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AIBU?

School fair cakes!!

72 replies

MumtoD · 12/12/2014 09:11

AIBU being a bit disappointed that I was the only parent at drop off this morning with non-store bought cakes for the school fair. I'm a single parent, work full time and study and still had enough time to slap some icing on a dozen cupcakes

OP posts:

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InMySpareTime · 12/12/2014 09:16

It's even more disheartening when you see them selling your cakes for less than the ingredients cost, to kids that eat the icing and drop the cakes on the ground.
After a couple of years of primary school, even the most die-hard bakers give up and either buy cakes or just give the school the cost of the ingredients they would have bought (which ironically would raise more money than selling them, for less effort on the part of both PTA and parents)

Songofsixpence · 12/12/2014 09:23

I agree with Inmysparetime.

I used to make cakes for the school fair, but got fed up with making the effort when they sell them for less than the ingredients cost. Someone donated beautifully iced Christmas cakes to our fair. They were sold for £2 each. Why bother?

2 boxes of mince pies were £1.20 in my co-op the other day. Job done.

I helped at our fair last week, and most people with homemade cakes dropped them off at pick up time rather than first thing in the morning

Bunbaker · 12/12/2014 09:23

When I used to do the refreshments at DD's school fair most people made cakes. A few brought in shop bought cakes and they were always the last to be sold. The only shop bought one that was popular was Battenburg cake. It is a fiddle to make so I can understand people not making it.

I think we were lucky that we had some parents who were fabulous bakers.

formerbabe · 12/12/2014 09:23

You will get flamed on here I reckon op, but I completely agree. I always bake something regardless of how busy I am. Most parents don't seem to bring anything at all. I dislike shop bought cakes, the homemade ones always sell out faster.

MumtoD · 12/12/2014 09:42

Flame away I was getting a lot of looks this morning, thought maybe I'd broken some unwritten rule. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure DD tipped the box over when handing it to her teacher so they're probably a big squishy pile of cake now

OP posts:

LoonvanBoon · 12/12/2014 11:13

I think you are being a bit unreasonable. There are loads of reasons someone might not do home-made cakes. It's a busy time of year; people might be ill; it's often more expensive to buy the raw ingredients than to pick something up in a shop.

Or someone might just decide they're tired & can't be arsed, & will contribute in some other way. It was your choice to bake cakes despite having an incredibly busy schedule, & that is impressive. But it's not an excuse to judge other people.

Hope you're judging all the dads as well, BTW. They're just as capable of making a few buns.

Totally agree with the point about how underpriced home-made cakes are at school cake stalls. I also stopped doing them for that reason.

LL12 · 12/12/2014 11:56

I found at my daughters school summer fete that most were shop bought cakes and the few that were homemade they never even took the foil off them so nobody knew they were even there.
I took the foil off my cake when I saw and made a point of telling the teachers manning the stall what type it was in front of some parents which seemed to do the trick as then people bought some.
This time I will admit I just sent in shop bought.

PortofinoVino · 12/12/2014 12:40

Loon - I think YOU ABU. She wasn't 'judging' - she was 'disappointed'.

I'd go back to bed and start again if I were you.

ChunkyPickle · 12/12/2014 12:46

We've had 6 weeks of donations now (bottle week, present for mum and dad week, sweets and chocolate week, and I can't remember what else). So by the time we're finally at cake week I'd have happily donated bought cakes - but it was actually more effort in the end to get out and buy some, and I was cooking some pasties for dinner anyhow.

TBH, I'm just wishing I could write a cheque and not have to do any of this stuff, but it's a small school and they need all the parental participation they can get.

ArcheryAnnie · 12/12/2014 12:48

Yes, a bit YABU. Lots of people have no interest or skill in baking, and yet still are willing to contribute. I'd be glad people bought in anything at all.

lynniep · 12/12/2014 12:50

honestly I don't care one way or the other as I never make it to the cake fairs anyway When I have time, I bake, and when I don't have time, I don't bake. If people contribute, it doesn't matter whether they delivered Mr Kipling or homemade.

