Since Halloween falls on a wednesday, everyone will be celebrating and getting dressed up this weekend. I hope to see some great customs out there and I'm sure many crazy ones too. Please becareful this weekend and if you are up for trick-or-treating on Halloween, I hope you have your happy halloween bags for all the treats. As for us here at Motivators, we are preparing to celebrate our own halloween celebration on wednesday. Along with Sam's Birthday (promotional consultant) we will be getting dressed up and decorating our section of the office. Can you guess our theme? (hint: Donkey!!!)

In all my life, I never recall it snowing in the northeast BEFORE Halloween, but this year it did!! This past weekend, we had snow, wind, and ice - not your regular little snow storm (but an actual Nor'easter). Luckily, being in the eastern end of Long Island, we did not get hit as bad as some other areas. As of today, according to the news, over 1.5 million people are still without power. It is even being said that this weekend's snow storm was more destructive than Hurricane Irene, which hit us back in August. Being that the trees are still heavy with all of the leaves on them, plus with the ice and snow packed on top, it caused a lot of trees to come down and widespread power outages. For the past 3-4 days now, many people have been without power and heat (and obviously in the winter, power and heat are just as essential as food and water). As unexpected as it may be, it is always good to be prepared for the worst, so next time a snow storm hits, make sure you have your emergency kit ready with your promotional emergency products, promotional fleece and custom flashlights.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, but it really shouldn't.  After all, it's only October 31!  But on my drive into work today I passed way more snow-covered lawns than I did jack-o'-lanterns. What the heck is going on?

According to the Wall Street Journal, the freak autumn snowstorm that hit the Northeast this weekend produced "close to 2 feet of snow ... in some areas" and left millions without power.  We were lucky here on Long Island; temperatures remained just at or above freezing, so most of us only received a thin layer of accumulation.

Still, the premature wintry weather had my head fast-forwarding through the seasons. As I slipped into my James Dean costume Saturday night, my mind wandered to which promotional gifts I should purchase for my friends and family this holiday season.

What about you -- was the fall snowstorm a trick or a treat?  What a whacky Halloween!

It's three days before Halloween, and across America, kids and adults alike are finalizing their costume choices.  But if you're in the Northeast, you'd better leave some room for a few last-minute alterations; the forecast for Hallweekend bears some bad news.  According to The Weather Channel, as temperatures drop Saturday night, we're in for some snow.

I don't hate snow.  In fact, I think it's beautiful (at least before it becomes a sandy, muddy slush).  But, come on, Mother Nature -- it's only OCTOBER!  And what's worse is that Halloween getups are notoriously made from flimsy, lightweight material.  Trick-or-treaters will be in for a shock if they don't layer their ensembles with a custom embroidered fleece. 

While we're not expecting significant snowfall accumulations, the precipitation will be, at the very least, an annoyance this weekend.  What are your Halloweekend plans; will the white, fluffy stuff prevent you from going all out?

My friends and I like to scare the crap out of ourselves.  When we saw the preview for 'Paranormal Activity 3' a few months back, it was a no-brainer that we'd have to see it.  Of course, being a bunch of broke 20-somethings, we waited until Tight*ss Tuesday at our local movie theater to catch the new film.

Maybe it's because I'm a little older (and wiser), but the third installment of the 'Paranormal' movies did not freak me out nearly as much as the first two.  Sure, I jumped a few times, and maybe even screamed here and there.  But, for me, the flick was a bit lackluster.

One of the reasons I wasn't as terrified as possible is because the scenes from the trailer that gave me the most chills didn't make the final cut!  Indeed, according to the International Business Times, "Almost 50 percent of the footage in the TV spots is not in the final film."  There are two moments in particular from the preview that I was looking forward to:

1. Bloody Mary
   
   During the first sneak-peek, "sisters Katie and Kristi played the 'Bloody Mary' game while hanging out in the bathroom, which makes the ghastly black figure appear in the dark."  When I saw this moment in the trailer, it brought me back to my childhood when I'd play the same activity (albeit to no avail).  In the movie, the scene is played out a bit differently.  I won't go into too much detail, but in the movie, the presence isn't seen, only "felt."
   
   

 

2. Splashing Water
   
   Another part of the trailer that apparently didn't have staying power is a scene in which Julie, the girls' mother, is chatting with Kristi about her imaginary friend, Toby.  Kristi claims that her pretend buddy is standing beside Julie, and splashes water from her custom water bottle in his direction to reveal his identity.  What startled me during the preview was how the "water shoots in another direction, apparently directed by an invisible Toby."  In the final cut of the film, the scene ends before the water is splashed. 

Still, the movie most certainly had its chilling moments; my $4 were well spent!  Are there any other scenes you were looking forward to but didn't see in 'Paranormal Activity 3'? Share your thoughts below!

Halloween and undead fans, rejoice!

The Walking Dead, the iconic AMC drama inspired by the comic book series of the same title, has been picked up for a third season. 

The show follows a band of survivors after a zombie apocalypse and how each person (young and old) copes and survives with what they are dealt with.

