Valentines day can be one of two very different things. It can be that loved up day where you focus on just how lucky you are to have someone in your life, using flowers and gifts to let them know you appreciate their making your life more special. You know the classic guy gives girl flowers and chocolates. Girl arranges flowers while guy eats her chocolates.

Or for the singles of us out there its yet another massive excuse to party. The absolute last thing you want is to be left at home thinking about not having to share the day with someone. So off we go with our friends to enjoy the kind of messing that only a single person can get away with.

Either way Valentines day is a great excuse to dress up. If your in a relationship why not treat your boyfriend to something fun and sexy for a special evening in together.

If your single well then you want to go out and get as much attention as possible. One person every single on valentines is looking out for is cupid! Be it to get them that relationship they’ve been after – or to avoid him like a claustrophobic avoids elevators. Either way get dressed up in a very cute cupid costume and with your trusty bow and arrow by your side, hit the town on a night out, fire arrows at your friends and random attractive strangers. Who knows maybe some of your hits will trigger a good conversation and maybe more.

2009 is gearing itself up to be our biggest year yet, we made a decision not to take part in the recession that’s going on elsewhere and have never been more excited about Halloween coming – with tonnes of new lines to be added.

Our US suppliers have already been holding their annual trade shows and our Friends at Extreme Halloween have shared this great little video of a Costume Fashion Show that took place in Vegas from one of our suppliers.

The months of January and February are when costume companies such as ours scan the globe and figure out what are the best new lines to bring over for our Irish customers – not just for Halloween but also for Valentines Day, St. Patrick’s day, Easter etc.

With a massive range of new lines already signed 2009 is going to be an amazing year of choice for costume party goers in Ireland and worldwide. Keep an eye on our the site for new exciting costume additions.

A right of passage for any girl settling down with Mr. Right is to have the best night to remember possible. Its your duty as a guest of a hen night to push the boat out a little further and get a little wilder than you would normally.

To get the right tone going essential hen night accessories are a must:

1. The Hen Parties Sashes

When you want to make a loud statement on your crawl from venue to venue that there is a hen night in progress there is no better way. And ofcourse there is a sash for everyone – Bride to Be, Bridesmaid, Mother of the Bride and ofcourse Queer as F**k sash – because that’s the only exception to making ok for a male to be in attendance.

2. Hen Night Dare Cards

Want to add a little excitement to the hen party? Then why not get some dare cards to have a little light humored entertainment. Start off with some relatively tame dares and as the night progresses you can make up your own more adventurous ones.

3. Willy Straws

Simply because you couldn’t get away with them for any other occasion!

When people think of Fancy Dress they tend to think first of renting a costume, after all its a one night affair and they don’t need one to keep.

The Surprising thing is its Far Cheaper To Buy a Costume Than to Rent One! Most people are shocked to attend parties and find out that the costume they rented was bought by someone else for up to half the price!

Here’s why Hiring a Costume is more expensive than buying a costume online:

1. Costume Rental Companies have much higher running costs

2. They tend to rent out costumes mainly during the busy Halloween Season so in some cases a costume will only be rented out once a year.

3. Customers tend to spend hours trying on costumes which can be expensive in staff costs

4. Dry Cleaning is expensive

5. Every costume returned has to be manually checked for damages each time its rented

6. If you damage the costume while its in your care you will loose your 60 – 90 Euro Deposit on top of your costs of renting the costume (even if the costume can be bought for less than 50 Euro).

In our price checking survey we have found that costumes that cost under 160 Euro tend to be 10 – 40% cheaper to buy on average than to rent. And of course you get to keep them and use them again, share them with friends, sell them on ebay or donate them to your local charity shop.

But the most compelling reason to buy costumes online instead of renting them is the time not wasted – No long trips to collect the costume and drop them back the morning after your party. No Worrying about whether you tear your costume and loose your deposit.

Lets face it, renting costumes is a total ripoff.