Enter to Win #KeriChristmas Giveaway Extravaganza

Over $200 of gifts can be yours!

Behold this beautiful bounty.

Highlights include:

JD Honey – I take this to parties, because it’s really new and a guaranteed crowd pleaser

Marks Work Warehouse – Functional AND fashionable, which is why I like ’em, Mark’s will be keeping your hands and feet warm with their 100% Canadain awesomeness

Nella Bella Bag – Another Canadian company, made in downtown Toronto, that has reinvented classic, and in a vegan fabric to boot

Chobani Yogurt – This is America’s #1 Yogurt and has just arrived in Canada, and you’ll be on of the first to try it because you’re going to get a dozen delivered to your door.  No fat, actual real ingredients, created by passion woah just realized: almost all the companies are family-run here NICE.

A 9-step pouring kit from Stella. There’s an art and methodology to pouring a Stella.  I’ve been trained in it actually, and can pour you a perfect pint, then level the foam with much flourish.

To Enter: tweet the hashtag #KeriChristmas

Winners will be drawn Monday at 3pm

(PLEASE NOTE: I’m sorry, but you have to be in Toronto to win, because I have to drive it to you, unless you wanna drive here, that’s cool too)

My blog brought me a ton of fun stuff from great companies this year, and I wanted to share with you, that’s what’s happening here, because I appreciate you stopping by my blog, and thanks for pushing play.

The Last Business Friday of 2011

My entire amount of Christmas encapsulated here:

The blue sticky on the wall lists the last 3 items to pick up.

Two colours of tissue paper from the dollar store wraps everything.  I set it up like an assembly line.

Christmas conquered.

I quit Christmas in 2005.  

I’m not being dramatic.  I’ll show up empty handed to your Christmas party and not feel bad about it.

But I can’t escape it completely. Family only.  If we’re not direct blood, like if you’re not my brother, you’re out; nothing personal.

I add up the receipts every year and compare my total against the mean average.

I still spent $313 this year on 4 people.

Average Amount Spent / Person on Christmas

Canada – $1 137
USA – $646*
Australia – $1055
England – $900

 

* I had trouble finding this stat; if you have a better source leave it in the comments, seems way too low

Cool graph of how much countries spend on average here.

When that was done, I sat down to unbox this crazy nice new gear come ON.

When I relented 2 years ago and acknowledged I needed a real camera, not just blog with my phone, I bought an Olympus Tough: waterproof, smash proof, you can stand on it it won’t break, Keri-proof.

Olympus then heard about my trip and kitted me OUT, upgraded my Tough camera and added their new PEN, sweet eh, and it’s RED, check out all the possible accessories here.

I’ve never had a lens before… my first lens!

Took this during purging, this is my toolbox. There’s practically nothing you can’t do with needle nose pliers.

Here’s the video I’m referring to in the above video, it’s one from my ‘Just a Minute’ series.

How a Year Really Is:

 

Night, ttyt.

 

 

 

Cut Through the Mall to See the Tree

Beautiful.

In late November and December, whenever possible, I cut through the Eaton Centre to walk past the Swarovski tree.

It’s 7 stories tall, covered in crystals, and it spins.

The bows and red balls are new this year.  I’m curious to know the reaction, usually it’s only crystals. Being a minimalist, I like the latter.

I also like their sunglasses, which I didn’t even know that they make sunglasses, learned that a few weeks ago at an event.

Oh hi hi.

(I dedicate this gif to Allison )

At that same event I met Christine in real life… in 2009 we’d both entered a contest to win a trip to the Olympics.

At that time, she was a student and I was ‘The Canadian Explorer’.  Then out of school and tada, she’s working for a top PR firm, nicely done missy!!

The Contest: they were looking for mobile explorers (I know come ON), so you had to create an original video showcasing your blogging and social media skills, and the 5 entries with the most votes were sent to cover Vancouver 2010.

This was my entry.

Remember when we all had Olympic fever?  The excitement and camaraderie and patriotism?  Awesome.

And remember when Canada threw ‘The Party Olympics’ while SIMULTANEOUSLY winning more Gold medals in the history of all time?

GO CANADA GO!!

 

 

 

Keri
PS – I won the contest, here’s the proof, and yet I didn’t.  That day, I declared contests dead to me.

 

 

 

 
 
 

I Love #hohoTO, I Go Every Year

If you are on Twitter and live in Southern Ontario, come!

It’s the holiday season’s classiest event, and it raises money for an important cause: feeding hungry Toronto people, because charity starts at home.


(photo by hyfen)

Founded in 2008, HoHoTO has been called, “the party that Twitter built”, it’s closing in on $200 000 raised for the Daily Food Bank, and is run completely by volunteers on a budget of nothing.

Queen Rania of Jordan has even used HoHoTO as a shining example of social media influencing online do-gooding.  So cool eh.

Here’s my Twitvid from last year inside the party, which is dark, but you can just feel the fun.

Come ready to buy raffle tickets and donate heavily, make sure to have your photo taken by Photojunkie, cabs home you know the drill, and don’t be shy… this is always the kind of crowd who’ve all been in that boat…. “hi, I know you from Twitter and the internet…”, say hi!

Me last year:

HoHoTO

follow along on Twitter @hohoTO

Thursday December 15, 8pm

at The Mod Club

benefiting the Daily Food Bank

Here’s a relational chart I made using the search “hohoTO”, for fun.

(click on it to zoom, get more info, drag stuff you’ll figure it out)

See you Thursday!