Creating a printable birthday card has been made easier by computer companies who sell printers. To draw interest in newer printers, companies have given consumers more free printing software. Now the only question that remains is, how do you make those cards look just as good as a store-bought card? The answer is to not print on regular printer paper. If you are printing a picture, use picture paper. Otherwise, use a cardstock of good quality. A birthday card printed on copy paper looks cheap and ill-made and is reminiscent of cards you made when you were five.

Another point to think about is originality. You could design it simply with “Happy Birthday!” with a birthday cake or similar on the front, but you want to make a card they will never forget. So instead think about what the birthday person really likes, and create a collage, or use a photo.

Of course, some people really do like pre-made printable birthday cards. In that case, you can find great birthday cards available many places, such as these awesome cards available from HP (Hewlett-Packard). Alternatively, you could find clip art online or even use a photo to decorate the front of the card. In most cases, it is okay to use cardstock when printing a picture on a card.

Another route to go is to find card creating software, such as PrintMaster Platinum or The Print Shop Deluxe. These guide you through creating the entire card and include virtually thousands of graphics. Another great point is that they align everything automatically for printing, so there is no guesswork or wasted paper. Let us be honest—cardstock is not cheap. It is always better to prevent waste. Even if you do not have the card creating program, there are dozens of templates available for use with your existing programs.

Lastly, do not forget the little details like studs, rhinestones, ribbons, or other scrapbooking materials. These add texture and give that little something extra.

Whether you decide to create your own card or go with a pre-made printable, your card is sure to get oohs and ahs. Instead of doling out an insane amount to a professional designer and printer or dealing with the same-old store bought cards, you can wow with a high-quality handmade card.

Interests

Match their interests by getting them something that relates to a hobby. A favorite team’s shirt or blanket is appreciated and a framed jersey signed by their favorite player is even better. Give them a new fishing pole or golf club, but be sure to go to a specialty store and get advice from a knowledgeable sales clerk.

Toys

Men have a problem growing up and love to play with toys no matter what their age. Brothers that love video games would appreciate a new gaming system or a new game to play. If they aren’t into video games, try a poker set or fancy chess set. Remember that colorful yo-yo or fancy matchbox car they loved when they were little? Check online to find a reproduction or actual toy that is in good shape. It will bring back memories of childhood past.

Memory Makers

Bring more childhood memories to light with birthday gifts containing photos. Give a digital photo frame and load it with family pictures. Opt for a handmade scrapbook complete with humorous captions. Both he and his family will enjoy looking into his past.

Activities

Maybe brother wanted to be a race car driver, a pilot or a cowboy when he was young. Give him a chance to do just that by treating him to a ride in a race car, military plane or go horseback riding and see a rodeo. Many racetracks and airfields offer the chance to go around the track or up in the air and some even let the gift recipient drive or fly for a short period of time. Other options are to take brother hiking, to a sporting event, go bungee jumping, parachuting or ride in a hot air balloon.

Electronics

All men love electronics. Update his phone or get a WiFi powered tablet that he can take anywhere to surf the net. Other good electronic birthday gifts include iPods, navigation systems, wireless earphones or speakers. Try a solar charger that will charge phones and other electronics anywhere. USB drives come in all colors and shapes that relate to specific interests.

Other Ideas

Instead of a wristwatch get an old fashioned pocket watch that will make a good conversation piece. Other jewelry like a masculine necklace or bracelet makes nice gifts. For a brother who loves coffee, try a one cup coffee maker with different flavored coffees. A soda maker that infuses carbonation and flavor into regular water saves a bundle for those that enjoy soft drinks.

Give brother a gift that will excite and amuse him. Tell him he is the best life-long friend ever.

To find a birthday gift for a man who has everything, a gift-giver must explore his interests and get creative. Learn to think out of the box, and consider items that may not be found in a typical department store.

