Why is the infernal cake stall business the job of MUMS?!

[Chandon]

So, in our school y6 mums traditionally run a cake stall every single week for the last term, to raise money for the Y6 day out/celebration.

So.....we started getting organised. Interestingly, most mums in this particular year work, and just do not have the time ( or energy or inclination) to bake and sell cakes every week, at 20p each, so a lot of cakes need to be sold to reach our target.

Some working mums wanted to know if we could maybe just all contribute £40 and be done with it.

I have been thinking why I feel pissed off about the whole set-up, and I think it is the fact that t is not the PARENTS job to fundraise, it is the MUMS' job.

Considering the fact most mums this year work ( and even if they did not!) AIBU to feel angry that it is the women's job to fundraise through a ridiculously unprofitable and interminable cake baking project. WTF? is this the modern world or what?

Or should I just suck it up for the sake of "tradition" and don my apron and bake loads of cakes? I feel really annoyed, nobody expects any of the DADS to give up their time for this pointless exercise.

[curlew]

Absolutely cupcakes. Things that kids can eat on the way home. But we always have some bags/boxes so that people can take them home. We always do it on a Friday so people can buy cakes for the weekend.

The best sellers are usually ones with sweets on. I buy Morrison's own brand frosting in vanilla and chocolate, and put a Minstrel or a malteeser or a Haribo on each cake, then sprinkle with glitter. I make muffin sized ones- they cost pence more than small ones to make and look much more impressive- they sell for 60p each. Money for old rope, a cake stall if you do it right. We do one a fortnight. People know when it's going to be, and come prepared with money. £60-80 every time.

[Snog]

My dp often does the baking for cake stalls.
I think up to one cake stall a term is fine but one a week is ludicrous.

[DonDrapersAltrEgoBigglesDraper]

So when people talk about 'cakes'... They're actually talking about cupcakes?

[morethanpotatoprints]

I must agree if you have a problem with it, don't do it.

Make your dhs do the flippin cakes . If they won't and you don't want to, don't do it.
I just used to buy them and take them in, nobody knew any difference.

[TigOldBitties]

Do it as 50p per cake or £1.30 for 3.

We do this at our school after a boycott by myself and three other mums. We found it increased takings rather than the original trial of 50p per cake.

Sold as 1 for you, 1 for child and one to take home. Or 1 for each child and one for mum.

[LiegeAndLief]

We do ice cream Fridays too. No freezer necessary, just a big coolbox. Makes a fortune and I'm sure it's more cost effective than a cake sale.

[juneau]

Its 50p per cake (fairy cake, cup cake, etc), at DS1's school. I think that's pretty reasonable.

[Chandon]

Oh this is a good thread, I was sort of just venting but niw have some GOOD ideas!

I am supposed to run the blasted thing...with good grace ( I nly shw my jaded dark sde on MN)

So I will

• get te y6 kids to do baking and help at stall
  
• supplement with Asda donuts if not enough comes in
  
• if we simply get no cakes, will chnge concept to Ice Cream Friday
  
• we will increase the price to 40 or 50p ...?!
  
• last but not least, I will change my attitude to a positive can-do one with a bit of bossiness thrown in and challenge the status quo, in a positive manner, where required!
  

Just felt I inherited a dud concept....

Change is good

[insanityscratching]

Y6 are doing their own fundraising at dd's school.HT gave them £200 and they have used that in an enterprise project. Stalls have been running all week selling sweets (from pound shop bagged up in individuall portions) keyrings (made from Hama beads), trinket boxes (bought cheap and decorated) cocktails (value lemonade, fruit juice, food colouring etc) Biscuits (value, half coated in chocolate dipped in sprinkles) cakes (again value and decorated) Raffle (prize donated) Lucky dips (sweet and balloon). Past years have made £600 plus profits, they have sold out every day so far within half an hour so should do well again this year.

[happyyonisleepyyoni]

DontmindifIdo has a good point.

