I’m sure if you take some time to browse our great new collection of modern, trendy, unique and special party favors, you’re sure to find something perfect for your next big event.

“We recognize same-sex marriage as a politically sensitive issue, but we have also received numerous requests to come up with a product line specifically tailored to this customer segment,” said the founder of PlumDrama from his office in San Francisco. The company takes no official political stance on whether they approve or disapprove of the recent legislation, saying only that they feel all individuals should be treated with respect and dignity, and that the celebration of love can never be a bad thing. The company has started its line of same-sex wedding favors by launching a line of designs for its candy tin product. The candy tin is a small tin box filled with one of four different flavors of candy. It is then affixed with a design chosen by the customer. The designs selected for this new category are inspired by icons and symbolism that help to define the gay and lesbian communities. In particular, many of the designs incorporate the rainbow as a key design element. As with all PlumDrama products, the same sex wedding favors can be personalized to match the occasion that is being celebrated. The company states that the candy tin product is the best seller of its twelve product line of favors. Having its corporate headquarters in San Francisco has helped the company stay on top of the swiftly moving changes of this legislation.

“We are dedicated to filling the needs for parties of all occasions. From birthdays to Mitzvahs to baby showers. It makes no difference to us. We want to be a part of every celebration going on across the country and around the world. We think that by offering our new line of same sex wedding favors, we are working toward that goal.”

Our goal is to provide great birthday party ideas for those loved ones who are celebrating their 40th or 50th birthday.  Without further adieu, here’s our list of the best 40th or 50th birthday party ideas for your next special occasion!

1. Make sure you have a theme.  Just like kids like to have the Dora The Exlorer plates match the Dora The Explorer cups, adults are no different.  Try to make things a bit more sophisticated than that (!), but it’s always more fun to have a theme to your event.  Popular birthday party ideas/themes that we’ve seen for 40th or 50th birthday parties is: Vegas night, Golf theme, Beach/Island theme, and the always-popular: Dress-up like the guest of honor theme.
2. Always send out invitations that set the mood for the event.  If your goal is elegance and refinement, then make sure your invitations are simple, refined, and sophisticated.  If you expect your guests to let loose and kick of their shoes, then we suggest a more playful invitation.  The invitation is the first impression your guests will have about the 40th or 50th birthday party you’re hosting, so make sure you set the proper tone early!
3. Deal with the “gift problem.”  To give or not to give?  That is the question!  Avoid the awkward moments that ensue when the acquaintance from work buys you a new Rolex, but your own brother thinks his six pack of Bud is good enough to qualify as a gift.  Gifts are never an entitlement, but to avoid awkward situations, you should spell out whether or not you expect any gifts from your guests.
4. Play music.  A no-brainer, right?  You’d be surprised.  I’ve been to many parties where the music was totally lacking.  Just an oversight almost every single time, but nothing will suck the air out of your 40th or 50th birthday party like an evening so quiet you can hear the crickets chirping.

That’s all we have for today as it relates to 40th and 50th birthday party ideas.  If you’re looking for the perfect personalized party favors for your next special occasion, we hope you’ll check out the full line at the PlumDrama store!

Here are the top eco-friendly tips that will help to make your party just a little greener next time!

• Label the cups.  If you’re having disposable cups (let’s face it, an outdoor pool party is NOT the place for glassware!), then be sure to provide markers that your guests can use to write their names on the sides of their cups.  You’d be really surprised to know how many cups most guests will go through in a single evening as they go back for refills.  Labeling the cups saves them from using too many of them.
• Provide clear receptacles for recycling vs. trash.  Too often, we forget something very simple like sorting our trash.  Providing two clearly labeled receptacles for trash will allow your guests to contribute to the green theme!  Just make sure they know which is which!
• Use candles as lighting.  I know it sounds very bohemian and earthy, but candles do produce great light, and they also produce an even better effect.  Give the grid a rest for ahwile, and get yourself some great scented candles!
• Send leftovers home with your guests.  The last thing you should do is throw away food that is edible.  This is an issue that goes beyond party foul!  There really are kids starving everyday, so it is a true crime to let party food go to the trash.  Your party guests will appreciate the snacks they get to take with them, so pack them a (reusable) plate entry, and send them on their merry way!

