My Name is Kate

Dazzling in Dubai ... Time for a Sex in the City 2 Giveaway

Update 1 - May 30: Sorry about the delay in announcing winners - we were at a funeral in Calgary.  I just emailed our five winners (1 gift bag and 4 sets of scratch and win tickets) to confirm their BC residency and over the age of 19-ness. Once I receive that, I'll post the list.  Thanks to everyone for commenting! 

Update 2 - May 31: OK, we have confirmed winners! Gift Basket - Claudia from Vancouver. Scratch & Win Tix - Doug from Coquitlam, Breanne from Nanaimo, Nicole from Burnaby and Valerie from Vancouver. Tix will go in the mail tomorrow and we've arranged gift basket delivery.  Thanks again for commenting! Congrats to winners!

I kind of can't believe I'm writing this post. Usually when I give things away on MNIK, it's books about marketing and social media or tickets to a conference about marketing and social media.

Not this time!

This time ... it's big, frilly and pink.

The BC Lottery Corporation has launched a new scratch and win ticket to coincide with the premiere of Sex in the City 2.

The $3 Sex & the City Scratch and Win ticket from BCLC gives players a chance to win the top prize of $50,000 and other prizes including a trip to New York PLUS $5,000 spending money and more. 

Important things to know about the SATC Scratch and Win Ticket:

• You can purchase tickets at your local lottery retailer.
• Details are available online at www.bclc.com/sexandthecity.
• The Sex and the City Scratch & Win ticket is a B.C. only lottery game. 
• Overall chances to win a prize on a $3 Sex and the City are 1 in 3.45. 
• Players must be 19 years of age or older to purchase, play or redeem. Know your limit, play within it.

So, to celebrate, I'm giving away four sets of five $3 SATC Scratch and Win tickets AND the crazy stupid gift basket above. It is valued at approximately $400 and contains:

• 10 $3 Sex and the City Scratch & Win tickets
• A piece of Tiffany & Co. jewellery (these earrings)
• 4 Cineplex Odeon movie passes
• SJP perfume
• DVD of the first SATC movie 

Note: since SATC Scratch and Win tickets are from the BCLC you must be 19 years or older to win. Plus, to claim any prize won via the scratch and win ticket(s) you must be a BC resident.

Here's how to enter: leave a comment telling me why you like SATC.  I actually don't like SATC and I'm interested to hear why you do and why I should.  Also, if you don't like SATC but want to enter to score the Tiffany earrings, tell me why you think SATC is a waste of time :).

Contest open til Thursday, May 27 at 5PM Pacific Time.  I'll draw the winner of the basket and the four winners of a set of scratch and win tickets on Friday, May 28.

Disclaimer - I do these giveaways for fun. I'm not responsible if your computer goes berserk when you're submitting your entry or if Typepad deletes it or if you develop a gambling problem.  You agree that when you enter it's all your responsibility and you're not going to sue me for anything.  My choice of winners is final.

Michael, Sookie and Don - 2009 Halloween Costume Trends

With Canadian Thanksgiving behind us (or that rockin' holiday in the US, Columbus Day), it's time to start thinking about Halloween costumes.  Halloween is on a primo Saturday night this year, so I would think there are going to be more folks out than usual and that means more ghosts and zombies to compete with for best costume prize.

I had the opportunity to check in with Karen Bard, eBay's Pop Culture expert. Apparently it is the year of the celebrity costume.  Between the death of the King of Pop and the rise of sexy vampires and their associates (think Edward Cullen (played by Robert Cullen) from Twilight or Sookie Stackhouse (played by Anna Paquin) from True Blood), celebrities are hot this year as Halloween choices!  And while vintage costumes have been popular in past years (think 1920's gangsters and their molls), vintage is even more in vogue with the popularity of Mad Men characters like John Draper and Peggy Olson.

I was also pleased to hear from Karen that the celebrity wig is a hot item.  Last year it was "The Palin".  This year, "The Gosselin".

Karen advises that eBay can be a great boon for folks who want to be star of Halloween this year and offers the following tips for finding the just right look for Halloween:

• Search for both the name of the show as well as the character or the name of the celebrity.  This way, you'll cover more bases.  Also, using words like "style" (e.g. "Mad Men style") will help focus your search.
• Shop early. Costume purchases on eBay peak in mid-October. (So get on it!!)
• If you don't find the precise costume you're looking for, you might be able to someone to MAKE you the perfect costume. A number of the costume sellers on eBay are also makers.

I was also able to get a few more "Halloween costumer trivia" bits from Nazia over at Environics (she provided trivia about Valentine's Day earlier this year).

• ‘Halloween costume’ is the most popular search in the Clothing, Shoes & Accessories category on eBay.ca
• One of the most watched items on eBay.ca is a Michael Jackson Billie Jean sequined jacket and matching pants.
• There are 80 sequined gloves available on eBay.ca. Prices range from $2.33 to over $100.
• Which MJ do you want to be? eBay.ca has costumes based on Billie Jean, Beat It, Thriller, Smooth Criminal, Bad and other iconic MJ “characters”
• There are over 50 Sookie Stackhouse/Merlotte’s waitressing costumes on eBay.ca – some even come with a bottle of O+ blood beverage.
• According to the National Retail Federation (US), vampires will be popular costumes (think True Blood and Twillight). There are over 1700 vampire costumes and accessories on eBay.ca
• To recreate that Gossip Girl look, there are close to 300 blouses, dresses, headbands and other accessories inspired by the hit show found on eBay.   
• The average price for a Halloween costume on eBay is $27.63

In addition to finding elements for a costume, you can also find patterns to sew your own.  Both eBay and Etsy are great sources for vintage patterns.  I found this great Amidala and Princess Leia pattern set on Etsy.

I asked Karen what she was going as this year for Halloween - she is trying to decide between a character from Saturday Night Live and Cher from the Sonny and Cher days.  Rosemary and I have been discussing our costumes.  I think we're going to eschew the celebrity trend and go as bees.  Like these rappin' Honey Bees.

What are your ideas for a Halloween costume?