Since the very first festival in New Orleans it has grown each year. Now there are millions who travel to the city to experience the quintessential Mardi Gras. For those who cannot afford the trip or find the crowds to intimidating there are probably local celebrations you can attend. Florida, Georgia, and New York all have celebrations in some of their bigger cities. While you will miss the New Orleans floats and packed crowds you can still enjoy yourself.

You can even create your own Mardi Gras celebration and costume party. All you need are a few friends, traditional cuisine, and the right decorations. For the Mardi Gras costumes consider a Mardi Gras Mask with a Carnival costume. The masks are the most elaborate. You may find a simple black or white mask which has been decorated with bird feathers or you might find a ceramic mask that has some of the most sophisticated art possible.

This year Mardi Gras is on February 16, 2010. Of course, if you do travel to New Orleans you can spend a week celebrating the wonderful day. There is a parade full of intricate floats, and so much food you will not know what to do.

The long wait will soon be over, as January comes to a close. For anyone excited about Burton’s Alice in Wonderland the wait will be over in a little over four weeks. Alice in Wonderland is scheduled to hit theatres on March 5, 2010. The premise for this movie is still based on Lewis Carroll’s book, but with a bit of a twist.

This time Alice is now 19 years old, and will be returning to the magical world, she spent time in before. Only this time the Red Queen is angrier than ever. Certainly there does not seem to be good reason for this hatred, until the truth is learned about Alice’s real identity.

So, for fans of Alice and her pals, you will not find the same movie being remade as it has been before. With the all star cast that awaits you in theatres you will be taken into a whole new depiction of Alice in Wonderland, where you will learn new truths.

If you have waited for a costume party to welcome this blockbuster, you do not have to wait much longer. Get your Alice costume or perhaps the Mad Hatter costume you have been working on, and start scheduling your costume party today. Anyone who is a fan of the book or actors will enjoy an invitation. Some of the cast members include Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helen Bonham Carter, Crispin Glover, Anne Hathaway, Stephen Fry, and Christopher Lee.

Burton has certainly made his mark with his interpretation and we can only imagine what is in store for us based on the theatrical trailers on offer. We can already tell the makeup and costumes are sure to be winners!

Talk regarding the 4th instalment of Spiderman 4 has many questioning if the movie will actually come to fruition. The last three Spiderman movies have included Sam Raimi as director and Toby Maguire as Spiderman. Yet, an announcement was made that neither director nor actor would be returning to the 4th instalment. Instead Mark Webb will be the director. We are still confused as to who the new lead actor will be, as announcements are clouded in uncertainty.

Spider Man 4 was set to release in 2011, with production starting in 2010. However, the movie is not going to debut until 2012. This was a bit of a shock for Spidey fans who already dusted off their costumes in anticipation of the movie.

What’s even more of a shock besides having to put away Spiderman costumes, and the whole actor/ director issue is the premise behind this forth movie. The news is calling it an origin story of characters, but if you will remember we have learned about the origin of Spiderman in the first movie along with some of the other characters, so it sounds like movie four is a rehash of old news. Yet, we cannot say for certain until the 2012 release.

For now, Avatar fans will have to be content with concocting their own homegrown costumes. It’s not nearly as hard as it sounds. If you’ve been dying to figure out how to craft your own Na’vi look on your own without having to head to Pandora for a makeover, check out our step-by-step tutorial on how to make your own Na’vi Neytiri costume. While we used Neytiri as the basis for the costume and makeup, you can easily modify it to come up with your own favorite character — male or female — from the film.

While it’s doubtful that MTV will come out with officially licensed Jersey Shore costumes (hey, stranger things have happened… Look at how long Ronnie and Sammi Sweetheart have lasted as a couple!), you can still dress up as your favorite characters from the show. Guys can skip the gym time and check out how to make a Mike “The Situation” costume with our simple tutorials. And ladies, you know you’ve been dying to know how you, too, can transform your blah, limp hair with a poof as perfect as Snooki’s if you check out our simple DIY how to make a Snooki costume. (Yes, there is a step-by-step walk-through on how to get your hair that high with teasing and getting that ultimate guidette eye makeup!

With the last episode for the season coming up soon, grab some friends to come over and have a mini-Jersey Shore watching party with everyone dressed as their favorite cast members. For some bangin’ party food, head over to CZ’s forums and check out how you can cook up a batch of Guido Sausage and Peppers with a recipe that the guidos and guidettes of Jersey Shore would approve of!

Her multi-year tenure should be in full-swing in the very near future, giving you ample time to dust off your best conservative business suit and sexy librarian glasses or pick up a pair for a pundit party to ease the winter boredom. For some more ideas, check out our DIY hints on how to put together a great Sarah Palin costume or get some pointers to get FOX’s newest addition’s mannerisms down pat with a “Being Sarah Palin” tutorial.

With a new year comes new and different heroes and heroines for children to dress up as for their next costume party. We’ve got a few tips for you regarding how to get your children’s or your costume party off to the right start.

You will first need a theme, which is where we will come in. What themes are out there for the new year, which may not have been before? What costumes are your children most likely going to want? Their age is going to be a factor. Just as the costume party for adults will be based on your favorite things. Here are some of the top costume party themes:

• Masquerade • Tinker Bell • Mickey Mouse • Thomas the Train • Little Einsteins • Robin Hood • Star Trek • Decades Party

This list is just some of the top party ideas for 2010. Note that some of the ideas are all about children’s most popular television shows. The true guide to any costume party theme is in what your children enjoy watching. It could be anything, from a silly commercial like a Geico Gecko Costume or a Homer Simpson Costume party. For young children the theme is definitely about what they find interesting in that moment.