One excellent gift idea is to upgrade an item that he may already have. If he has an iPhone or iPad, perhaps he may enjoy the latest upgrade of his favorite electronic gadget. There is a stylus available to help him with that annoying touchscreen keyboard.  If he already has a set of golf clubs, he may enjoy one or two new “premium” clubs. If he has a passion, such as cooking or working on cars, he may enjoy a high-quality tool to use in the kitchen or garage.

Other men may enjoy “experience” birthday gifts. These guys might enjoy season tickets to the symphony, theater or sporting events. These kinds of gifts will bring weeks of pleasure to a loved one, rather than contribute to clutter in his closets and garage.

Another experience gift for a man who has everything might be the gift of time. One could commit to regularly spending time with the birthday guy doing an activity of his choice. This promise could be for a monthly time together or a weekly appointment for lunch. However, the only way that he will enjoy this gift is if the giver places a priority on those regular appointments, never allowing them to be cancelled, except for extreme emergencies.

Many men have special historical interests, such as World War II or the Civil War. Some websites specialize in the sale of authentic historical artifacts, like vintage weapons, maps or pieces of equipment. A history enthusiast would likely be excited to own an authentic piece of the past.

If money is tight, one must be even more innovative to give a special gift for a birthday. Perhaps he would enjoy a scrapbook of special occasions and shared events. These scrapbooks are even more meaningful when one takes the time to write special thoughts and significant memories inside.

By thinking beyond the items that are commonly available in stores, one can usually hit upon fabulous birthday gift ideas for men who seem to have everything. Looking into a man’s passions, interests, likes and dislikes can bring forth fabulous new ideas for a birthday gift. One can never go wrong by adding the personal touch of a handwritten note or a special, meaningful card.

Decorations

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Decorate tables with bird cages filled with flowers or paint small wooden bird houses and glue dried flowers to the roof. Take some defoliated branches and place them in a tall vase anchoring them down with glass marbles or clean pebbles. Hang bird figurines or construction paper birds from the branches.

Food
Put out a large bowl of popcorn with some gummy worms mixed in for human bird food. Make egg or chicken salad sandwiches and cut them out of the bread with bird-shaped cookie cutters. Spaghetti looks like a bunch of worms even when topped with red or Alfredo sauce. If eating worms doesn’t seem appetizing for you, swirl the pasta into a ball and place an indentation in the middle. Place a few meatballs in the indentation and you’ve made a birds nest. Serve chicken wings in several flavors or have a breakfast party and serve egg nests by buttering both sides of a piece of Italian bread and making a hole in the center. Put it in a skillet and break an egg over the hole. Fry the egg on one side and then turn the whole thing over to make an easy over egg.

Games
For a children’s party, play the game duck, duck, goose. Children sit in a large circle and one person goes around the outside touching each participant on the head saying duck, duck, goose until they pick someone by tapping them on the head. They run one way and the person tapped gets up and runs the other way. Whoever doesn’t make it to the vacated spot and sits down is it. Draw a pear shape with an elongated neck on a poster board and color it purple and blue. This is the back of a peacock. Cut multi-colored feathers from construction paper and glue them together in a fan. Place a piece of double sided tape where they all come together and proceed with pin the tail on the peacock by blindfolding participants, turning them around and having them stick the tail on the poster board. Whoever gets the closest to where the tail should be is the winner.

Activities
Make bird feeders by spreading peanut butter on a pine cone and rolling it in bird food. Tie twine around the petals of the cone and make a loop at the top to hang it on a tree. Make origami cranes out of colorful paper and let everyone take several to decorate their home. Make finger print birds by pressing the thumb of each participant on an ink pad and then placing it on some card stock to make a print. Embellish the print with markers, putting on a beak, feet and other features to make a finger print bird. Have participants mix their own birdseed. Most seed eating birds love sunflower seeds. Thistle is a favorite of goldfinches while millet is good for sparrows. Place the seed in plastic bags taken home.

End the party with a drawing to see who wins a bird feeder and a bag of birdfeed. Not only will the birthday party be fun, but also bring to attention the needs of birds during the winter.

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and a perfect month to celebrate with birthday party foods and activities everyone can enjoy and from which they can benefit. Provide these treats and promote these activities any month of the year in order to help the birthday person stay healthy.

