To want the PTA to realise that I'm busy?

[mitochondria]

Got a letter in the book bag today. Tuesday.

"Please could you provide cakes, on Friday. Your child will be bringing home a plate on Thursday. Sorry for short notice."

If I genuinely didn't give a shit I'd just bin the letter, but I do try to support things where I can.

But I just do not have time to bake this week. Could they not have let me know on Friday, then at least I could have bought something at the weekend?

I'm sure someone somewhere has a list of "those who do not supply cakes". Well, I'll be on it.

OP Tues to Thurs doesn't exsist here either

So plan of attack for future

Find a fellow school mummy who LIKES baking

next time you are shopping but some flours, sugar, etc

Give it to fellow school mummy

Share in her glory as fabulous school mummy by convincing her to share her baking.

Works for me

Tho with notice I will knock up rice crispy cakes!

Buy a packaged cake from the nearest shop. Keep it in the freezer. At the next cake request, sellotape the cake (still packaged) to the plate and send it to the school. Job done!

I have solved the problem, my mum is baking for me.

I am sure the Spreadsheet of People who Don't Send Cakes doesn't really exist, other than in my slightly paranoid imagination.

Thankyou for replies.

Perhaps the poor person organising the PTA simply forgot to send out earlier and they have apologised - could be a working mum juggling everything whilst still trying to help the school and the children.

If they send out too far in advance, people forget.

This is exactly why I'd much, much rather write a cheque at the start of the year and be done with the whole shebang.

MumNWLondon

Thanks for that recipe! I'm going to try it.

What is this "bake"?

Yes I'm glad your Mum is helping you :)

My post was TIC, not a serious suggestion. Just to demonstrate to the organisers that they'd need to make a more polite request than telling you a plate is on its way to collect cakes!

That must be some cake sale, bibbitybobbityhat, if it raises 20,000 pounds.

child still at nursery for a few months alert - will we really be expected to bake cakes for events??

Serious question, why do I need to 'fake' that I baked it? Can't I just buy something, and send that in (though I too would always need more than 3 days notice) - shopping gets done at the weekend - I don't manage to get to get to shops in the week.

Bought cakes are absolutely fine, snowmama - in fact they often sell faster than the homemade ones - kids would much prefer a flake cake to some loving hand crafted oat biscuit

phew, that is ok then !! This thread was starting to scare me :)

I always gave school a choice, shop bought cakes or food poisoning/burnt cakes

Seriously though the schools my dc went to were just happy with whatever you could donate. It didn't matter if it was home baked or shop bought so long as they had something to sell.

I do support most of the school things but I make a point of never baking cakes. I don't want to be known and then relied on for cake baking.

It also offends my feminist sensibilities; the whole 'little wifey mums do baking' idea.

Quite so. I've gone nearly half a century without baking cake.

When my younger kids were at primary school did not allow home baked goods in the school if they were likely to be consumed by the kids.
Everything had to be in sealed packages.

I always imagined it was because of competative mums trying to outdo each other, back biting and bad feeling over fluffiness of scones and fancy coloured icing, ending in a High Noon showdown in the playground with rock buns

More probably due to pupils with severe allergies.

and yeah why dont they expect the dad's to do all that stuff?

I send out cake requests to parents and carers. Not Dear Homely Mummies Barefoot in the Kitchen. Personally, I can't be arsed baking the things either. Unless I'm going to get to eat them.

and yeah why dont they expect the dad's to do all that stuff?

ratspeaker, i sort of assumed that these things were intended for any parent to sort out. although i have to admit that notes tend to come addressed to us personally or "to the parent of DC" now that I think about it. is our school more PC than most?

anyway, when (the rare occasion) a cake does get baked, it's DH doing it. and he's the one that works nearer to Tesco/any other supermarket than me. so it literally is him organising it most of the time even if it's not home made! in fact the one time i did bake a proper cake it ended up raw in the middle so i don't know if people expect me as their mum to make it all - if they do, they're sorely disappointed!

Maybe the letters do go out to parents/carers but it does seem to be that the majority of such work is done by the mums, leading to angst ridden threads such as this one

MumNWLondon please can I have the super-quick chocolate muffin recipe?

I don't have to supply cakes to anyone this week, just would like to be able to make chocolate muffins really quickly.

It's already posted on the thread! Looks lovely.

Double Chocolate Muffins

275g self raising flour
25g chocolate powder
150g soft brown sugar
150g chocolate chips
1 egg 175 ml milk or juice
125 ml oil

method:

1. Set oven to 190 C Gas 5
2. Mix all the ingredient together with a fork,
3. Spoon into muffin cases and bale 25 minutes.

I have never so much as baked a bun in all my 50 years. I would send dcs in with bought cakes- no one judged or cared-it was just more cake to sell.
Children don't judge.

Wait til you get the cake baking maths homework then

I solved it by doing chocolate tiffin - no way I was letting dd loose in my oven!!!

That quick muffin recipe sounds good for when it is ds turn ....