As children get older they can have a say in the costume party themes. Teenagers may be strongly for Twilight Costumes, especially with the third movie in the book series hitting theatres later in 2010. Harry Potter Costumes will once again hit the theme line as the seventh, and second to last final movie comes into play.

Once you have the theme you will be able to start suggesting costumes to the party goers. You do not want to have ten little Harry Potter’s arrive at the party, so the best thing to do is find out what the favorite characters are from the theme you have chosen. Assigning costumes is not going to inspire much fun, but we do have another method. The hat trick is great for finding the right costume. Simple have everyone choose a piece of paper with a name written on it. This allows for an equal chance.

If you do elect to go this way you might have to plan ahead regarding the hat trick. A meeting of parents or children a week before the party can have them already showing up dressed. The other option is to pool all costume bits that you have, ask other parents to chip in from their stash and make the costumes while the children are at the party.

One of the more entertaining costume parties is more about picking from a pile of clothes to design a costume than actually having a theme from the get go. It allows the attendees to use their imagination out of what lies around them. These are just some of the ideas we have on offer for costume parties in 2010.

Fortunately, the Mummers didn’t miss a step or a sequin this year and made their march with all of the feathers and finery that they usually sport. Some of the themes on tap this year were Star Wars re-enactments with nearly every major character and Storm Troopers and Imperial Guards galore. Flying Pigs were another fanciful costume for the Comics division. Meanwhile, the String Division played their banjos and other instruments on their stroll sporting colorful animal costumes festooned with sequins and glitz worthy of Liberace.

It all paled in comparison, however, to the Fancy Brigades who put on full-fledged shows chock full of costumed pageantry. Some of the themes for their performance routines ranged from Ancient Egypt, Alien Nation with bizarre, outer space creatures, and countless other unusual ideas.

Hopefully, next year citywide budget dolldrums will subside. Either way, it looks like the Mummers are here to stay in Philadelphia and will likely not take their show to another city. The tradition continues!

Hollywood has recreated Sherlock Holmes in an amazingly good and funny film, called simply, Sherlock Holmes. This 19th century tale takes us back to the times of gas lamps and the gloomy streets of London with a British winter slowly making its approach.

The film starred Robert Downey Jr., Rachel McAdams, Jude Law, and Mark Strong. These are four actors came together to offer the brilliant deductions of Sherlock Holmes in a mysterious, yet unearthly plot. How could Lord Blackwood survive a hanging? How will Sherlock Holmes solve this caper? All of these questions were whirling around in my mind as I watched this blockbuster movie during holiday week.

There were essences of the plot that were fairly thin, such as Rachel McAdams character Irene Adler. It was pretty easy to see that she was using Sherlock Holmes right from the start and up until the end. Yet, the characters worked well to create an interesting tale.

When Sherlock Holmes opened it was in second place against Avatar, but quickly lost to third during Christmas week with Alvin and the Chipmunks pulling in the children. Still the $145 million made in ten days is nothing to sniff at. This hit is sure to break the $200 million mark in the next few weeks, as word gets out about the great acting, interesting tale, and wonderful costumes. Perhaps the plot had a few week spots, but as a movie lover I will definitely have to own this one.

The Sherlock Holmes costumes were most inventive, adding a few new twists to the overall movie. Instead of the plaid jacket and matching hat, we saw a black bowler hat, shorter black dress coat, and a roughened appearance to the character. In one scene of the movie you have the formal dinner ware with neatly done neckcloth, buttoned shirt, and at other times it was the boxing look with just an undershirt, suspenders and knit pants.

Sherlock was not the only one to have a great costume in the movie. Irene Adler had stunning dresses and faux jewelry to add to it. The dresses were perfect for the Victorian costume requirements. Long skirted dresses, with ruffled rear, and form fitting top, all connected to some magnificent hairstyles.

Sherlock Holmes was not the only movie to offer us some great costumes for the end of 2009. As the new year begins, Avatar costumes will surely be a hit with parties. Who wouldn’t want to try recreating the purple figures with faerie like faces of the Avatars? It may just be that 2009 popular costumes continue in 2010 making less room for the newer hits!

A few years ago Hoodwinked an animated film was released. The film was based on red riding hood, her grandmother and the big bad wolf. Red had to fight against an evil plot in order to get her grandmother back safe. The popularity of this film has now sparked a sequel called Hoodwinked Too Hood versus Evil. The director is Mike Disa who also helped Cory Edwards write the screen play.

The release date is just confirmed as 2010, with no month or date yet provided for the USA; however, it will most likely be out towards the end of January or beginning of February. We have some new characters, which means new costumes for us. Red will be appearing with Hayden Panettiere supplying the voice. Originally Red was voiced by Anne Hathaway. Bill Murray will be Mr. Alligator, with Amy Poehler as Gretel, and Bill Hader as Hansel. Joan Cusack is also lending her voice as the Witch.

Red is now a teenager who is training in a mysterious land. She is training with a group called the Sister Hoods. During her training she is called by the head of the Happily Ever After Agency, Nick Flippers. It seems that Hansel and Gretel have gone missing, and it is up to Red to find the missing pair. In a comedic fight against evil Red will come up against the witch from the tale Hansel and Gretel in order to save her co- fairy tale partners.

It is yet again a fairy tale like you have never witnessed before. Laughter is mandatory when you see this film.
It is geared more towards the younger set, but as always there will be some witty humor for adults to enjoy. It also gives us a new costume party idea with Red Riding Hood costumes, witch costumes, and Hansel and Gretel costumes in the mix.