The Walking Dead was a major sponsor of this year's New York Comic Con, where many of the promotional bags and custom imprinted posters had the logo, adorned with images from the TV series. Even the badges and promotional lanyards beared the name of the show as well as the date and time of the Season 2 premier. With over 100,000 people that attended this year's NYCC, it's no wonder that the show has set network records, especially between viewers 18-49. 

In the past, Halloween used to be a holiday more for the kids, where they would dress up in either cute or scary costumes (or both), cause a little mischief, and go trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. Nowadays, however, it is a holiday for all household members, young, old and even furry. Lately, I have been seeing more and more costumes for pets. Even though I do NOT have a dog, cat, bird, or any other household pet, I sometimes just want to buy the costumes because they are so adorable. I have even seen people bring their dressed-up pets trick-or-treating, while taking their kids out on the town. So this year, instead of just buying Halloween candy to give to the trick-or-treaters, or promotional Halloween products to pass out at the Halloween events, you might also want to have some promotional pet products available, just in case you get a surprise trick-or-treater at your door!

Last week, Human Resources announced that Motivators Halloween Spooktacular takes place this week.  Prizes will be awarded for all sorts of things, but what caught my eye was the department decorating competition.  Therefore, this weekend I was on a mission.  My goal:  To borrow(/steal) Halloween decorations from my little sister in order to fix up my cubicle!  Our conversation went a bit like this:

Me:  "Courtneyyyy, I need to make my cubicle Halloween-y.  Can I bring some of those spider webs into work?"

My 12-year-old sister:  "No!  I need those for my party!"

Me:  "What about one of these fake Jack-o'-lanterns?"

My 12-year-old sister:  "Absolutely not."

Me:  "OK, fine."

As you can see, I don't hold much authority in my household.  So, instead, I decided to take advantage of the beautiful fall weather (not without the help of my custom embroidered fleece, of course) and traveled out to Eastern Long Island.  I found myself at Fink's Country Farm in Wading River, which is a beautiful, family-owned farm with hay rides, a seven-acre corn maze, pig races (don't worry -- no pigs were harmed!), and lots more.  It was so much fun! And I managed to pick up a few pumpkins and other decorations:

As you can see, my working area is now decked out in Halloween promos!  The little pumpkins are perfect for any office area -- they're small enough to rest on the ledge of my cubicle, and only cost $5 for three!  I love a good deal.

I also recruited help from my stepfather who will be constructing some homemade decorations for the IT department.  Keep an eye out for photos of our entire area once we've finished putting everything up!  My co-worker Stacie and I are determined to make our part of the office the most spooktacular of all!

It seems that this is the weekend that many of my friends (and perhaps you) have decided to do haunted houses. I know a few people considering the haunted house in Bayville while a few select others are attempting to brave Blackout, a haunted house in NYC in which a person goes in one at a time and faces realistic, hellish experiences in the vein of tourture, abuse and sexual-violence - much of which can't be discussed on a company blog. (hint: you actually get waterboarded and you get handcuffed to a doctor's chair while [very convincing] actors put a sack over your head, hit you and demand you to bark like a dog) But instead of going to a haunted house for a few minutes, I will be spending this weekend completely immersed in the culture and legend.

I am heading up to Tarrytown, NY for a concert and am treating the weekend as a way to "get away from it all." If Tarrytown sounds familiar, you're either a big fan of Keeping Up With The Kardashians (Bruce Jenner was born in Tarrytown) or you know about the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Washington Irving was the brain behind the story of Ichabod Crane and his run-in with the now-legendary Headless Horseman. The town received a tip-of-the-hat in the book and (because of its popularity) would eventually inspire North Tarrytown to change its name to "Sleepy Hollow." (Sunnyside - Washington Irving's house - is located here) I am spending my weekend in both Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow.

There is a large Halloween celebration in Sleepy Hollow during the weekend. Everything from tours of Sunnyside to haunted houses to promotional candy tastings will be offered as well as a costume contest. I sure hope there is plenty of candy and promotional food. Note to self: bring a custom imprinted Halloween themed bag.

A few days ago, on my way back to the office from my delicious Taco Bell lunch, I was passed by a hearse.  And as if that wasn't creepy enough (and somewhat embarrassing for my less-than-powerful 2001 Nissan Altima), the vehicle was completely decked out in scary Halloween promos!  Check out photos of the ominous-looking funeral car below: 

The frightening automobile was actually a moving advertisement for Long Island's Bayville Scream Park, an adventure park that comprises five separate haunted attractions.  The theme park, which made Haunt World magazine's "31 Haunts in 31 Nights" list, boasts a slew of attractions and scares.

Not only did I find Bayville Scream Park's 2011 promotional item extremely intriguing, but it also got me into the Halloween spirit.  In fact, it inspired me to RSVP with a big, fat "YES" to a Halloween party invite for tonight.  My costume?  I'll give you a hint -- I'll have disproportionately bulky forearms, a pipe, and be continuously chowing down on my favorite veggie, spinach.