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What is Singles Day and Where Did it Come From?

In Canada, November 11 is Remembrance Day, a day devoted to honouring the memory of those who have served in our nation’s defence. But in China, November 11 is known as the largest online shopping event in the world: Singles Day.

In respect for the sanctity of Remembrance Day, we at London Drugs have chosen to celebrate Pre-Singles Day on November 10, and to explore a little of the new tradition’s background with you.

Where Did Singles Day Come From?

There are several origin stories as to how Singles Day came to be. The most common story attributes its origins to a group of students at Nanjing University in China during the early ’90s. They decided to celebrate being single instead of lamenting it, and chose November 11 as Singles Day simply because “11/11” looks like four single figures. The day launched with a few parties and celebrations that spread throughout the campus, and eventually other universities around the country got involved.

Singles Day truly gained traction in 2009 when the Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba commandeered the festivities and set into motion an explosion of purchasing frenzy by a burgeoning consumer class that grew up in the digital age. Alibaba is China’s biggest online commerce company.

Singles Day Celebrity Celebrations

Last year, Nicole Kidman, Pharrell Williams, and Maria Sharapova participated in Singles Day festivities in Shanghai, while David and Victoria Beckham, Daniel Craig, and Kobe Bryant were guest performers in previous celebrations.

Within about ten years, Singles Day, or Double Eleven, as it’s also known, has reshaped the consumer landscape in China and throughout Asia. Drones, bicycles, and cars deliver merchandise throughout the country, often to people in small villages.

Singles Day in North America

In North America, shoppers have caught on to the Singles Day craze, but around here, as mentioned earlier, we celebrate Pre-Singles Day in respect for the sanctity of Remembrance Day on November 11.

The great part: whether or not you’re single, you can now show yourself some love and treat yourself to a great deal this weekend in the days leading up to Singles Day!

Shop amazing Pre-Singles Day deals on beauty and home items and see why Singles Day has become the largest shopping day in the world!

What You Need to Know About Snoring and Sleep Apnea

Sweet, sweet slumber. A good night’s sleep always recharges the mind and body. Unless you snore or have sleep apnea.

Statistics Canada reported that in 2016 and 2017, 6.4 per cent of Canadians (approximately 2.3 million) had been diagnosed by a health care professional with sleep apnea – more than double what was reported in 2009.

While snoring and sleep apnea are not the same thing, they can be related. Most people who have sleep apnea will snore, and snore heavily. However, if you snore – and that’s your only symptom – you don’t necessarily have sleep apnea. Consult with a physician if you’re worried about either condition.

Why Snoring Can be Debilitating

Snoring is actually common and can happen occasionally or regularly. Snoring is caused by the vibrations made when air passing through your mouth and nose is partially blocked. In many ways, it’s like a poorly tuned wind instrument – loud and blustery.

While snoring alone isn’t considered to be of immediate concern, the effects of snoring can be debilitating. Even having just one restless night’s sleep can lead to extreme fatigue – at work, on the road – while ongoing snoring can affect heart health, weight maintenance, oral health and, of course, energy levels. Factor in sleep partners, and the number of affected people doubles.

Symptoms of Sleep Apnea

There are actually several different classifications of sleep apnea, with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) being the most common. All forms of sleep apnea affect breathing while you sleep, to the point where you will actually stop breathing intermittently or breathe extremely shallowly. These episodes can last from a few seconds to a few minutes and can occur up to 30 times per hour.

In addition to snoring, other symptoms of sleep apnea include waking up during the night gasping for air, waking up with a dry mouth, morning headaches, inability to focus, insomnia and, of course, extreme daytime sleepiness.

How to Treat Snoring and Sleep Apnea

While you should always consult with a physician if you’re concerned about any of these issues, there are several at-home treatments you can try to help mitigate the symptoms of snoring and sleep apnea.

