Costume parties aren't just for Halloween. Asking guests to dress up makes a party special at any time of the year. Whether you choose a sophisticated theme that puts guests in fancy dress or a Hee Haw style hoe down, a costume party is just more fun than a party where everyone wears their regular clothing.

Theme Parties

The possibilities for a dress-up theme party are limited only by your imagination. Make a theme broad enough so that guests who love to go over the top can have enough latitude to go all out with the idea, but guests who are conservative and shy about dressing up will be able to find a staid costume alternative.

Hollywood: A Hollywood theme is perfect for an Oscar night party or a party where the entertainment is watching a new release on DVD. Punk: Some guests will go Mohawk and some will go faux-hawk; others can merely wear black with a studded bracelet or dog collar.

Support the Troops: This theme lets guests wear camouflage, army gear, or sailor outfits. All your guests will be comfortably dressed, and you'll see a great variety of uniforms from various eras.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Pirate parties are all the rage. Male guests will relish the chance to put a patch over one eye, and females will appreciate the opportunity to pull the neckline of a peasant blouse down around their shoulders.

Wild Wild West: Cowboys and saloon girls will mingle with Indians, prospectors and ranchers. Sports – Anything goes with a sports theme. It's fun to find uniforms for football, baseball, and basketball players, and the cheerleading costumes provide something cute for men or women to wear. Shy guests can wear anything they want and say they are masquerading as a fan.

Masked ball: A formal dress masquerade is a throwback to another era, and every guest will treasure the invitation. Elaborate masks of sequins and feathers coordinate with evening wear and formal wear. This is a very special costume party, and it takes a certain host or hostess to pull it off.

Fab Fifties: Sometimes referred to as an "Elvis" theme party, costumes at this party will hail from the 1950s, using the feature film Grease as a model for costume ideas.

Whatever theme you choose, take your costume party all the way by planning decorations, food, drinks, entertainment, and music to complement the idea behind your successful costume party.

Cleopatra was a very popular Egyptian Queen that lived 69 BC – 30BC. She was also a very popular lover because she had affairs with both Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony. Her reign marked the end of the Hellenistic era and she was the last Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Because of her beauty and her popularity as an Egyptian queen, she is a very popular costume for many women. Some couples will dress up like Cleopatra and Mark Anthony or Julius Caesar.

How Can I Create a Perfect Cleopatra Costume?

If you are thinking about creating a Cleopatra costume for your next costume get together, it is important to remember that Cleopatra had several different looks. She always wore very elegant and extravagant clothing that was draped on gold and other fine jewelry. Therefore, do some research on the internet. Look at different pictures of her and then decide which Cleopatra costume you would like to create.

When creating a Cleopatra costume, begin with the basics. She had straight shoulder length black hair. So, look for a wig of this type. Next, consider your make up. Cleopatra is usually seen in pictures wearing thick dark eyeliner that is applied so it appears as if she has cat eyes. She also can have a small diamond stone or other jewel glued to the corner of her eye. In addition to the eyeliner, she also wore heavy blush and lipstick. She usually made her face up with a lot of make-up.

Next create the Cleopatra costume that you would like to wear. She almost always wore a gold head piece on her head. Sometimes it has a headband in the form for a snake, other times it was like gold colored netting. Her head pieces were always decorated in beautiful jewels. Next, almost all of her clothes included some form of neck band or collar. These neck bands were very large and usually covered from neck to shoulders and were decorated in beautiful jewels.

Her dresses were usually long dresses that went to her feet. A plain, long, white dress will work perfectly because Cleopatra loved white dresses. The dresses were not usually decorated in jewels like her head and neck pieces. They were simple white dresses. She also wore a lot of bracelets on her wrists and ankles. Cleopatra had a lot of fine jewelry and loved to wear it all the time. So, you will want to include some rhinestone costume jewelry with your Cleopatra costume.

Finally, you should get a pair of sandals for shoes. Any sandals will work because you can decorate them with rhinestone costume jewelry also. If you do not want to wear sandals, then you can go bare footed. It was poplar during Cleopatra's time to walk around with your sandals off.

Now, you can create your own Cleopatra costume. Be creative, because she was a beautiful woman you can create a beautiful costume.

Who would not want to be seen walking around town wearing a chicken costume? Especially if they are not advertising the opening of a new restaurant, featuring fried chicken or some other poultry cuisine. Not everyone is going to feel comfortable dressing up like something out of the barnyard but, believe it or not, there is a big demand at costume shops for the chicken costume. Not everyone will look good as a chicken, but with the demand for unusual business presentations, dressing and acting like one can be a pretty good gig.