Desserts
Instead of imbibing in cake and ice cream, opt for other treats that include fruit. Watermelon is always a hit at any party. Cut it up and serve in slices or cut in cubes and combine with cantaloupe, honeydew, grapes, cherries and other fruits and serve in a bowl made of the watermelon rind. To spice it up you can add a few splashes of sparkling apple cider. Make fruit kabobs and stick them in Styrofoam to make centerpieces on the buffet table. Instead of a sweet cake make one that substitutes applesauce for oil. This also alleviates the need for as much sugar in the recipe because applesauce is naturally sweet. Opt for bran, zucchini, banana nut or carrot muffins rather than cake. Substitute ice cream with flavored or frozen yogurt with a topping of fruit.

Snacks or Appetizers
Set large bowls of plain popcorn to take at will. Provide platters of sliced or baby vegetables and low-fat dip for guests. Cut up a variety of low-fat, low–salt cheeses and serve them with whole wheat crackers. Slice apples and dip them in lemon juice so they do not turn brown. Dip apples in an organic peanut butter and roll them in hulled sunflower seeds if desired.

Drinks
Yogurt smoothies taste like milkshakes without a great deal of fat. Combine 1 cup vanilla yogurt with 1 cup of fresh fruit in a blender and add either ½ cup fruit juice or ice to make it cold and icy. Serve unsweetened ice tea in different flavors using herbal teas or tea mixed with natural, unsweetened fruit juices.

Main Dishes
Make special birthday party finger sandwiches with tuna, egg or chicken salad. Make sure you use light mayonnaise and top with a slice of olive, pickle or sprinkle fresh herbs on top. Use whole grain bread instead of white. If you are making fruit kabobs, stick with the kabob theme and make kabobs with skinless chicken breast pieces, onions, tomatoes and peppers and either grill or broil them.

Birthday Activities
Even adults enjoy some relay races that get the body moving and heart pumping. Play music and dance or go to a miniature golf course or go bowling. Do any activity that promotes good health and activity. This will ensure more birthdays for the heart healthy celebrant.

Invitations
Make invitations using flat candy bars and hand them out instead of sending them in the mail. Cut chocolate themed scrapbook paper to fit and fold over the candy bar and print the party particulars, like time and location, on the wrapper taping it around the bar. Avoid using bars with nuts that can have an adverse effect on those with allergies.

Decorations
Use the color brown in table cloths, paper products, balloons and streamers. To lend a little more color to the birthday party palate, combine brown with the party celebrant’s favorite color. Brown is neutral and goes with just about anything. Scatter chocolate candies down the center of the tables and make a centerpiece by filling a vase or glass jar with small candy bars, candy coated chocolates or kisses. You can even insert a few artificial flowers in the candy-filled containers.

Games
What is a party without party games? Divide players into teams and place a bowl at each end of the room for each team. Fill one bowl with candy coated chocolate pieces and give the first player a plastic spoon. The object is to fill the spoon with the candy, walk or run it to the other bowl and pour what is left in the spoon into the empty bowl. The player then takes the spoon back to the next team member. The team that has the most candy in the empty bowl wins.

Roll dice and whoever gets snake eyes has the opportunity to take two chocolate sandwich cookies (like Oreos) and stack them on a table. The next person to get snake eyes stacks two more cookies on top and so on. The player that last successfully stacks two cookies on the tower before it falls is the winner.

Place bowls of different sizes on a line. Contestants stand on another line several feet away and toss candy kisses into the bowls to gain points. The smallest bowl should gain the largest amount of points. Whoever gets the most points, wins.

Have guests guess how many candies are in each centerpiece and the person who guesses the closest at the table gets to take the centerpiece home.

Food
Chocolate cake and ice cream are a given at a chocolate birthday party, but try a chocolate fountain with a variety of goodies to dip including pretzels, marshmallows and fruit. Adults may enjoy chicken with mole sauce and red wine while kids may like chocolate chip pancakes and chocolate milk or shakes.

