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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To have said no to DD10?

34 replies

WellErrr · 23/04/2025 11:13

DD has her new friend round and has been upstairs for half an hour. They have just come down with a series of posters for a cake stall. They want to bake many cakes and sell them on a stall outside the house.

We’ve had this before with DD wanting to set up stalls. I don’t like it.

  • We live on a very rural lane so hardly anyone passes anyway
  • I have just spent an hour cleaning the kitchen
  • Money is not currently plentiful and I could do with not replacing all the eggs, butter, sugar, flour etc
  • The house is full of sugar from Easter
  • I fundamentally do not like the whole idea of setting up stalls and hassling passing neighbours to buy food

So I said no as kindly as I could in front of new friend. DD not at all happy. They have spent ages making posters etc and now all ruined etc etc.
DD knows my stance on this and I see this as an attempt to shoehorn me.

AIBU?

OP posts:
minipie · 23/04/2025 11:18

I’ve also said no to this kind of thing in the past, mainly for the last reason alone. I don’t want neighbours and passers by feeling guilted into buying stuff.

rainbowstardrops · 23/04/2025 11:18

I get the mess and using your ingredients but at least they’re being entrepreneurial and not sitting watching a screen!

Jessica5678 · 23/04/2025 11:18

Why does she want to do it - to make money? Because she likes baking? She’s seen too many videos online about lemonade stalls?

I think saying no is reasonable (I wouldn’t allow it either) but I would try and understand her motivation and see if I could agree another way for her to achieve whatever it is she wants.

TeenToTwenties · 23/04/2025 11:18

Does you school hold cake sales?
You could offer for her to bake some for that next time?

WhatNoRaisins · 23/04/2025 11:16

I don't blame you. It's you that's going to have to do the donkey work facilitating this.

If possible I might let them cobble together some crispy cakes, wouldn't let them take over the kitchen doing a mega baking session.

Needmorelego · 23/04/2025 11:16

I second the idea of cornflake cakes.

Pillarsofsalt · 23/04/2025 11:15

You could let her bake a single cake, chop it up and try to sell it. Then take a cut to cover your costs. She sounds enterprising! Can you see it as a strength?

TreeDudette · 23/04/2025 11:15

I'd give her kudos for trying and bonus marks for her attempt to shame you into this and stick to your no! Not bloody likely are you using my kitchen and all my stuff to try and make a back sale. If they wanted to make a single cake to eat themsleves I'd probably allow it depending on how much input it would take from me and how busy I was with other things.

Hephebe · 23/04/2025 11:15

Could they not melt down some of the Easter choc for cornflake cakes and stand outside with those for a couple of hours? I used to love this kind of thing as a kid. If you manage their expectations and tell them to charge 30p per cake or similar, I think it's fine

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