There are many different types of chicken costumes available, from those that make the wearer look like a baby chick to those that resemble the tall yellow bird in the children's cartoon. Depending on where you look and how much you have in your budget, the chicken costume can be anywhere from almost realistic, except for the size, to looking really dorky. In those cases, it probably depends on your sense of humor as well.

Perhaps the demand for a chicken costume only seems to be high based on the number of costumes available at any one source. If they only have one or two on hand, and they are rented at the same time, it may artificially inflate the demand if only one other person calls and asks for one. This is not a good reason for the store owner to add to the number of these costumes they have available.

Bad Costume May Cause You To Lay An Egg

As the saying goes, wearing a bad looking chicken costume may result in you laying an egg at the party. Of course, if you are not going to a costume party, that may be the result anyway, but those that dress up in a chicken costume for marketing appearances for a food processor may actually find it can be a lucrative experience.

The more a person can walk, talk and act like a chicken while in costume, the more they can charge for acting the fool while wearing a chicken costume, especially if in the view of the general public. However, there are some realistic costumes available that can really help publicize any event that planned around the chicken theme.

Not everyone is going to look good in a chicken costume and one of the best bits of advice is once the chicken costume is on, the person wearing it should refrain from looking in a mirror. They may just see how they look and refuse to leave the room in which they donned the feathered outfit.

Some women (and even men) will chose to dress up like a blushing, beautiful bride for Halloween. Dressing up like a bride can be almost as much fun as actually getting married. You can choose a beautiful, long white dress and matching shoes. However, it is equally important that you also choose the right bridal costume jewelry as well.

Choosing Bridal Costume Jewelry

Think about getting married. How would you want your wedding dress to look? What accessories would you choose to wear on your big day? It is very important that you are able to choose the right bridal costume jewelry so that your beautiful bridal costume will look authentic and unique.

Begin by choosing something to wear around your neck. Most brides will wear peals because they are very pretty and feminine. A set of fake pearls would be ideal for a bridal costume. One can also pick a necklace or if you are into creating funny bridal costume jewelry, you may even put a fake dog leash or a ball and chain around your neck.

Your bridal costume jewelry should also include the famous wedding ring. You can choose to be serious with the ring or go out of your way to create a fun ring that will stand out and get you noticed. You can create a very large diamond ring or simply wear a ring pop. No matter if you are serious or fun with the wedding ring, you will want it to stand out above everything else.

Other items your bridal costume jewelry could include are body piercings of various sorts, bracelets and hair pieces. No matter what type of bridal costume jewelry you choose for your bridal costume, you will want to make sure that it gets you noticed and is something that you will have a lot of fun wearing at the party.

Where can I Buy Bridal Costume Jewelry?

Many people buy bridal costume jewelry at a second hand store or at a local costume shop. There are also some retail stores that may sell some bridal costume jewelry. If you can not locate it in stores, then you can ask a friend or even your grandmother if they have some old jewelry that you can borrow. Above all, you can also make your own jewelry as well.

No matter what type of blushing bride you dress up as, you will need to accessorize your costume with the proper bridal costume jewelry. Otherwise, your costume may end up being a big bore at the costume party. Make sure you use many cool adornments when you dress up like a bride.

The present is the age of space. With space shuttles being launched daily into outer space, all of those old science-fiction television shows and books are quickly coming to life. Still, outer space remains the final frontier—an infinite place of unimaginable objects. Maybe there are aliens, maybe there are other complete galaxies with other planet Earths. Space remains the focal point of imagination and invention. The competition to explore the universe, and to bring the mysteries home, has never been more intense.

For children, outer space is just as exciting, and many children want nothing more than an astronaut costume at Halloween. Halloween, for children, is a time of fantasy—it is a holiday of princesses and heroes. While young girls want nothing more than to dress as Cinderella and other fairy tale princesses, boys want to be heroes. Firemen and police, cowboys and superheroes and, especially, astronauts. The astronaut costume is a hit with almost every child, and even some adults—it stands for infinity, eternity and beyond.

Wishing on a Star

An astronaut costume is a common costume sold in almost every store. Costume stores always have it in stock, and rental places as well. Department stores and other businesses that only stock up on costumes around Halloween also stock a few astronaut suits. The costume itself is relatively simply. An astronaut costume consists of a suit and helmet. However, a lot of fun things can be done to the suit to make it unique, including different materials, patterns, colors and accessories. Also, the shoes can be a fun part of the costume as well. While many cheaper costumes are worn with sneakers, a true astronaut costume will include an intense set of moon boots—the better to hop around the moon with.