Maintain a healthy weight range. Excessive weight can lead to more mass in the throat, physically obstructing the airway.
Manage alcohol consumption. Alcohol can cause the throat muscles to relax too much, causing them to become slack and block airflow. Avoid drinking alcohol three to four hours before bedtime.
Avoid sleep aids. This might seem counter-intuitive, especially if your symptoms include insomnia, but like alcohol, over-the-counter sleep aids (or any product with a sedative effect) can result in throat muscles losing their tension, which is necessary for keeping airways open and clear.
Try nasal strips. If you’re a light snorer and if your snoring is caused by blocked nasal passages or a deviated septum, nasal strips could be extremely effective at keeping your nasal passages open wider.
Go see your dentist. Remember that the tongue and jaw are part of your mouth, which is what your dentist specializes in. Dentists can sometimes provide relief for snoring and sleep apnea with a variety of appliances such as mouth guards. Or you can pick one up yourself in store or online.
Prop yourself up. Try using a pillow to keep yourself on your side while sleeping, which can help keep airways clear.
Clear the airways. If you feel your nose is constantly stuffy and you’re always sniffling even when you’re not sick, it’s possible your nasal airways are congested. Give them a clean with a natural nasal irrigation wash, such as a Neti Pot.

Shop our selection of sleep products to help you get a good night’s rest. If you are looking for some more self-care support, you can also talk to an LD Pharmacist.

9 Home Safety and Security Tips for Fall and Winter

As the days get darker and we start to think about hunkering down for winter, it’s a great time to ensure your home is secure. We’ve got a cornucopia of safety and security tips to help you stay safe and sound as we get ready to fall back.

Outdoor Security

Shorter days mean darker nights, and more opportunity for potential break-ins. If you want to increase security around your property, light it up. Motion-activated lighting is the easiest way to keep things secure and conserve energy (and avoid annoying your neighbours with bright lights shining all night).

Install motion-detector lighting in the darkest spots of your yard, and near possible entrances to your house. For the budget-conscious, we suggest the Elgato Eve Wireless Motion Sensor light, which is easy to set up and is powered by long-lasting, replaceable batteries. If you’re looking for an advanced, high-tech option, the Arlo Wireless Smart Security Light is fully customizable and programmable. You can control it from anywhere in the world with your mobile device, and integrate it into the full Arlo home security system.

Speaking of doors and windows, these are the most vulnerable places in your home when it comes to possible intruders. A doorbell camera, like the Ring Wi-Fi Video Doorbell can help you see who’s at your door, whether or not they ring the bell. The iHome Door and Window Sensor works with your existing Wi-Fi network, and will send an alert to your mobile device when windows or doors are opened or closed in your home.

Indoor Safety

We know keeping your family safe is a big priority, so let this be your annual reminder to change the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. We’ll wait. Okay, you’re back? Good. Hold on, don’t throw out those old batteries just yet – you can bring them to London Drugs for recycling!

Are your smoke detectors old enough to be in high school? Then it’s time to replace them. The Nest Protect Smoke/Carbon Alarm is more than just a smoke alarm: you’ll get alerts on your phone when there is a problem or the batteries run low, different alarm sounds for smoke, heat, or CO2, and a motion-activated night light. The best part — instead of waving around a towel and opening all the doors when you burn the popcorn, the alarm can easily be silenced from your mobile device with the touch of a button.

If you like to fly south for the winter, don’t let your home look empty. You can activate the D-Link Wi-Fi Smart Plug from anywhere in the world with your mobile device to turn on lights or electronics, or program it on a schedule.

Extra piece of mind when it comes to your little ones is always appreciated, and a baby monitor camera is a parent’s best friend. Keep an extra eye on your little darlings with the Netgear Arlo Baby 1080p Smart Monitoring Camera. With features like advanced night vision, high-def video, two-way audio and temperature/humidity monitoring, you can get a good night’s sleep and peace of mind knowing you’ll never miss a moment.

Shop our selection of other smart home safety and security products. For other resources that can help you keep your home and family safe, talk to a tech expert at your local London Drugs.

Expert Bathroom Cleaning Tips and Tricks

The kitchen might be the heart of every home, but it’s the bathroom that’s the true workhorse. So it’s no surprise it gets really dirty, really quickly. It’s a shame bathrooms don’t get the love (or elbow grease) they deserve considering how much we depend on them every single day.

Fact: Nobody likes cleaning a bathroom. But, a truly clean bathroom is a joy and surprisingly easy to maintain once you’ve mastered a few game-changing techniques.

Follow these tips and tricks to help make cleaning your bathroom less of a chore.

Make a Bathroom Cleaning Schedule and Checklist

A clean bathroom is easier to maintain than a dirty one, so make it a regular habit. Facing an entire bathroom and all its moving, scummy parts is daunting, so parcel out the duties so you don’t have to do everything all at once.

For example:

Every day – Wipe down outside of toilet; wipe down inside of shower/bath; wipe down counters/sink; clean drain traps.

