School bake sale, help!

[IceandIndigo]

Hi, we have a school bake sale coming up. I’ve never been to one and I’m not British so I’m not sure how it works. Do people bake cakes or is it mainly smaller things like cookies and tray bakes? We’ve been asked to drop off bakes to the school office, do I need to package it in something disposable or will I be able to get the container back? How does the pricing and the actual sale bit work?

I’m probably overthinking this, lol, but want to help the school and am embarrassed to look clueless in front of other mums

Ah exciting!

People bake all sorts, full cakes that get sliced, cupcakes, brownies, tray bakes, cookies etc. I normally do something that's pre portioned so easier to hand out.

Definitely package in an airtight container if dropping off at the school office with a label stuck onto the box with what it is and your name (both lid and box in my experience), then ask for the container back after the bake sale 😃

Normally they will sort napkins / paper plates / prices etc on the stall so no need for that (always worth chatting to the office / PTA to see if they need anything though).

Whenever DC school has had any type of bale sale it’s been a mix of home bakes & shop bought. Usually I’d say it’s about 90% shop bought & people just leave them in the packet they came in. I can’t imagine you’d get the container back (at least not in DC school) so I’d put them in something disposable if you’re making your own. Usually prices for our sales range from 50p per cake to £1.50 which is usually for things like cookies or fancier looking cakes over basic fairy cakes.

Most people will do small individual cakes/biscuits/traybakes, though you could do one big one and cut into slices.

Avoid nuts - most primary schools are nit free.

Disposable packaging is sensible to avoid them losing your favourite cake time, but otherwise label it clearly with your child's name and class and hope for the best!

Usually the PTA will arrange pricing and the actual sale and you can just turn up and buy some. Take change unless you know they have a card machine.

You will spend £10 on ingrediants and 90 mins making said cakes. They will then be sold for £5.

In our area about 50% off parents, well let’s face it Mum, just buy some cup cakes from the supermarket and and send them in.

Cookies and cupcakes are generally easier for school to divvy up and sell, but they’ll never say no to a lovely cake! I think they will sort out the pricing so cross that off your thinking list. As for the container - don’t give them your best one but write your name (or kids name and class) on it and you should get it back. If you have time offer to help set the tables up.

I never baked for ours but I did buy quite a lot so supported in that way!

Oh and make sure no nuts. If they’re veggie/vegan mark them accordingly. No harm slipping a list of ingredients in I don’t suppose.

Good luck!!

At my daughter's school 95% was shop bought.
People would buy something like the cupcake platters from Aldi and sell the cakes individually for £1 or so.
The trays of 12 donuts from Sainsbury's were always a massive hit.
Homemade stuff was always last to sell or didn't sell at all.

There was rarely any shop bought stuff at ours, we had some really good bakers. This was 5-10 years ago though so perhaps different these days. I would only ever buy home made and occasionally had something so delicious I’d find out who made it and ask for the recipe. One mum did millionaires shortbread to die for. Her main top tip was using Galaxy chocolate as it melts better than Cadburys. Who knew!

Most of the cakes at our primary were home made. I used to send in a dozen cupcakes in a cardboard muffin box from home bargains with ds name on it. We sometimes got the box back.

Cooke’s and cupcakes went down well. There were sometimes big sponges but less often.

One time I was too busy to bake so I got a load of cookies from a supermarket and put them in a fancy tin from home. I got lots of compliments for those 🤣🤣

Oh dear, I like to bake and would be quite disappointed if I made something and everyone preferred the mass produced supermarket stuff!

Ours is mostly homemade, and those definitely don't get rejected in favour of shop bought stuff! If you can find a way of making it look extra fun/appealing to young children though (sprinkles/smiley faces iced on/character cake cases etc) that might be a good strategy!

True. I remember in the early 90s, as a full time working mother with a disabled husband and 3 small kids. I made Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cupcakes, 24 of them. Cost me £5+ to make. School sold them for 2p each. 48p. I went ballistic at them. Never did it again.

This will be really school dependent. Hardly any are shop bought at ours and it's a mix of larger cakes (which can be sliced) and individual cup cake type things.

If you use a reusable container stick your child's name and class on it and you should hopefully get it back.

At my school, we DEFINITELY prefer the home made stuff ☺️

Id say it’s about 70% shop bought cupcakes, and 30% home made, and the home made is always the most popular. We always know which parents brought the home made stuff in and we rave over them, it doesn’t get forgotten!

All schools are different but at mine, I’d like to say you’d get your Tupperware back, but be cautious. Something throw away might be better, otherwise stick a huge label on with your child’s name and class, to hope it gets returned to you.

Enjoy!

Avoid nuts - most primary schools are nit free

They’re really not, @willowpatternchina 🤣

At our little primary the PTA buys a bunch of cake trays in to make sure there is at least something to sell but a lot of people bring homemade cakes which are the ones that sell first. I always make cookies, tray bakes or cupcakes so they're easy to pack up and carry home.

Just came on to say that this thread has made me hunger for chocolate Cornflake cakes and homemade butterfly cakes where someone was generous with the buttercream.

OP, send in what you like (shop bought or homemade), Probably avoid anything with nuts or nut butters. If it’s a big cake / brownie, etc. , cut it into individual parts before sending in. Best option is a paper plate covered in clingfilm (or foil) otherwise a box you wouldn’t be heartbroken to lose with your child’s name and class clearly marked (and show it to your child so they know which one it is and tell them to pick it up afterwards / ask for it back before leaving that day.)