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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask when 'cake smashes' became a thing?

166 replies

SalemSaberhagen · 11/02/2016 21:57

Loads of them popping up on Facebook at the moment, and I just don't get them. What's the point? When did it become a popular thing to do on a child's first birthday?

OP posts:
KimmySchmidtsSmile · 11/02/2016 23:23

That's a fair point regarding fake family memories but ALL photo shoots are set up. Every sodding year nursery gets mine to hold a balloon, wave some bubbles, laugh at a Muppet the photographer hold a book. It is hilariously fake and no, I usually only buy the class photo.
Plus I am being unfair I guess, the photographers often have their work cut out for them.
I have photos of kids with spag bol, rice crispies on their head, magnums round their chops...all spontaneous. My teen was thinking at one point of creating a site of Darling bro versus... Along with the offending items til I said hmm...no.

As I said, I do not do photo shoots although Dsis won one once and had some lovely pics taken. But, if I did !links that sort of thing, then a cake prop is not much different to here, have this rubber duck but with cake, the kid gets fed, makes a mess, has a blast and I don't have to clean up the fallout

cruikshank · 11/02/2016 23:30

I agree that it's the fakeness of them that is grating. Kids do experiment with food. They get it on their faces, they get it in their hair, they get it on the floor. Sometimes (when you're not on the way out to work for eg) that's funny, sometimes it's a pita. But it's just a normal part of life. Creating a set-up where you purposely want them to make a mess with some cake so you can take photos of it just seems a bit weird. My kids are older anyway so this wasn't a 'thing' for us, thank God, but a few of the women at work tried it with much fanfare beforehand. None of their babies really entered into the spirit of things, and so tbh the only ones I personally know about sound like a bit of a flop.

KimmySchmidtsSmile · 11/02/2016 23:30

If I did like that sort of thing. Typos.

Actually, scrap that, I do like that sort of pic BUT I like £ in my pocket more and I like Cake, asda tray bakes with vanilla icing (no longer in UK so now salivating).
But I was also one of the few that liked a lady's scrabble art the other day.
And I had LOVE in letters decorated by my eldest up for a while, til the baby sat on them. TWAT. I am one, aren't I?!!

LordBrightside · 12/02/2016 07:07

It was dreamed up by photographers.

Titsalinabumsquash · 12/02/2016 07:44

We didn't have a cake smash but out of sheer curiosity I baked a tiny version of DS's birthday cake and presented him with it, just to see what he'd do.
He gently ran a finger through the icing and then declared he'd had enough! Grin

LaurieMarlow · 12/02/2016 08:50

Good job you didn't shell out for the photo shoot tits Wink

Anniegetyourgun · 12/02/2016 09:40

Don't most of us spend years trying to train small children not to break stuff?

FedoraTheExplora · 12/02/2016 10:29

Going against the grain and I'm sure I'll get mauled but I'm planning on doing this for DDs birthdayBlushBlush. I think the photos are massively cute - I wanted to get some professional photos done anyway so they're good enough quality to put on a big canvas above our fireplace Blush

Regarding food waste, nothing ever gets thrown away in this house - plus I regularly donate to food banks. Some people might see it as a waste of money - but I bet I would consider some of the things you all buy a waste of money too. DD loves messy play and food and I think we will get some lovely shots. Haven't actually ever seen any on my facebook so it's not like I'm trying to follow a massive trend. Will make sure the cake isn't full of sugar etc but her diet is excellent and I don't think one day will hurt. We can afford it, she will have a ball, we will have a ball watching her and we will have some really lovely IMO pictures to show for it. What's the harm?

UmbongoUnchained · 12/02/2016 10:36

Go for it fedora
My daughter loved hers. She had loads of fun, the pictures are great and it really cheered me up after a really shitty year.

PennyDropt · 12/02/2016 10:36

Unless it's home made I'm all for this- these tasteless sugary fondant covered things are awful, toooo sugary- smash em up

Blerg · 12/02/2016 10:40

These make me cringe. Sorry to those who like them, and obviously there are worse things, but I don't like the waste, the clearing up of sticky child, encouraging destructiveness. I don't know, just doesn't sit right. Some children and families would love a birthday cake and this is just a prop.

ToastDemon · 12/02/2016 10:44

Instinctively, I don't like them, for all the reasons mentioned above.
However my friend had one for her DS's first birthday and she's a lovely soul and not a bit of a twat so I'm torn now.

Aposey · 12/02/2016 10:52

My favourite photo of me as a baby (devastated its lost forever) is of me sitting in my highchair eating smearing all over myself a slice of chocolate cake. This was long before any of these smashes became a thing, but it is a very cute funny photo. I don't have many photos of me as a baby or child, so the one or two I have are very special to me.