Serve food at the end of a party when dealing with children so they do not get overloaded with sugar while still at the party. Also make sure parents know their kids are going to get a great deal of sugar at the party so they can plan accordingly.

Decorations
Birds in the game are red, blue, green, yellow, black and white.

Purchase paper plates and cups in these solid covers and cover tables with colorful primary color plastic table cloths. Cover boxes like tissue and cereal boxes with brown craft paper for wood structures, blue tissue paper for glass structures and white tissue paper for stone structures. Stack them in configurations that will protect the green pigs and glue them together using them as center pieces.

Crafts
Decorate bright green paper plates with construction paper snouts and ears. Use cotton balls as eyes with a dot of magic marker in the center. Hang the paper plate pigs from the ceiling with ribbon. Take colorful plastic cups and add two google eyes to the side with angry looking construction paper eyebrows. Cut out beaks from orange or yellow paper and glue them below the eyes. Fill the cup with popcorn or trail mix and use them as favors.

Games
Make small bean bags in bird colors and stack boxes in configurations with a pig hiding behind them. Use bean bags to knock down the boxes and capture the pig. Tape green pig faces to clear water bottles that are filled one third of the way full. Use the bean bags to knock them down. Pile disposable cups in a wall in front of a pig and use ping pong balls to knock over the wall and get the pig. The winner is the one with the most pigs. Purchase kid safe slingshot toys and use ping pong balls painted in bird colors to hit green balloons with marker drawn pig faces hung from the ceiling. Paint plastic Easter eggs gold and fill them with prizes. Hide them around the house or yard for an egg hunt at the end of the party.

Food
Top cupcakes in angry bird colors and decorate them to look like the birds themselves, or make cake pops and decorate them in Angry Bird style. Fill favor cups with trail mix for energy powered bird feed.

Angry birds is an active game so be sure to set ground rules for the party. No aiming at the face with objects to be thrown and only throw in turn. This should keep all party revelers safe and happy to enjoy the Angry Bird birthday party theme.

Decorations
The colors of Mardi Gras are purple, signifying justice; green, meaning faith; and gold, representing power. Use these colors in the table cloths, table ware and other decoration including balloons, and streamers. Sprinkle confetti down the center of tables or strew them with colorful Mardi Gras beads. Wrap beads around a candle or vase and use as a centerpiece. Mardi Gras is all about excess, so decorate to the max.

Activities
Mardi Gras is the perfect time to have a costume or masquerade birthday party. Give your guests a plain mask when they arrive or with the invitation. Have them decorate it at home or at the party using paint, glitter, feathers and other craft items. Have guests vote on the best mask and give the maker a prize. Make sure to have massive amounts of beads and a few feather boas there for your guests to wear. Don’t forget to take photos and place them in a scrap book for the birthday celebrant.

Food
Adults enjoy traditional New Orleans fare like gumbo or jambalaya. Muffelletta sandwiches, oysters and other seafood is also a good choice. Kids may not enjoy a good etouffe, so serve chili or chili dogs, cheese and turkey sandwiches, or pizza. Have a King’s Cake instead of a traditional birthday cake. King’s cake, also called twelfth night cake, is sweet, pastry-like bread baked in a wreath shape. It is decorated with icing or glaze in Mardi Gras colors. A small ceramic baby or dried bean is baked inside the cake and the tradition is whoever gets the baby in their piece, provides next year’s party. In the case of a birthday celebration, the lucky person would get a prize.

Games
Pass a mask or small plastic baby around a circle while jazz or blues music plays. When the music stops, the person who has the object is out until only the winner is left. Hide Mardi Gras coins or chocolate, foil covered coins around the party area. The person that finds the most wins a prize. Set up some bottles with sand in the bottom so they stay upright. Throw strands of beads at them and whoever encircles a bottle wins another prize.

Mardi Gras is a great birthday party theme for young and old. Invite guests to come as they are or dress in costume to revel the time away.

