SHARPER’S 2nd ANNUAL BEST PET HALLOWEEN COSTUME CONTEST 2011!

Halloween is quickly creeping up on us  – three weeks to be exact – and Sharper™ is  celebrating the festivities with our 2nd annual costume contest!

We’ve all seen – and probably many of us have participated in one – Halloween contests for the best costumes.  But, this year, we want to make it a little bit different.  And by different, we mean getting your pets involved!

This year, we’re looking for the best pet Halloween costumes.  The winner will receive a $25 Gift Certificate from Sharper™ and a spot in our Facebook Hall-of-Fame photo album.  Furthermore, we will tweet the winning pet costume on our Twitter page for the whole month of November!  We will also feature the winning costume on our Blog.  And, to make this an ever-lasting experience, we will send you a Sharper™ designed card featuring your pet and its winning costume.

Please submit your photos to Jerry Nguyen via email at jnguyen@e-sharper.com.  In your submission, please include a picture of your pet in its Halloween costume, your full name and contact information as well as your pet’s name.  All submissions will be accepted until November 6th, 2011.  The winner will be chosen and contacted no later than one week after the contest closing date.

Good luck and Happy Halloween!

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It’s time to have a little Thanksgiving holiday creative fun with
Sharper™ Thanksgiving cards!

Thanksgiving is the time of year when we get to see our family and friends, eat great food and celebrate all that we are thankful for.  Whether you host a dinner for 20 or cook a turkey breast for two, here are some fun Thanksgiving craft ideas to use your new or old Sharper™ Thanksgiving cards.

Idea 1: Share a favorite recipe inside your Thanksgiving cards you send out.  You can print the recipe directly inside the folding card with a fun Thanksgiving Sharper logo as an accent.  Or print it on a postcard that will go inside the folding card so the intended recipient can put it directly in their recipe box for future use.

Idea 2: Hang Thanksgiving cards from your chandelier or light fixture above your table to add some fun to your dining room decor!

Idea 3: Cut a paper leaf out of brown, red, orange or yellow construction paper, put your guests name on it and paste it to the corner of a Thanksgiving card.  Place the card on the plate or just behind it to create a unique and tasteful name card.  For an extra special touch, write a personal Thanksgiving message to each guest inside their place card.

Name Place Card

Idea 4: Line the bottom of a gift box with the fronts of Thanksgiving cards for a fun surprise at the bottom of your Thanksgiving baking handouts.

Idea 5: Create a door hanging decoration by tying Sharper™ Thanksgiving cards together with festive thanksgiving ribbon in a flowing line.  Glue on some wheat or leaves to add to the overall look.  And, putting a bell on the bottom will give it a little jingle of fun as your guests pass through your door.

Door Hang Decoration

Have fun with these crafty creative ideas! They are a great way to do something different with your Sharper™ Thanksgiving cards and will have your guests saying  “Oh how fun!” when they sit down to enjoy your yummy Thanksgiving dinner!

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2011, according to Chinese astrology, is the year of the Rabbit.  Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year, starts with the new moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon, 15 days later.  On the last day, the celebration concludes with the Lantern Festival, which involves hanging festive lantern displays and a parade of children carrying brightly lighted lanterns.

The Chinese New Year falls on a different day each year because it follows the lunar calendar.  To make things more confusing, the Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements.  So this means, in order for the lunar calendar (which has a 29.5 days cycle) to balance with the solar calendar (our standard calendar), an extra month had to be inserted once every few years  (seven years out of a 19-year time cycle).  This is similar to the concept of adding an extra day on a leap year.

Celebration on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day usually involves family events such as reunion, praying and having dinner together.  More traditional celebrations will include performing rituals to honor the Heaven and Earth, the gods of the household and the family ancestors.

A common preparation before Chinese New Year involves doing a thorough cleaning of the home.  It is believed that if you do any household cleaning on the day of the new year, you are jeopardizing your luck for the whole year.  Moreover, if you need to dispose of any belongings such as clothing, furniture, or even getting your hair cut, you should do it before the day of the new year.  This belief symbolizes having a fresh start to a prosperous and healthy new year.  In other words, getting rid of all your past baggage will help you bring in the new year with a healthy state of mind.

The predominant color of Chinese New Year is red because it is believed to be the color of luck.  This is why the most common attribute of Chinese New Year is the red envelope.  A red envelope is simply a small, narrow envelope with money in it.  Traditional red envelopes are often decorated with gold Chinese characters like happiness and wealth, or cartoon characters of Chinese zodiac signs.  Red envelopes are usually given to younger generations by their parents, grandparents, relatives and close friends.

This year, Chinese New Year is on February 3, 2011.  So, are you celebrating Chinese New Year in one way or another?  Please share your stories with us by leaving a comment below this post.

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We’ve tallied up all the votes and this year’s winner drew inspiration from the ever popular Commercial Divas, the Progressive Insurance girl and the Orbit Gum girl.

Nelly and Darcie

Nelly and Darcie are this year’s grand prize winner!  Nelly is a two year old rescued long-haired Chihuahua and Darci is a Pomeranian breeding dog that was adopted, by the current owner, five  years ago.  Both costumes are homemade and was inspired to fit the dog’s quirky personalities, which resembles that of the Commercial Stars themselves.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Sharper™‘s Pet Halloween Costume Contest 2010.  All the contestants had very creative and adorable costumes, but of course there can only be one winner.  To view the Top Five Contestants, please visit our the Sharper™ Facebook page.

For more information on our 2010 Pet Halloween Costume Contest, please visit our previous blog article, “Enter your pet into our Halloween Contest”.

We look forward to seeing more creative costumes next year.

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