I'm hoping I'll one day get to do a home-made smash style thing (only 22wks pregnant so some time to wait!) because I think they look funny, and I would like some nice photos with decent lighting to send to my inlaws abroad. I'd probably make the cake and so its unlikely to be really wasted in my house given both me and my DH would happily eat broken up cake! Besides, it isn't even that big a cake! And I guess I'm lucky in that I know some photographers personally so would be likely to get mates rates.

But then I might be weird or less bothered by the whole thing as I'm an arts graduate so I'm used to looking at set up photos and having fun with props Grin

tictactoad · 12/02/2016 10:53

People now give their one year olds cakes to destroy and take pictures of it as it happens?

The older I get the madder the world gets.

Bunbaker · 12/02/2016 11:12

"It is crass and vulgar. We've got food banks in this country, ffs. To encourage anyone to smash food to bits is awful. The fact that someone's spent time creating it (as when they do this at weddings) makes it even worse."

This ^^. Fortunately my Facebook feed doesn't contain this kind of crap because none of my friends would do this kind of thing. Also, quite a few would make a cake that was design to be eaten rather than buy some cheap and nasty supermarket cake to be smashed up or thrown away.

"I take lots of photos of my child smearing other kinds of food in his hair."

Am I the only parent that doesn't find these kind of photos sweet and endearing? I hate seeing kids smeared with food. I don't expect them to be perfectly clean, but covered in food - just ugh.

"I think the photos are massively cute"

Erm, right...OK...Just buy the cheapest nastiest cake from one of the budget supermarkets.

NightWanderer · 12/02/2016 11:20

Ok, I googled it too and it's not that bad. The babies are eating the birthday cake but rather messily. I don't see what there is to get het up about. It's not my cup of tea but the pics are cute enough.

FedoraTheExplora · 12/02/2016 11:41

Erm, right...OK...Just buy the cheapest nastiest cake from one of the budget supermarkets.

Hmm Erm.. No I won't, I said in the post you quoted that I would make sure it wasn't full of crap - or as much as you can with a cake.

Can I ask why people you especially are so horrified and offended by this? Live and let live is a good statement to remember at times like these. Smile

Sparklingbrook · 12/02/2016 11:50

It seems like a really odd thing to do. But people do do odd things all the time.

Not offended/horrified/appalled or whatever. Just not something I would have wanted to do myself. Presumably someone is making money out of it.

OttiliaVonBCup · 12/02/2016 11:55

It's rather vulgar, isn't it?

Walshie123 · 12/02/2016 11:56

WTF, I had my son photographed for a Cake Smash - all these comments... Seriously, don't make nasty comments on the people who decide to have it done

limitedperiodonly · 12/02/2016 12:01

What a joyful place MN is sometimes.

I hope no one here has ever bought someone a bunch of flowers. They were likely grown in faraway countries such as Kenya and India and thus contribute to air pollution. The land and water turned over to their cultivation could be used to grow crops that people could eat, particularly for domestic consumption and not export.

ps I have never smashed a cake because couldn't stand the mess. I donate to food banks and other good causes.

Aposey · 12/02/2016 12:11

Oh ok, so because there are foodbanks and some people are sadly unfortunate enough to need them, those of us who are more fortunate can't be seen to have any food wastage?! By the same logic, how dare anyone buy anything but smart price food and not give the difference in price to charity, or generally buy anything that is more expensive than the cheapest, practical option. Confused I'm really not sure thats quite a fair judgement on those who do these smashes. If you don't like them then don't do them yourself, but that doesn't mean that those that do are twats or trying to rub it in the faces of those who need foodbanks or something.

And no, I will not be buying a cheap cake, I would want my child to be eating something that I would have some control over the ingredients at that age. And so that I will be happy to munch through the leftovers/ lick the bowl.

To those who are saying that someone is making money out of it- is that such a bad thing? I'm not intending to pay much for mine because I'm from a creative industry and for me the joy of it would be doing it myself and/or returning favours in kind since I am lucky enough to have that kind of relationship with my talented friends, but is it really so bad that a baker has an extra order, a photographer has a payment? From my experience with my friends in these roles they are not always well paid and are reliant on sporadic/ not continuous work so extra orders would be welcome and means they can pay their rent! Is it so terrible if they have hit on an idea that becomes fashionable that means they get more custom?

Walshie123 · 12/02/2016 12:16

I have some beautiful memories from his 1st birthday, that look wonderful on the wall - I don't see what's bad about that and to the people that say there are Food Banks, how pathetic! So you have never, ever thrown away food?

I don't moan at people more fortunate than me, for eating out every night and wasting some of that food. It doesn't affect me! People need to stop being so interested in other people's life choices

Sparklingbrook · 12/02/2016 12:18

Walshie calm down. it's just a thread in AIBU on MN. People are giving their opinions. That's all.

Walshie123 · 12/02/2016 12:25

No, they're no, they're calling people twats and vulgar. I don't need to 'calm down', because I let my son do a Cake Smash, that involves me.