Bush Jr mask.

 No matter which Presidential mask you choose just remember to have fun this Halloween season.  Just because you’re President for the night doesn’t mean you have to act like one!