Every Sunday – Scrub inside of toilet; empty trash can; wipe mirrors.

First Sunday of every month – Put toothbrush holder in dishwasher, put shower curtain in laundry, deep clean drains.

After a month when you’ve gone through every task on your checklist at least once, you’ll see how much faster and easier maintaining a clean bathroom can be.

Simplify Your Bathroom

De-cluttering your space will not only make your bathroom look tidier, but will also make cleaning it a lot easier.

Who wants to spend 10 minutes taking everything off the counters and another 10 wrestling with half a dozen cleaning bottles under the counter just to spend one minute wiping down the surface?

Most bathrooms are small so everything in them should have a purpose and a home. Do you really need all those individual spay cleaners when once would suffice?

An all-in-one hero product like Nellie’s One Soap can be used as a hand soap, tub/shower cleaner, dish soap, and even on your dog.

Use the Right Cleaning Tools

The flip side to de-cluttering is stocking up on the right tools to get every job done well. If your toilet brush doesn’t get all the right angles, your toilet bowl will never really be clean. And if your glass cleaner leaves streaks and promotes fogging, well, what’s the point?

If you don’t feel that your efforts produce sparkling clean results, you’ll be less motivated to continue cleaning, so you might have to experiment a little to find the right tools. You might need two toilet brushes and you might find some great anti-fogging solutions in the automotive department.

Use Age-appropriate Accessories in Your Bathroom

If you have kids, adapt your bathroom so it stands a better chance of staying clean. Kids are cute, but they’re messy, which means water and dirt are going to get everywhere. Bring in a stool so they can properly reach the sink. And instead of expecting them to use a hand towel, keep a stack of colourful washcloths folded within easy reach.

Better yet, use this as an opportunity to teach them how to use the cloth to wipe up any wet spots on the counter before tossing it into the hamper.

Reward Yourself for a Cleaning Job Well Done

They say the reward itself is in a job well done, but you might need a little extra incentive to get through your checklist. Find something meaningful to reward yourself with each month – a new book, a new coffee machine, etc. – and use that as your carrot as you clean away.

Shop our selection of cleaning supplies for other resources that may help you keep your bathroom spic and span.

Beyond Avocado Toast: 6 Healthy Toast Combos That Will Please Your Palate

Is there a more perfect food than freshly buttered toast? That warm, buttery goodness that melts in your mouth can’t be matched. Or can it? Last year avocado proved it was also a perfect toast topper, making avocado toast one of the biggest food trends of the year. Now, a bevy of other toppings are vying for top spot. Freshen up your toast routine with these palate-pleasing combinations that are both healthy and delicious.

Strawberries and Sunbutter Toast

Photo from Women’s Health

A modern take on the classic PB & J, this toast, topped with strawberries, sunbutter, and a sprinkling of sunflower seeds, is the perfect combo for today’s peanut-sensitive environments. It’s quick to whip up on busy mornings, and makes for a refreshing, healthy, and protein-packed mid-day snack too.
Get the recipe.

Cottage Cheese and Honey

Photo from Eat This Much

Simple. Classic. If you haven’t tried this timeless comfort combo, now’s the time. With just the right balance of savoury and sweet, it will leave your tastebuds singing for more. Get the recipe.

Fig and Ricotta Toast

Photo from Eating Well

In the mood for something a little more exotic on your toast? Try this Mediterranean-inspired combo with fresh figs and ricotta. Hungry yet? Get the recipe.

Tomato and Goat Cheese Toast

Photo from Cookie and Kate

Looking for ways to sneak more veggies into your diet? Look no further than this healthy tomato and goat cheese toast. With a brush of garlic and olive oil, and a quick oven bake (even quicker in a toaster oven), this toast is definitely worthy of serving at brunch or as a hearty side-dish at dinner. Get the recipe.

Poached Eggs and Rainbow Chard Toast

Photo from Brooklyn Supper

Perfect for weekend brunch, or a quick and easy weeknight dinner, this egg-and-chard toast is a light meal that’s dense in nutrients. Get the recipe.

Avocado Pomegranate Toast

Photo from Live, Eat, Learn

Okay, okay, if you’re still enamoured with avocado toast that’s cool. But why not up your avo-toast game with a layer of mozzarella and a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds. The antioxidant boost alone makes it worth the effort, and the seasonal colour combo makes it a solid choice for a holiday brunch. Get the recipe.