For adults, an astronaut costume can be just as fun. While it will often consist of the same pieces as the child's version, it is the perfect accessory for any costume party. Depending on the helmet used, the wearer's identity can even be hidden—all that is required is darkly-tinted plastic. An astronaut costume can also be made at home with the use of a pattern or the imagination. All that is really required is a metallic-colored material with a plastic look—however, the helmet will probably have to be purchased if the child or adult wants it to be made from hard plastic. Of course, a motorcycle helmet can also be substituted to create the same reaction.

You love to attend costume parties, and one is approaching quickly in your social calendar. However, you have wracked your brain trying to figure out what costume you would like to wear. After much debating, you think it would be fun to make an Arabian horse costume.

Arabian Horse Costumes: How Should They Look?

It is important to note that there is no one standard of Arabian horse costumes. Some people prefer to make more realistic Arabian horse costumes, while others prefer to make more humorous variations of an Arabian horse costume.

For example, say that you would like to make a more realistic version of an Arabian horse costume. For this, you will need yourself and another person. If you are taking a significant other to the costume party, this is a fun costume that you both can take part in.

Start by obtaining a picture of an actual Arabian horse. Traditionally, Arabian horses are white. Use this picture as your basis for the overall costume. Next, go to a local art supply store and get a significant amount of wire. Mold the wire in wide coils to make the head and neck of the costume. You might want to mix some plaster or molding clay and cover the wire to make this part of the costume as well.

The next step is to make the overall body of the horse. While the more elaborate version would have you constructing an additional wire/plaster/clay model, you could also just get a large white sheet and drape it over yourself and your partner.

The hard part will be figuring out how to move around in such a costume. An idea is to wear the costume for a while, and then take it off, but wear white clothing with a horse mask whenever the two of you are not in the entire costume.

This kind of costume can be tricky to make, so an option is for you to go to a local costume shop and see if they have one in stock. You can also pay extra money for a professional costume maker to make you one.

The internet is also an option when it comes to finding this kind of costume. Make sure that you have each other's measurements, and that you both agree on the costume. This is especially important, since you want a costume that both looks fun, and is as comfortable as possible.

Sometimes people do not want to dress up like scary monsters, sexy nurses or other controversial costumes. They want to dress up like something innocent and cute. Therefore, many people will choose to dress up in an angel costume. Angel costumes are cute costumes that can be designed for both young girls or older women. They are a very heavenly and fun costume to wear in any costume party.

Creating an Angel Costume for That Perfect Party

An angel costume is a very simple costume to make. With a few simple items, one can create the best angel costume anyone at the party has ever seen. To begin, one will need something white to wear. This can be a dress, white pants, a white shirt, a white toga or white lingerie. Think about what type of angel costume you want. Do you want to be a conservative or a liberal angel? Do you want to be a cute angel or a sexy angel? Decide on which type of white clothes you want to wear depending on what type of angel you want to be.

Next, you will need to make some wings and a halo for you angel costume. All angels have wings and halos. You can create small wings or large wings. You should create the wings so that they will hang on your back and be easy to put on and take off. You will not be able to sit very well with the wings on, so you may want to create them so that they are easily put on and taken off. The wings can be made glittery, fluffy, feathery or silvery. They should be created in a way that they definitely stand out on the costume and get you noticed.

The halo can be made of gold or silver materials such as aluminum foil, wire, or other bendable materials. It should be created to match the wings, One will be wearing the halo on the head, so you also want to make sure that you create it to be comfortable. The halo is one of the things that will get you noticed, so make sure you create a really cool halo.

The angel costume can be altered to stand out. One can add glitter or extra gold to the costume if desired. Adding feathers or lace around the hands and feel will also give an added heavenly touch. Include some accessories such as a bible, a harp or a wand.

Angel costumes are innocent and fun to wear. No matter how you decide to wear your angel costume, you will be sure to be one of the hits of the party. So, the next time you are in need of a good costume and you are unsure of what it should be, try creating a heavenly angel costume.

When one chooses to wear an ancient Greek costume, they will have the challenging of figuring out what exactly the ancient Greek people wore. This is an easy challenge because the people of ancient Greece did not wear a wide array of different clothes. Therefore, the first step in making the perfect ancient Greek costume is to find out how they dressed back in ancient Greece and what they looked like.

Create the Perfect Ancient Greek Woman Costume

Women did not wear very elegant dresses back in Ancient Greece. They basically wore one large piece of wool or linen that was wrapped completely around their body and pinned together in various places so that it would not open up or fall off. These wraps always came down to the ankles and were tied up around the left shoulder. Women also usually wore leather sandals.

All women wore their hair tied up in a bun or in a pony tail. It was disrespectful to wear their hair down. So, if you choose to dress in an ancient Greek woman costume, you will also need to tie your hair up. It is very Greek to wear your hair up in a bun. If you already have short hair, you may want to put gel in it so that it remains close to your head. Greek women rarely had frizzy or fluffy hair styles.

