Ahhhhh! Bloody cake sales!!!

[Fresta]

AIBU to think these are such a stupid idea for raising money? DDs teacher is constantly requesting cakes to sell to raise money for X Y and Z and then they sell them for 20p each. I can't make them for 20p by the time I have trailed to the shops and bought the ingredients and then there's the time spent bloody making them! It would be so much easier and cost the same to just pay for whatever it is!

Not optional really, they are raising money for an an of term trip, stupid teacher has threatened that if they don't bring in cakes then they can't go on the trip! Empty threat really as she can't legally exclude a child from the trip for this reason, but the children believe her. Cue upset/worried child if mum says she's not baking/buying cakes! Was livid when dd told me this tonight and tried to ring school but haven't been able to get through. A nice polite request/reminder/grateful message would have gone down nicely but I just feel so angry with her for twisting people's arm through the kids!

Are you sure the teacher actually said that OP? If so it would be a disciplinary matter in my school..............

I think they are great, ours are run as a cafe with tea and squash, so very sociable, it's not just about the money. Also we don't charge, it's all by donation, so no one feels their cakes have been undersold. There is no way so much money would be raised by just having a regular request for cash.

I agree with just say "I didn't have time" and bung 'em a fiver.

Or just buy some cheap cakes, hand then over and not worry if they are being sold at a loss. I would probably do this one.

I don't have time. I work full time and anyway I don't like baking.

Those trays of fairy cakes with a little blob of icing in pink, yellow and white are cheap. Disgusting but kids like them.

I used to buy supermarket traybakes cut them up a bit squiffy and put them in a Tupperware job done you can get then for a £1 in some places .baking meh

Best seller at the last cake stall I did was jelly cups with a frog in the middle. Chaep easy and brightly coloured so they sell fast.

Know your audience and the price the school will charge and bake accordingly. No good making sea salt and vanilla fudge or fancy iced cakes if they're being sold for next to nothing. Chocolate crispy cakes are probably what your average primary school child wants - all the more so if it's jazzed up with an additional Smartie, or push the boat out and make chocolate muffins. Tesco Value chocolate is fine for school cake stalls, though someone somewhere no doubt has a child who'll only eat crispy cakes made with 75% cocoa solids Lindt chocolate.

They're a quick way for the school or class to make some money and always popular - though I always just bought my own cakes back.

I don't 'get' the economics of school bake sales.

Ha! I offered a tenner in lieu once, and was told it wasn't exactly "in the spirit of things" with a very pronounced cats bum face.
I see no bloody point in Tesco being the main beneficiary in a fund raising cake sale.

Can see both sides - no harm in them my son lives them

• but children should not be held to ransom over them achieving certain sakes targets and is wholly wrong to be linking them to the provision of school trips and such like

I also agree a voluntary £10 donation is more valuable than spending a fiver in tesco only to make the school another fiver

That said my worst irritation along these lines is actually sponsored runs and such like - I think they are totally inappropriate within schools - my son is in reception and they did a sponsored mile run/walk - only on the back of the form in small print were the words no donation necessary all children can take part. I think this is worse as has potential to become a beauty contest for those with more money or larger families who can provide more sponsorship and I think is totally out of order as a way to raise funds for the school - I did not give any money to this as objected on principle

Our school sells cakes for 50p each and the last cake sale made quite a bit. The best tasting cake turned out to be Betty Crocker! The mum who did that is a genius.

Order cheap rice paper toppers printed with school logo or pictures of teachers, students, whatever. But tesco cheapo fairy cakes. Put together and charge £1. That makes money and is dead easy. Having said that, I hate cake sales and think they are pants.

Toffeeboffin in the U.K., 'cakes' at cake sales are cupcake size - do you live in North America by any chance? I'm from Canada and this confused me when I first came here.

Our school sells Mr Freeze ice pops and Jubbly ice lollies outside school a few days a week in the summer term. They make a decent profit. They only do a cake sale at the Christmas fair and Summer fair. That's only once every six months, so people who love baking are happy to do it.

I agree with rice Krispie cakes. Quick, cheap and kids love them! They're gluten free too!

Toffeeboffin cakes in a cake sale are usually individual fairy cakes or cupcakes in little paper cases. It's easier than cutting slices and providing serviettes.

There's an article in the Guardian today:
www.theguardian.com/careers/2016/jul/07/office-cake-pushers-we-need-less-work-on-our-plates-not-sweets

I wonder if school cake sales is where it all starts...

We're not allowed cake sales as it doesn't comply with the LA healthy eating in schools campaign!!!
FFS

The DC's school has a good approach to cake sales IMO. They ask for things to be baked twice a year, once for just a school cake sale (in October or November I think) and once for the school and church summer fete. They send home a cake box with each child, there's no written homework as the homework is baking. You bring it in in the box provided, they all look the same so nobody knows who made what. There's no nagging or shaming, nobody notices or cares if you haven't managed it (I know this because the dog ate all the biscuits overnight before the last cake sale so I had nothing to bring).

For the school cake sale they put out tables and chairs and the PTA sells tea and coffee and parents are encouraged to stay for a chat until about 40 mins after drop-off. Lots of parents buy a load of cakes to bring to their office. After the parents are finished and gone, the kids are brought in class by class. There is usually some left over which is put by the door at pick up for parents to help themselves. They make a really good amount of money from it.

I like it because there are no last minute requests, they give plenty of warning of the date, and it's only twice a year. I also appreciate having a night off from homework supervision.

"jelly cups with a frog in the middle"
They sound awesome :) I need to know where the frogs come from! (I'm hoping assuming edible sweety frogs, not the hoppy kind . . .)

Rice Krispies are not gluten free...they contain barley

I made cakes for a school fete stall where we'd been told we were selling cakes for 50p each. I duly made cakes that I felt worthy of 50 p each.

On the day several other mums supervising the stall panicked that we wouldn't be able to sell everything so started cutting the prices within 20 minutes of the start of the fete. I tried to hold out against it with little success. They were determined that it was more important to sell everything for not very much, than to get as much money for them as possible.

I won't be taking cakes in to that fete again.

I am a primary teacher and don't keep any kind of record of who brings in what but the cow that runs the PTA might

Makes a change to hear a teacher say that instead of they're just being mean parents.

My kids' old primary did the lolly thing too. Worked really well!! Also did cake sales, but not very often.