Need to up your toaster game too ? Check out our selection of toasters from brands like T-Fal, Sunbeam, KitchenAid, and more.

5 Tips for Designing Your Own Holiday Greeting Cards

No you’re not reading this post wrong – it’s October and yes we’re talking about the holidays already! But take our word for it, now is the perfect time to start working on your holiday greeting cards. Especially if you’re planning to send cards to elsewhere in the world, you’ll want to get an early start so that they arrive on time. And getting them done early also allows you to spend a bit of time personalizing your cards to make them extra special!

Sending personalized greeting cards to family and friends is great way to spread some holiday cheer, and update everyone on what you’ve been up to over the past year. And while we love the internet, we think it’s better to skip the e-cards and go for traditional mailed cards for the most thoughtful and personal holiday message. Our LDExperts have rounded up their top tips for designing your own holiday greetings cards, to help get you started:

1. Be conscientious of your recipients’ traditions

As you’re going through your list of people you’d like to send greeting cards to this season, make notes of what type of holiday card should go to each person. Our Photolab has a variety of personalized greeting card options with Christmas, Hanukkah and general Winter-themed templates, so no matter what their family traditions, you can find a beautiful card to customize for them.

2. Pick a favourite photo (or two!) to personalize your card

Once upon a time, we would slide a print photo or two into a generic holiday card, as a way to keep our family and friends updated on how things have changed over the last year. After all, a lot can change in a year – whether it be a fast-growing newborn, a furry new addition to the family, or you and your better half celebrating your first Christmas together. Holiday cards are the perfect opportunity to share those important moments from that year with the people you love.

With our personalized greeting cards, you can take that all to the next level! Just choose a photo, or two, and add them to any of our greeting cards, through our Photolab site, in-store kiosks or through our London Drugs Photolab App. We have specially crafted holiday templates so you can simply drag and drop your photos, creating a perfectly personalized design in seconds. You know your mother-in-law will be impressed.

Some options for photos are:

A photo of your family from earlier this year
A photo from last year’s holiday celebrations
A styled photo from your own holiday photo shoot!

3. Share a special message from the heart

The key to a truly special holiday greeting card is a heartfelt message. Are they celebrating their first Christmas as a couple? Is their little one celebrating their first Christmas? Or maybe they’re away from home during the holidays? With our personalized greeting cards, you can add your own message for the recipient that is 100% unique, and touches on an aspect of their life. Create one individually for each person on your list – it’s guaranteed to make their mailbox a little merrier.

If you’re strapped for time, or aren’t one for words, even a simple message wishing them a wonderful holiday will go a long way. And you can easily order multiple copies to pop in the mail for all your family and friends.

4. Give your greeting cards a professional finish

Choosing a higher quality paper material won’t just wow your recipient, it will also be more durable, so they’re less likely to be damaged when sent by mail or when they’re opened.

When ordering double-sided cards, folded cards, or postcards from our Photolab, you can choose from either traditional card stock or one of our 6 specialty papers, which will give your cards that extra special touch – literally. Our specialty papers come in linen natural white, linen white, matte soft white, matte white, shimmer silver, and shimmer soft gold

5. Add your personal signature

Add a final personal touch by signing each card by hand. It might seem like a small detail, but it can really make your card stand out. Just make sure to give it a few seconds for the ink to dry, before closing your card and putting it in the envelope. You don’t want to smudge things, right at the very end!

Once your personalized greeting cards are ready to go, make sure to get them in the mail early! Ideally, you want your greeting cards to reach their recipients by early to mid-December, and the further they need to go, the sooner they should be put in the mail. Luckily, we offer Canada Post services at many of our London Drugs locations, you so can drop them off the next time you’re in the store!

Tricks & Tips for Taking Better Halloween Photos

From costumes to jack-o’-lanterns, Halloween presents some really fun photo ops for you to capture great family memories. So dust the cobwebs off your camera, and follow these tricks and tips from our LDExperts to help you snap Halloween photos that won’t come back to haunt you!