Leap Year Birthdays
Those born on leap day, or February 29th, usually celebrate their birthday the day before on February 28th in a non-leap year. A person that is 24 years old may only have six birthdays that actually occurred on their birth date. Because of this, those born on leap day were contrary to nature and it was said they were unlucky.

Legend
A legend was born when St. Bridget protested that fact that women had to wait for men to propose marriage. She went to St. Patrick and argued the fact. Saint Patrick agreed to allow women to propose every seven years, but Bridget bargained hard. St. Patrick decreed that women could propose during a leap year. This was supposed to balance the roles of men and women just as it balanced the solar year.

Proposals
The tradition stated that a woman had to wear a red petticoat that was somewhat visible to the eye when taking advantage of this opportunity. If a man said no to the proposal, they had to pay the price by buying the woman a gown or something similar. When proposing to a man in a modern leap year, it might be a good idea to make sure he knows all about this tradition. On his birthday decorate with red roses and wear a red dress. There are no guarantees he will get the idea, but it doesn’t hurt to try.

Dos and Do Nots
Men generally do not like a great deal of fanfare and they definitely don’t like to make big decisions in a crowd. Prepare a quiet evening alone with a lovely dinner, some wine and a cake. It might even be too forward to place a bride and groom on the cake along with candles. Men like to think they are in charge and a proposal by a woman might cause unnecessary duress. Give the man a present consisting of something he really wants. Also give him something that ties him to the relationship like matching watches, a necklace with half a heart matching the woman’s necklace or an identification bracelet with both names engraved on it. Never get on your knees and never present a ring. This gives him the option to do this himself in a traditional manner if he desires, and does not stir up embarrassment or hurt feelings.

The tradition is that a woman can propose any time during a leap year. It’s only more convenient if his birthday. or hers, is on leap day. With any luck, he will be receptive to the invitation of marriage and will say yes. If not, a new dress may be in your future.

Almost everyone has at least one person in their lives for whom it is hard to shop. For women, one can usually buy household items or jewelry. Yet, most men would not enjoy receiving a pretty pair of pillowcases or a tennis bracelet. Finding gifts for some men is a challenge that can make each holiday, birthday and special occasion agonizing for those who want to recognize their fathers, brothers, husbands and friends.

To find a birthday gift for a man who has everything, a gift-giver must explore his interests and get creative. Learn to think out of the box, and consider items that may not be found in a typical department store.

One excellent gift idea is to upgrade an item that he may already have. If he has an iPhone or iPad, perhaps he may enjoy the latest upgrade of his favorite electronic gadget. There is a stylus available to help him with that annoying touchscreen keyboard.  If he already has a set of golf clubs, he may enjoy one or two new “premium” clubs. If he has a passion, such as cooking or working on cars, he may enjoy a high-quality tool to use in the kitchen or garage.

Other men may enjoy “experience” birthday gifts. These guys might enjoy season tickets to the symphony, theater or sporting events. These kinds of gifts will bring weeks of pleasure to a loved one, rather than contribute to clutter in his closets and garage.

Another experience gift for a man who has everything might be the gift of time. One could commit to regularly spending time with the birthday guy doing an activity of his choice. This promise could be for a monthly time together or a weekly appointment for lunch. However, the only way that he will enjoy this gift is if the giver places a priority on those regular appointments, never allowing them to be cancelled, except for extreme emergencies.

Many men have special historical interests, such as World War II or the Civil War. Some websites specialize in the sale of authentic historical artifacts, like vintage weapons, maps or pieces of equipment. A history enthusiast would likely be excited to own an authentic piece of the past.

If money is tight, one must be even more innovative to give a special gift for a birthday. Perhaps he would enjoy a scrapbook of special occasions and shared events. These scrapbooks are even more meaningful when one takes the time to write special thoughts and significant memories inside.

By thinking beyond the items that are commonly available in stores, one can usually hit upon fabulous birthday gift ideas for men who seem to have everything. Looking into a man’s passions, interests, likes and dislikes can bring forth fabulous new ideas for a birthday gift. One can never go wrong by adding the personal touch of a handwritten note or a special, meaningful card.