I hope you found this short list of eco-friendly party tips and party tricks useful.  Next time you’re planning your next great party, we hope you’ll come back for more party ideas!

One thing has remained the same, since we started.  Most customers order their custom party favors during the summer months.  There’s a LOT more partying going on during the summer time, and we hope your summers are filled with party and merriment.  And we hope we can be a part of those special occasions this year with our complete line of custom party favors.  Not up for it?  Well, then here’s a list of resources that might make your next party more enjoyable.

• The web is the best source for free information since the invention of the library.  Take advantage!  Recipe Zaar.com has just updated its great list of summertime recipes.
• Can’t make it to the beach this year due to the insane cost of fuel?  Take a look at these great summertime vacation ideas.
• Planning a BBQ and worried you’ll singe off your own eyebrows?  Then you better read this article about how to BBQ.

Make sure you come back for more tips and tricks on how to throw the perfect summertime get together.  And remember that we offer much more than just our line of custom party favors!

Make a Yummy Low Fat Pizza
by: Sean Lannin

There was this line in a movie (I can’t quite recall which) that said “Fatless, salt-less, sugarless… and tasteless” or something to the same effect. This actually reflects a quite popular sentiment in this day and age of health consciousness. People who wish to be healthy or who want to lose a few pounds are of the belief that they have to sacrifice taste if they wish to achieve their desired weight or health goals. Naturally, tasteless yet healthy foods don’t lend itself well as a substitute for tasty yet rich foods to which we have been accustomed. As a result, people who go on a low fat diet usually find themselves reverting to old habits sooner or later.

Nevertheless, while it is true that majority of health and low fat foods being sold in the market do tend to be bland, this is not applicable in all cases. If nothing else, there is such a thing as a yummy, low fat pizza. Yup, a delicious low fat pizza is definitely possible. In fact this article will instruct you on how to make one. All you need is a proper understanding of what constitutes healthy, low fat food and how to apply such principles into making your pizza.

The Principles of a Low Fat Diet

Understand one thing: low fat doesn’t mean non-fat. These two are entirely different things. Low fat means you reduce the amount of fat in your diet. This means that less than thirty percent of your daily calorie intake should come from fat.

A low fat diet also means a reduction in the amount of unhealthy fats in your diet. By unhealthy fats, we are referring to saturated fats (which are unhealthy because they raise bad cholesterol levels) and polyunsaturated fats (which are unhealthy because they reduce the amount of ALL types of cholesterol and do not discriminate between good and bad cholesterol). Each of these two types of fat must consist less than ten percent of your daily calorie intake. Monounsaturated fats, on the other hand, are the “healthy fats” because they promote good cholesterol levels and reduce bad cholesterol levels. Such healthy fats, however, should still only comprise less than fifteen percent of your daily calorie intake.

Reduction in the amount of fat and reduction in the amount of unhealthy fats are the basic principles of a healthy, low fat diet. If you reduce the amount of fat intake but consumes only or mostly unhealthy fats, then you are, technically, on a low fat yet generally unhealthy diet.

A low carb diet is not the same as a low fat diet. A low fat diet can be one that has high carbohydrate content whereas a low carb diet can have a high fat content. With careful planning, however, it is possible to combine a low fat diet with a low carb diet.

There are debates as to which of these two types of diet is healthier. Definitely, a low fat diet that reduces the intake of unhealthy fats is healthy. However, if your goal is to reduce weight, a low carb diet is more effective in the short run. Nevertheless, a low carb diet can lead to more side effects and can be unhealthy in the long run whereas the low fat diet, although apparently not as effective as a weight reduction measure in the short term, is more effective as a weight maintenance measure in the long run.

Now that the definition of a low fat diet has been discussed, and the low carb and low fat diet have been sufficiently differentiated, it is time to apply such tenets. Get your pizza pan and wooden spoon ready. It’s time to make our yummy, low fat pizza. Take note that we are going to make real, homemade pizza - not something that simply looks and tastes like pizza.