Most staff in primary schools are women and many of them are mothers.

So why do schools seem to think that mums are all sat at home waiting for the next order to bake cakes etc?

Our head teacher is a case in point. She suggested that "mums" should all meet up for coffee after school drop off to discuss PTA stuff. Well thats the Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary out because we all have jobs!

[TempusFuckit]

In icing of course!

[TempusFuckit]

YANBU with the mums thing. Challenge it directly.

As to the silly cake prices issue, why not write "this cake cost £6.20 to make" on the top and see what it's priced at then?

[Alibabaandthe40nappies]

You need to raise prices.

We doubled our prices at the summer term cake sales this year and were sold out within minutes despite there being at least one plate of cakes from every child in the school.

We made a really decent amount of money.

[CissyMeldrum]

The year 6's in our school, have a fayre with little stalls and this year there was no cake stall the children managed to raise £600 maybe you could get the year 6's involved they would have a lot of incentive to work hard and make lots of money.

[HelgaHufflepuff]

Who said it has to be the mums? Has the school actually said it's the mums job, or is it just a case of dads not bothering to get involved?

[DontmindifIdo]

I'd bow out, just because you work parttime doesn't mean you can waste your time and money on something so stupid. So what if it's tradition, if noone is prepared to carry on the maddness of making cakes to sell at a loss when they are time poor, then the tradition will die on it's arse unless the teachers deciding you have to do it this way start baking themselves.

If it makes you feel any better, when you 'resign' from baking and organising duties, hand over £20, that's like giving them 100 cakes. If you rocked up with 100 cakes I bet no one would think you weren't doing enough.

Personally I agree it's unfortunate that it falls to mums, but that's because a) woman tend to be the ones who've either given up work or reduced their hours so have more time (you just have a year that hasn't quite so traditional) and b) men tend to not try to "do it all" so if they work full time they are quicker to say, "sorry, I don't have the time to help out with X at the school, but here's a fiver to the funds." - the working parent guilt of trying not to let having DCs effect work and not letting having a job effect anything child-related, does seem to be a more female problem.

But then, schools are a nightmare for this, in most primary schools the bulk of hte teaching staff are woman, and they aren't able to just have time off to go do things at their DCs schools, yet even though they are staffed by working woman, so many schools really don't seem to be able to comprehend that the mothers of the pupils might have similar time pressures to them.

[MummyPig24]

We also do 'Ice Cream Fridays'.

[MummyPig24]

I have made some brownies and fairy cakes for the cake stall at sports day tomorrow. To be sold at 20p each. I like baking stuff for us to enjoy but I don't particularly like doing it so they can sell them.

I'm a sahm so I suppose I apparently have time, it's not how I would choose to spend it though!

[Ilisten2theradio]

One of the biggest fundraisers in DD'[s school was a clothes swap evening.
Clothes were donated beforehand.
Some parents were persuaded to be models for some of them - Catwalk type of thing, and then people mooched through the rails, tried on in the toilets, and paid a small amount for anything they wanted.
There was a paid bar which made quite a lot and snacks too.

[BackforGood]

I don't understand why it isn't the Yr6s who are making the cakes, and manning the stall ?

[TolliverGroat]

If all these hard-working professional men and women floated the idea at work of selling a product for 20p that cost 25p to make they'd be laughed out of a job.

Right now, taking MTM's figures as typical, you are taking the available cash to pay for a Y6 day out (£3 spent on making cakes per Y6 family per week) and throwing away 20% of it (given that those cakes will then be sold for only £2.40). I suppose that's fine if you don't actually like your Y6 kids very much or you are worried that they'll get spoiled if they actually have a nice day out, but otherwise it's just irrational. You need either to actually increase the amount of available cash through the medium of baking (i.e. put the prices up) or just collect the money directly and immediately have 25% more money to spend on the day out.

You've got (probably) a huge range of solid commercial/business experience across the assorted Y6 parents; you can't possibly be the only one who sees that this is madness. Make a stand!