BirthdayExpress.com was an American online retailer based in New Berlin, Wisconsin, that sold party supplies and decorations specifically for, but not limited to, children's birthdays. It was renamed as CelebrateExpress.com in early 2000s and was acquired by Liberty Media in 2008.
BirthdayExpress.com also powered the party store on the social planning web service Evite, which along with BirthdayExpress.com's parent company BuySeasons Inc., which was owned by Rubie's Costume Company. BuySeasons Inc. was also responsible for the related family of retail sites including BuyCostumes.com, CostumeExpress.com, CelebrateExpress.com and 1stWishes.com.
History
1990s
Birthday Express was founded in Kirkland, Washington by the team of Engineering Animation employee Mike Jewell and his wife, Jan Jewell, in June 1994. The couple, inspired by the birth of their third child, funded the start-up with $1.5 million of their personal savings. Initially, the company operated on a purely mail-order catalog business model before launching its first website in 1996. BirthdayExpress.com was responsible for a third of the company's orders by 1999.[1]