Tips for Better Halloween Costume Photos

Kids grow up so fast, and if we’re being honest, some of our favourite photos to look back on are the Halloween photos. Their cute costumes immediately show us what their favourite movie character was at the time, what their childhood idol was, or even what they wanted to be when they grew up. Point being: capturing your kids’ Halloween costumes means you’ll have lots of great memories to look back on! For the best costume photos, follow these handy photography tips from our LDExperts:

Shoot with natural light

Natural day-time lighting will be the most flattering for your photos, so avoid taking them on Halloween night once the sun’s gone down. If Halloween lands on a weekday (as it does this year), most kids will have the chance to dress up in their Halloween costumes and wear them to school. That’s your best chance to snap some daylight photos of them all dressed up. That, and because they’re not actually going out trick-or-treating yet, they may not be bundled up with jackets and hats like they will be when going door-to-door. If before-school photos aren’t an option, then why not do a costume test-run with them a few days prior to Halloween, and take the photos then?

Take a knee

For the best photos of your kids, you should be taking the photos in line with their eye level, or just above it. That might mean taking a knee so that you’re on their level. This way, you’ll be able to show off them in their costume head-on, as opposed to having a more obscured view from above.

Don’t use flash

Ideally, you can follow Tip #1 and shoot in the daylight, but if you decide you want to shoot some photos of your little ones in their element while trick-or-treating, there a couple of things to keep in mind. First, is to avoid using flash. If you already have some nice spooky lighting to work with, a flash likely won’t do it any favours. Instead, work with that ambient lighting and simply use a high ISO or your camera’s Night Mode. The high ISO will allow you to snap your photos with less light available. Some DSLRs will be able to go up to an ISO of 3400 and let in plenty of light while not creating too much image noise. However, as a general rule of thumb, keep your ISO as low as you can go without the photo blurring, and set your camera on shutter priority mode. If you’re photographing your kids in action while trick-or-treating, we recommend a shutter speed of at least 1/200.

Limit your movements

For the best results when shooting photos at lower light with these settings, you’ll want to stand as still as you can while taking the photos. It’s best if your subjects aren’t moving around too much either. Ideally, use a tripod if you can, as this will help make your photos as sharp as possible.

If you’re chasing your little trick-or-treaters from house-to-house, and staying still just isn’t possible, embrace the blurriness and have some fun creating ghostly images!

Once you’ve got the perfect Halloween costume photos, it’s time to choose a favourite or two and create something fun with them! Our Photolab has Halloween-themed templates available for a bunch of different customizable products, from photo mugs and cards to photo books and even aluminum metal panels.

Tips for Better Jack-O’-Lantern Photos

Carving out pumpkins to make jack-o’-lanterns is a time-honoured Halloween tradition, and for many, it’s a family affair! It’s always fun to look back on Halloweens past to see how the kids’ pumpkin carving skills have advanced – and maybe yours too! To capture your jack-o’-lanterns at their spookiest, follow these handy photography tips from our LDExperts:

Choose a dark room

A good jack-o’-lantern photo is all about letting the candlelight shine, creating that spooky, glowing face. We recommend choosing a location that doesn’t have very much light (the less the better). For the spookiest results, use a surface that will reflect some of that ghoulish light – like in the photo above.

Create that spooky glow

Light your candles and pop them into the pumpkins. You’ll want to make sure you have enough light coming through the pumpkin carvings, so if you need to add another candle or two to make the light really pour out, then go for it!

Work in Manual Mode

Just as we discussed above when shooting photos of your kids’ Halloween costumes, in low light, you’ll need to adjust accordingly. Again, stay away from flash here. Keep your ISO as low as the camera is able to (let’s say around 100 ISO), otherwise you may see too much noise in your pictures. In Manual mode on your camera, adjust your aperture to the desired depth-of-field. Be careful not to allow your aperture to be too wide – it will make any bright spots, like the glowing eyes and mouth, take over the rest of your image. Finally, select your shutter speed. You may want to choose a slow shutter speed, although if you are using a tripod, which we recommend, the shutter speed shouldn’t matter as much.

Shoot at Twilight

If you want to shoot your jack-o’-lantern while it’s on display on your porch, the best time is twilight: 20 minutes or so after the sun has gone down. At that time, your glowing jack-o’-lantern will generally produce about the same amount of light as what’s in the night sky. This will make it easier for you to capture the spookiness of your jack-o’-lantern without worrying about losing too much sharpness and detail in the photos.

Once you’ve mastered that spooky jack-o’-lantern shot, just imagine what it’ll look like printed! Our Photolab’s aluminum metal panels have the option of Halloween-themed templates, and the infused dyes will make that fiery pumpkin glow look even more vibrant.