A Holiday (Twitter) Party: You're Invited!

photo credit: Photo by j.patrick.1@verizon.net via flickr

'Tis the season to rip your hair out, to spend hours at an insanely overpopulated mall shoulder to shoulder with strangers, looking for that perfect gift for those you love most. Ah yes, it's the holidays, and we couldn't imagine it any other way, but shopping for those near and dear to us is not the easiest of tasks, especially when taking that extra step to make sure they stay healthy and safe this season.

So we're here to help. Please, take us along with you. We insist! Call us your (digital) personal shoppers. Join us for our second twitter party, featuring our most trusted "personal shoppers" (TBC): Lisa Borden, Tracie Wagman, Gill Deacon, Donna Bishop, Joanna Runciman, and our own DIY experts Maggie MacDonald and Erin Charter, where we'll be taking all of your questions on what to look for (and what to avoid!) when ticking items off your holiday list.

WHAT: Non-Toxic Personal Shopping Twitter Party! A twitter party is a fun way to ask questions, to get advice, to follow interesting folks, and to win fun prizes.

HOW: Beginning Tuesday December 6 at 8:00 PM EST and ending at 9:00 PM EST, follow the "WHO" and the "WHERE". When you've got a question, direct it at @envirodefence and be sure to use the hashtag #PersonalShop. We and our "personal shoppers" (see below) will do our best to answer your holiday shopping questions! We will have giveaways for participants, and winners will be chosen randomly from those who tweet questions at @envirodefence.

WHERE:  #PersonalShop on twitter

WHO: Be sure to follow these folks to tune in to the party:
Moderator – Environmental Defence @envirodefence
Personal shoppers (TBC) – Lisa Borden @lisaborden, Tracie Wagman @helpwevegotkids, Gill Deacon @gilldeacon, Donna Bishop @donnalbishop, Joanna Runciman @actualorganics

PRIZES: We're so excited to give away these fantastic prizes (which make great gifts, might we add...) at random to those participating in our twitter party! Thank you to our wonderful sponsors:

• Rume Bags (set of 3) @rumebags - The RuMe collection has the perfect bag for wrapping any gift for any age, size, gender or cost! They are durable, foldable, fair trade made and machine washable. These bags are so great, it's a bonus if there's even a gift inside of them!
• Klean Kanteen - @kleankanteen - You only need to use it once to know you'll never leave home without it again. It keeps your hot drinks toasty for up to 6 hours and ice drinks frosty for up to 24 hours (you have to drink from it to believe it).
• Strawesome glass drinking straws (one set) - @bestrawesome - Aside from ensuring that you'll never sip out of toxic plastic again, these glass straws come with a lifetime guarantee - yes, they are that confident
• 23 Degrees Roastery coffee (3 bags) - @23DegreesRoast - Good on our tastebuds, and on our planet too. Made with certified organic Arabica beans, this fair-trade coffee is roasted to perfection in Toronto. If you're a double/double kind of person, this stuff might make you go black.  
• Mum's Original Coconut sugar (1 bag) - @mumsoriginal - Sweeten up your day (and your baking) with a great tasting sugar that’s packed with nutrients.  Once you taste it, you’ll be nuts over their coconut!
• Alphabet of Avoidance - @lisaborden - A fun, inspiring and perspective-changing read (by our friend and Just Beautiful cabinet member!) that not only identifies what we should be avoiding to lead a healthier life, but also includes simple solutions to immediately replace the ‘bad’ with something better...or even, nothing at all.

GRAND PRIZE:

• $100 gift certificate from Ethical Ocean - @ethicalocean - Ethical Ocean is an amazing website with a collection of the most ethical products in North America. Every product on their website is Good for People, Good for Animals or Good for the Environment! A great place to shop for ethical gifts this season (and a really super prize!).

Don't have twitter? Follow along below and ask your question, LIVE, at 8 pm EST.