How to Make a Yummy Low Fat Pizza

The secret to making a low fat pizza is finding out the fat content of your usual pizza ingredients, finding a low fat substitute, reducing overall fat content, and adjusting the other ingredients and the cooking procedures to reflect the changes. You need not compute the calories in pizza to make a low fat pizza.

Low fat pizza dough

The change should start with the pizza crust. Whether you are making a thin crust or a thick crust, you should always focus on how much fat content your pizza crust recipe has. For instance, the basic pizza dough recipe has the following ingredients: flour, yeast, water, oil/shortening, milk, salt, and sugar. To make pizza crust relatively low in fat content, therefore, you must check each of the ingredients and find substitutes when applicable.

In the easy pizza crust recipe indicated above, it is easy enough to find low fat substitutes. First, you should use vegetable oil instead of animal fat or butter as your shortening in your pizza recipe. Of all vegetable oils, however, it is best to use olive oil which has the highest amount of monounsaturated fat content. Avoid palm and coconut oil as these have higher saturated fat content. Next, you should use dry, non-fat milk solids to replace regular milk.

Aside from replacing the ingredients that you can with their low or non-fat substitutes, you should also reduce the total amount of fat in your pizza dough recipes. Use as little oil as possible in your pizza dough. Moreover, do not use egg yolks even if your traditional homemade pizza recipe calls for it.

Substituting olive oil for butter or shortening should not result in any drastic changes. In fact, you can use extra virgin olive oil for a stronger olive flavor. If you prefer your crust to be creamy, you shouldn’t worry since you are using milk on your dough anyway. The above ingredients should therefore give you great-tasting, low fat pizza.

Now, if you want to make an even healthier pizza dough, increase fiber content by using whole wheat flour instead of the usual white flour; reduce the amount of salt and sugar, too. Then, you can decrease carbohydrate content by opting for a thin crust pizza (less carb per slice) or reducing the amount of flour. To compensate for the less flour, you can use egg whites as binder (of course, amount of water must be reduced in proportion to the amount of egg white used).

Pizza Toppings and Pizza Sauce Low Fat Pizza

It is much easier to choose pizza toppings for a low fat pizza recipe. You should primarily choose vegetable toppings. Thus, a vegetable pizza is preferable. For variety, you can add fruit and make it a vegetable-and-fruit pizza. You can find a vegetable pizza recipe or a fruit vegetable recipe online; you can also create your own.

No-cheese pizza is best, but if you really must have cheese, then find low fat cheese or find a low fat cheese blend that you can live with. Moreover, less cheese is best. Use just enough cheese to give your pizza flavor; I’m afraid that cheese pizza is generally out then.

Tomato sauce is healthy, but you should choose one with a lower salt and sugar content. If you want, you can make your own. You can even dice up your own tomatoes and use them as toppings. Finally, substitute lean meat to your fat-laden sausages; use white meat (without the fat portions) instead of red meat. Add herbs and herbal pizza spices to add flavor and taste to your low fat pizza.

About The Author

Sean Lannin

With more than 10 years experience both working and owning pizza restaurants. When he tried to find information about making pizza at home, he noticed that the information was either non-existent or lacked the information he felt was important. He now shares his passion for making pizza with readers of his website.

http://www.homemade-pizza-made-easy.com/

• It takes a LONG time.  Think about how tedious it is to build your party favors one by one by one.  It’s grueling.  Our company has a process for making the party favors we sell to our customers.  It has taken us a long while to get this process refined to the point where we can produce personalized party favors quickly and efficiently.
• Remember that all the party favors need to be exactly the same.  You’d probably be really surprised to find out how much your guests will complain if one of them ends up getting something different from everyone else.  “Hey!  The candy in this one is different from what so-and-so got!”  This is a common refrain.  If you’re going to do it yourself, just remember that every single party favor you make needs to look exactly the same, or else your guests might leave the party with a sour experience!
• Try to find your party supplies from a store close to where you live.  Why?  Because if you mess up during the manufacturing process, it will make it that much easier to just run back to the store and pick up more supplies.
• Make few extras for guests that will take more than one.  It’s weird, right?  You offer your guests a great party favor to take home as a memento to the special event, and you think that would be enough, right?  Wrong!  We get so many phone calls from customers who ask: “Is there any way I can get my guests to only take one party favor?”  Rather than create an awkward situation between party host and party guest, we always recommend that they make or order a few extra party favors for those guests who don’t understand the concept of: “It’s free, so just take one!”

