AAYAYAYAYYAYA .. back in the day when I was younger, we would get excited to head to the bars on the 5th of May and enjoy a few coronas and alot of tequilla.  This year we are celebrating but doing it a little differently.  My family are all heading to my sisters house to enjoy the day.  We are starting with some yard games; bocce , croquet, and maybe some horseshoes and then settling in for a gourmet mexican meal.  We will still be enjoying the coronas and maybe some tequilla but on a much lesser scale.  I did purchase some translucent maracas to help excite the little ones into a celebratory frenzy. 

Or should I say "happy promotional products day"?  Cinco de Mayo is a day of Mexican heritage, pride and to commemorate the cause of freedom and democracy during the first years of the American civil war.  ORRRR better known as the day where we eat lots of Mexican food and drink sangria, tequila and coronas.  Everywhere you go on Cinco de Mayo there are promotional products.  From beer companies to restaurants (including my favorite place, MOES, see below) even local radio stations get in on the action.  There are hats and beads and cups and any other promotional item you can think of being passed out on this extremely fun day.  Plus this year, it's on a Saturday!!  Have fun, be safe and enjoy all the swag!!

Astoria, NY's Museum of the Moving Image is the only U.S. museum that focuses on the history, technique, art and technology of every kind of moving image.  When I visited its exhibits on Saturday with my dad and brother, I was truly impressed.  The museum featured screenings of films from as early as the late 1800s and display cases holding props and costumes from some the greatest movies of all time.

And of course what immediately caught my attention was the collection of exhibits featuring old promotional products!  The Museum of the Moving Image is home to dozens of giveaways for movies like Disney's "Snow White" and the super-popular TV show "Star Trek."  I got a first-hand look at everything from "Our Gang" promotional coloring books to Mickey Mouse puzzles.  Let's take a look at some of my favorite display cases: 

"Star Trek" themed merchandise.

Check out that Doris Day coloring book!

To the right you'll notice a collection of "Howdy Doody" items.

It was so cool to see that even films and TV shows from the 1940s utilized promotional handouts to advertise. Furthermore, many of these products have now become collectors' items, proving the longevity of such giveaways.

Have you seen the huge collection of promotional products at the Museum of the Moving Image?

The Hunger Games has taken the world by storm.  The film topped the box office for a third weekend in a row, raising a domestic total of $302.8 million.  It's no wonder then that toy company Mattel is cashing in on the movie's popularity.

According to Entertainment Weekly, "Mattel is turning The Hunger Games‘ Katniss Everdeen into a Barbie doll." Everdeen, the film's beloved heroin, is known for her smarts, her bow and arrow, and of course her long, brown braid.  That's why the Barbie won't be wearing a gown but rather the outfit she has on during the games. "...this is where all the non-stop action takes place and is instantly recognizable by fans," Bill Greening, the doll's designer, told Entertainment Weekly. 

It may not look like any other Barbie you've seen, but that's the whole point.  Everdeen is known for her strength within the arena, and little girls deserve to see a Barbie who's not donning high heels.

The Hunger Games-themed promotional product is expected to be in stores by August, but fans can pre-order starting today.  For a full-length look at the doll, see the photo below. 

Are you happy with the Barbie's action figure look?  Share your thought below!

This Sunday is the Catholic Easter (I happen to be Greek Orthodox so mine is next weekend). Abby is 13-1/2 months old, so I figured I would get her some fun toys. I got her a big bouncy ball that will be great for this summer, bunny ears, a bib ("I'm sweeter than chocolate"), butterfly tattoos in an egg, and of course plastic easter eggs to hide/play with. I wish she was old enough for eggs with toys inside of them, like the customer imprinted sticky hand in an egg, but I think she is still a little too small. Regardless I cannot wait to see her her face when she sees a big ol' basket on the table waiting for her.

Last night, I got a call from our family friend who asked me to go to her house because we have to go to the hospital. Without any questions, I grabbed my keys, bag and jumped in my car. I got to her house in 2 minutes, picked her up and started driving. I finally asked her what happened and where we were going. She said her husband and her 18 month old baby, Furkan were in the ambulance and we need to get to Nassau University Medical Center. While driving, she told me that the baby spilled her husband mug of tea on his stomach. They immediately called 911 and rushed to the hospital. She did not forget to pack the baby's diaper bag with all the promotional baby items she would need, like the sippy cup, bottle, diapers, bib and of course toys. The "burn doctor" was not on duty so they just cleaned up and put a special ointment and wrapped up the babies stomach. By the time we were leaving the hospital, Furkan was feeling much better, smiling and giggling. I will be stopping by tonight to see what happened at the doctors appointment earlier today.

My wife and I had an opportunity for a date night.  ohhh.. aahhhh.. but these "date nights " don't come too often.  We were able to make it to an outdoor sports expo in town and we snuck out for a bite to eat and some drinks after. The event was awesome.  All the big supplies were there.  All the lastest gear was displayed from bicycles to new advancements in climbing gear.   If you could think of it, it was there and then some. They had demostrations on the rock wall and they had some kids on bikes doing tricks and one booth had a controtionist, which was pretty wild.  It had been a while since my wife had been to an expo and she was overwelmed by the size and creatvity of the trade show tents.  Commonly heard throught out the event was ".. WOW !!! lets go check out that booth.. ".  Some of the tents were more impressive than the gear they were showing.  There was an inflatable tent that looked like a spider, another looked like it was a section of the blacksmith shop and my favorite looked like a tiki hut. They were handing out desert island stress relievers.   The only thing they were missing the pina coladas and the ocean breeze.

One of the best parts of selling promotional products is finding out where they are ending up, and how the recipients liked them.  I had a call for a reorder of some promotional whoopee cushions today and found out that these were given out at the Sundance Film Festival. The director Jillian Mayer was thrilled with the response her "gag gift" swag received!  We here at Motivators got a huge kick out of it as well!  Our products end up at trade shows from Vegas to Malaysa, and everywhere in between.  I encourage you to check out the trailer for The Life and Freaky Times of Uncle Luke.  Also check out the article about the whoopee cushion in The Miami New Times.