A movie marathon is a fabulous lazy party idea. They take very little effort to organise and you can throw one together in half an hour. All you need is half a dozen friends and a few movies. A quick Facebook status post (Monster Movie Marathon at my place tonight!) will take care of that. You don’t even have to organise snacks if you’re feeling really lazy. Just wait until everyone arrives then order pizza – all the major delivery providers can bring you soft drinks and desserts too.

However, like anything in life, putting in a little extra effort will bring a greater reward. Give your guests a week or two of notice before your movie marathon and you’ll end up with a better crowd and a lot more fun. It’ll be even better if you pick a theme and have everyone arrive in fancy dress outfits to match the movies.

The theme can either be a topic, like vampire horror or the wild west, or an era. Watching the Austin Powers movies is a lot more fun with all your friends in 70s costumes and there’s nothing like a crowd of your best mates in vampire-themed sexy fancy dress costumes to add a little extra spice to a Twilight marathon.

You don’t have to put any effort into a movie marathon but it’s worth it when you do. Your friends will be impressed with your initiative and they’ll wonder why they didn’t think of the idea first. Of all the movie nights this year, yours will be the one they remember.

So you told everyone that your next party was going to be fancy dress. OK, that was the easy part. But what exactly is the theme going to be? Don’t worry if your brain has gone in to overload; here are a few popular ideas to help narrow your choices.

Angels and Demons

This theme is always a winner as it gives your guests the chance to indulge either the naughty or nice side of their character. People who want to be angels can wear adult fairy costumes or angel costumes with wands, wings and halos, while demon costumes can range from a sexy little devil outfit right through to an all-evil Darth Maul costume.

Films

Film themed parties offer so many options that you may want to break it down in to a more specific genre. You could have a sci-fi themed party where classic outfits from Star Wars, The Matrix or Star Trek would be the order of the day. Or maybe you could indulge your guests taste for sophistication and throw a James Bond themed party that requires gadget-packed tuxedos, jumpsuits and femme-fatale hot pants.

Retro

80’s fancy dress parties are all the rage at the moment with more big hair wigs, lycra pants and massive shoulder pads than you could shake a day-glo headband at! However, 70’s fancy dress parties always remain a popular choice as fellas love to dress up as 70’s pimps while the ladies get to strut their stuff in Abba costumes. Groovy!

A fancy dress party can be the highlight of the year, giving everyone the opportunity to let their hair down and have some fun. It’s often a good plan if you set a particular theme that people can stick to, so here are a few options that you might want to consider.

-    70s. 70s fancy dress always goes down well; giving people the chance to relive their youth and get a bit nostalgic. But, it can be just as enjoyable for those that weren’t even around in that decade, and with plenty of outfit choices you certainly won’t be short of options.

-    80s. Another popular choice for a decade-themed bash, with 80s fancy dress being the perfect way to remember some of the more unfortunate fashion choices of the day. A lot of people might even be able to find the offending items, making it even easier to source a costume.

-    Films. Films have been giving us inspiration for fancy dress costumes for decades, and all it takes is a viewing of a few classics to get some ideas. Most people will be able to recognise the film too, or try turning it into a competition to see who can guess.

-    Music stars. There’ve been some iconic music stars throughout the ages, and many of them had particularly distinctive styles that make them perfect to parody. There’ll even be current inspiration available (Lady Gaga springs to mind), so you shouldn’t have a problem finding someone appropriate.

These are just a few ideas for some top themes, and really the only limit is your imagination. But, if you need a bit of help don’t hesitate to look around, and we’re sure you’ll find the perfect outfits to suit.

We all experience moments when we pine for the past. It may be that you suddenly hear one of your favourite songs from your younger years, or you see a re-run of a classic TV programme from decades gone by.

This kind of nostalgia can leave your feeling sad about the time that has passed and make you think about all the people you used to know and the things you used to do.

Often, it can leave you feeling a sense of loss about the freedom you used to have and have now relinquished because of family and work responsibilities.

While it may not be advisable to quit your job and leave your partner and children because of these feelings, there is one way in which you can relive your youth.

You can organise a fancy dress event. This is the perfect way to enjoy a light-hearted evening reminiscing about all things past.

For example, you could opt to base the party on 80s fancy dress, or, if you fancy heading back further in time, go for 70s costumes.

Not only is this a great way of spending time with your friends, but it can also help you get over your melancholy about how much your life has changed over the years.

Although we all have to grow up at some point, it doesn’t hurt to celebrate our less responsible times every now and then.

So, next time you hear your favourite 70s or 80s tune on the radio, why not plan an event in homage to the era?

