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.

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!

• 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!     

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!!

I know the kids love Presidents’ Day because they are off school and what better way to get a kid to enjoy a holiday than to tell them they get the day off school.  It’s an automatic win-win situation for everybody!  Some schools (such as the New York City school district) used to close for a single day for both Lincoln’s and Washington’s birthday, but now often close for the entire week beginning with the Monday holiday as a “mid-winter recess”.  My children just have today off, but I’ll tell you what – if they could get the whole week off, Presidents’ Day would run a close second to Christmas!  

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