LaurieFairyCake · 12/12/2014 12:51

I wouldn't bake cakes now, after spending nearly a tenner 6 years ago on all organic and high quality chocolate (they were lovely) to find them being sold at 10p.

One person naturally bought the lot and got the bargain of the year

MrsGoslingWannabe · 12/12/2014 12:53

Shop cakes are rank. We had so many unopened packets left over after our school fair. Why would you encourage kids to eat the crap?

JosephWasAChippyMinton · 12/12/2014 12:54

YABU
I'm another parent that used to bake but got fed up of seeing my lovingly baked with good quality ingredients and decorated offerings bundled up into a plastic bag with 5 random others (shop bought or homemade) and sold for 50p.
Now I don't bother, and avoid the cake sales.

I do support the school in other ways though, so don't worry that I'm not making a contribution.

Sallystyle · 12/12/2014 13:08

Our school prefers bought ones due to any potential hygiene issues.

I actually forgot to bring some.

Sallystyle · 12/12/2014 13:11

I did give them some Parks candles though for the Tombola. I can't wait to stand in the freezing cold in the playground with crowds and crowds of children and parents to get a turn or to buy a cake this afternoon. / Dislikes school fairs.

MrsGoslingWannabe · 12/12/2014 13:12

Is your school fair not indoors U2?

Sallystyle · 12/12/2014 13:16

No, we can't all fit in.

We have to have a one way system now where we go in through one door but have to walk to the other end of the playground to get out because they can't fit too many people in one corridor and everyone used to argue when it became gridlocked.

They could have some stalls in the hall and a few in classrooms but getting into the rooms would be a nightmare so it is easier to have it on the playground.

LoonvanBoon · 12/12/2014 13:24

porto, expressing "disappointment" about the fact that someone else hasn't done something, especially given OP's extra comments about how she managed it despite being really busy, does imply a level of judgement.

Your comment about going back to bed & PA emoticon were really weird.

Bunbaker · 12/12/2014 13:31

"I wouldn't bake cakes now, after spending nearly a tenner 6 years ago on all organic and high quality chocolate (they were lovely) to find them being sold at 10p"

Why on earth would you go to such trouble for a school fair? I just used to make fairy cakes or butterfly buns, using inexpensive ingredients, and made them look festive. They always sold very quickly.

What is this MN thing bout passive aggressive? I didn't think the OP was being PA. I agree with her. It doesn't take much to knock up a few fairy cakes, but if I had to buy something I would look for something a little different that I wouldn't make at home - like the aforementioned Battenburg cake or tea cakes.

Like MrsGosling shop bought cakes were often left until last. At least the school didn't have this nonsense about no home baking due to hygiene issues.

dixiechick1975 · 12/12/2014 13:42

I bake but drop them off on the morning of the fayre maybe some do that? Listing ingredients or as I do labelling veggie/halal helps as people wontbuy if they are not sure. I also box mine in pretty cake boxes (3 boxes 89p home bargains) think they got £2.50 for 4 of my vanilla cupcakes in a box which I was happy with.

dixiechick1975 · 12/12/2014 13:45

My best seller this year was Olaf kits. Got the idea of the purple pumpkin blog. They got £1 each could have sold lots more than I made (and I did about 50) marshmallows, matchmakers Orange jelly bean and some chocolate drops in a cellophane bag.

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LoonvanBoon · 12/12/2014 13:52

Bunbaker (appropriate name ), I didn't think OP was being passive aggressive either. That comment was about a post aimed at me by someone else.

samithesausage · 12/12/2014 14:21

I've given up with baking. I did some cake making with the kids for the fair, we iced them, we boxed them up in nice little decorated boxes and stuck some stickers on the boxes. And when they got there, the boxes were opened up, thrown away and the cakes were chucked on the 10p pile. So I buy shop bought cakes.

LaurieFairyCake · 12/12/2014 14:33

Bunbaker - because I was an idiot! First time needing to do anything for a school, had no clue they sold everything off dead cheap. Was an expensive lesson but thankfully the only time I had to do something for a primary school

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