What better why to celebrate the scariest night of the year than with a movie marathon – you just have to choose the ghastliest, most ghoulish films you can find. Your local video rental place will be able to furnish you with a huge selection of zombie flicks, slasher films, schlock horror b-movies, classic thrillers and all that’s best in gory cinema, or these days you can shop (or hire) online and get exactly what you want delivered to your door. DVDs are cheap to hire so get plenty and let the guests decide which ones they want to watch first.

Buying online is by far the quickest and easiest way to find Halloween costumes for men, women, and kids too. There is a special section on our fancy dress website just to meet your scary and macabre Halloween needs because you simply can’t have a party or a social gathering on the 31st of October without the guests arriving in halloween outfits.

There are some that are ideally suited to scary movie nights – in fact, a number of our best Halloween costumes for men and women are based on classic movie characters – Freddy and Jason, for example.

If there will be kids or more sensitive adults at your movie night it’s best to keep it a bit lighter in tone. You want to be scary, but not too scary! Our Ghostbusters and Addams Family fancy dress costumes are ideal, but there is plenty more to choose from. Just make sure to hire the DVD that matches your costume!

Getting that invitation for a Halloween party can come with mixed emotions. You’ll be excited at the thought of getting together with your friends, but then panic starts to set in about your outfit. Just what can you go as? This can be a particular concern for men who may not normally dress up, but if you come to us here at Fancy Dress Ball we’ll have all the male Halloween costumes you could ever need.

We pride ourselves on the fantastic range of men’s Halloween costumes that we’re able to offer. We can give you all the traditional outfits as well as more modern versions and even ideas plucked straight from horror films, so whatever your style we’ll have something to accommodate. You could go as Dracula, the Devil, a werewolf, Freddy Krueger or even Hannibal Lecter – in fact, all of your favourite horror characters can be easily recreated.

If you buy or rent your outfit from us, you can be sure that you’ll be the best dressed one there. You’ll certainly get a much better reaction than if you decided to hand-make your own – we’ve all been there, and it never ends up quite how we imagined it to be. Why not put the effort in and get your outfits from us instead?

So, if you’re looking for the best male Halloween costumes around, make sure to come to us here at Fancy Dress Ball. We have all the choice necessary and we’re sure to have something that appeals, so come to us today and get ready to make an impression at that upcoming Halloween party.

Watching films is one of our favourite pastimes and one that can be enjoyed of people of all ages. We will associate watching them with happy memories, so it may come as no suprise to learn that dressing up as your favourite TV or film character is very popular.

It does not matter how old you are or if you are a man or a woman, Fancy Dress Ball has a TV or film inspired fancy dress costume for everyone. For the little boys, we have a number of costumes such as Postman Pan, Spongebob Squarepants and even Dangermouse.  Girls can enjoy dressing up as Tinkerbelle or Alice in Wonderland.

Our adult fancy dress range also offers a number of costumes inspired by the large screen. Men can dress up as Edward Scissorhands or Beetlejuice. Women can choose from options such as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz and Wednesday from The Addams Family.

Couples can go to a party dressed as their favourite characters also. For example, Flintstones fans might want to go as Wilma and Fred or as Betty and Barney Rubble. Likewise, if you are going to a 50s fancy dress party, you could always take a look at our Grease section for Sandy and Danny costumes. Complete the look with a wig and your ready to rock and roll.

If you are holding or attending a children’s party, we also have a number of Disney inspired costumes such as the Little Mermaid and Buzz Light Year. That is sure to put a smile on your child’s face.

It may seem quite a long way off but to make sure you get the best Halloween costumes, you should start planning it now. With so many different costume ideas, what do you choose?

The best fancy dress costumes are unique and at this time of the year horror fancy dress is always going to be popular. For inspiration, you could look to your favourite horror films. There is nothing more terrifying than scaring your friends as they arrive for a Halloween party.

If you are planning a Halloween party, you may consider having a theme to liven things up a bit. With the success of films such as Twilight and series’ such as True Blood, you may consider having a vampire theme. Look at our large collection of vampire costumes for ideas. Finish them off by adding accessories such as fake blood and pointed fangs.

However, you may also decide to dress up as your favourite pop star or movie star. For instance, wearing ladies Halloween costumes such as the Madonna inspired outfits, or mens Halloween costumes like  Michael Jackson fancy dress, are a great way of getting yourself noticed.

Look to classic horror films for inspiration also. Have a look at our costumes inspired by the film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or zombie costumes which may remind you of classics like Night of the Living Dead or Dawn of the Dead.

Regardless of what you want to dress up as, you will always find something you are comfortable in. Browse our large range of Halloween costumes now and give your friends something to scream about on Halloween night.