Remember: If you end up buying supplies for your own party favors, good luck, and remember these tips.  If you end up in a pinch and everything goes sideways on you, just give us a call here at PlumDrama.  We get our party favors built and shipped in one day, so we can make any emergency, less of a stressful situation!

I can see why the 50th birthday party has become so special.  It marks a half century of life!  What milestone could be greater than that?!  I thought it’d be helpful to provide a quick-hits list of the most elegant 50th birthday party ideas we’ve seen here while on the front lines at PlumDrama:

• If it’s a golf lover who’s celebrating, our golf ball party favors are sure to be a big hit!
• Make sure you order your party invitations early in advance for your guests to receive them, schedule the day into their calendars, and mail them back to you.  In the era of fast turnaround and attention deficit, wouldn’t it be nice to send them a paper invitation, rather than an impersonal evite?  After all, if it’s going to be an elegant 50th birthday party, the idea is to make it pure and refined.
• You’re never too old to enjoy a great birthday cake, so we also recommend that you have plenty of cake (and ice cream) on hand to feed your guests.
• Now that you’ve hit that important half-century mark, it’s time to celebrate in true elegant style.  Might we suggest a nice bottle of the guest’s favorite wine?
• Especially during those hot summer days and nights, there’s nothing better than a refreshing beverage.  What would be a better idea for your 50th birthday party than to provide a ’signature drink’ for all of your guests?  Be sure to offer a non-alcoholic alternative for everyone to enjoy!

Most of these ideas are common sensical, but in the frenzy of party planning, we know that some of the most basic party planning concepts can begin to escape even the most careful party planners.

Now, it’s all about the quality of the photo xmas cards you choose to send.  The photo xmas cards available on Tiny Prints are much higher quality than what you might be used to.  There’s a lot of competition right now on the Internet.  Many companies offer photo xmas cards, because the popularity of them has increased a great deal.  Why have photo xmas cards increased in popularity?  Mostly, because of advances in printing and paper quality.  With the photo xmas cards offered at Tiny Prints, you’ll notice:

• High quality construction and packaging of the photo xmas cards.
• Faster turnaround time.
• Better user experience.
• Easy-to-order web interface.
• Extremely friendly customer service reps ready to take your order on the first ring!  Well…maybe not the first ring, but there’s certainly a human on the other end of your phone when you call.  Not a machine.  Ever try calling Costco about your photo xmas card order?  That’s what I thought: Nightmare.

As you think about ordering your photo xmas cards this year, I encourage you to let Tiny Prints do the work for you this year.  I’ve used their service so many times for so many different occasions, and I cannot recommend their photo xmas cards with a higher endoresement! 

 Here are the reasons our candy favor box is such a popular personalized party favor:

• We have hundreds of designs for the candy favor box.  We have designs for wedding favors, birthday party favors, retirement party favors, 50th 60th 70th and 80th birthday party favors.  Having a design on the candy favor box for every possible scenario makes this product a true bestseller.
• The candies that we use for the candy favor boxes are delicious.  It’s true.  I know I’m biased, but we get calls all the time about how great the peppermints taste, or how the cinnamon candies were eaten in record time.  I like to credit a great candy manufacturer for getting the recipe perfect.  The candies we use for the candy favor box really are second to none.
• The quality of the tin is high.  This might seem like a weird statement, and most customers don’t even notice the quality of the tins.  Most people in this world don’t know how to judge quality of tin….after all, isn’t it just a candy favor box?  I wish they were all the same, but it’s our job to notice the difference.  Our candy favor boxes are made of an extremely high-grade, high-quality tin that lasts a long time without denting or scratching.  Moreover, the hinges on the tins and the clasp stays put tightly.  There’s a satisfying ‘click’ when you shut the candy box, and most important to me - the candy favor box stays shut when it’s in your purse or pocket, which means NO SPILLING!

So that’s really it.  If anyone ever had any curiousity regarding our candy favor boxes I hope this quick post gets ‘em answered!