Create the Perfect Ancient Greek Man Costume

An ancient Greek costume is usually a very popular for man. Men love dressing up in Greek togas at costume parties and partying the night away. For some reason, men feel very masculine when they are dress up in an ancient Greek costume. Creating the perfect ancient Greek man costume is very similar to the woman's costume.

Men will also wear long cloaks or robes that are tightly wrapped around the body and pinned in place. Unlike women, the men wore both long togas or short togas. However, the short, knee length togas were the most popular. It was common for Greek men to either wear leather sandals or go barefooted.

An ancient Greek costume is an easy costume to create for man or for a woman. It is basically a simple toga with leather sandals. Many times it can be made out of a white bed sheet. Therefore, it does not require a lot of money or time to create the perfect ancient Greek costume. Because it is easy to create and it is also very affordable to create, it is one of the most popular costumes for costume parties.

As odd as it may seem, there are some people who would prefer to receive something old rather than something new as a birthday or Christmas gift. Sometimes buying something old can be a very challenging task because one does not know exactly what to buy or how to buy it. If this seems to be the situation you are in, then you should consider buying some vintage costume jewelry.

What to Look for When Buying Vintage Costume Jewelry

Shopping for and buying vintage costume jewelry is not always as easy as it may first seem to be. Of course, one can always go to the local second hand store or yard sales and find vintage costume jewelry by the truckloads. However, not too many people understand what they should be looking for when they purchase vintage costume jewelry. As a result, they usually end up buying things that they did not really want or pieces that were very overpriced.

The condition is a very important thing to consider when purchasing vintage costume jewelry. One should always check the condition of the jewelry. Of course, this type of jewelry is going to look old, but one should check it for scratched or broken rhinestones, missing pieces, worn plating, tarnish, or damaged enamel.

All of these things will lower the value of the piece of jewelry. Therefore, when you are looking at pieces to buy, it is important that you check for any damages. You should only pay top dollar if the piece of jewelry is in mint or like-new condition with little or no damage.

You will also want to check the quality of the piece of vintage costume jewelry that you are purchasing. Many manufacturers made very fine and high quality jewelry a long time ago, so you should be able to check the quality very easily.

The weight, condition and markings will help you determine the level of the quality. Do some research. Be familiar with companies that produced high quality jewelry, then seek the particular pieces from this company. You should never pay top dollar for a piece of vintage costume jewelry that is not of high quality.

Always ask the dealer for some background information on the piece of vintage costume jewelry you are purchasing. It is good to have this information on hand so that you will know where your piece of jewelry came from and where it has been. Knowing the history of the jewelry will also help maintain its value.

These are just a few important things to keep in mind when buying vintage costume jewelry. No matter why you are buying the jewelry or for who the jewelry is for, one should always take these few suggestions into consideration. It will make buying vintage costume jewelry a lot easier and much more enjoyable.

There has been an outcry recently over the use of Xmas in place of Christmas and what may have started as a shortened version of the holiday name to fit on smaller signs, has turned into a sometimes heated debate. Since Christmas is a deeply rooted religious holiday some contend the 'X' is determined to take Christ out of Christmas while others see the 'X' as form of a cross, maintaining the religious meaning of the holiday, however there are no facts to support this theory.

It is not clear when the abbreviation was first used, but it is commonly believed to have been by a person making a sign who figured that making the writing small enough to fit the available space would make it unreadable from a distance. Instead they used Xmas to take up less space. Over the course of several years the abbreviation became more common and Xmas began to be seen in more places.

However, the reality is the 'X' is a modern rendition of the labarum, or Chi-Rho symbol, written as an 'X' with a 'P' in the center, which means Christ. The symbol was used over 1,000 years ago in place of the word and when used with the Anglo-Saxon word 'mas' that means festival or religious event, was often used as the name of Christ's birthday. In fact the Ladies Home Journal published an ad using the term Xmas in 1922.

Religious Overtones Overshadow Political Correctness

Some religious individuals blame retailers for using Xmas as they are often prone to abbreviate nearly everything, especially in printing and print ads as bigger words cost more money. However, since the term Xmas has been around a lot longer than virtually all retail stores, that theory has no support.

Perhaps the abbreviation of Xmas has grown to such proportions that the letter 'X' is often used as an abbreviation in words that have nothing to do with Christ.. Words such as extreme are often abbreviated as xtreme and occasionally a celebrity will use an 'X' to replace the word Christ in their name, such as Christina Aguilera, sometimes writing her name as X-tina.

While most religious scholars and historian have no objection to the term Xmas, there are others who believe that the abbreviation is way by which retailers and a few others can take the meaning of Christ out of Christmas, with no regard to the historical beginnings of the word.