Page 5 | Are Expectations for birthday cakes getting out of hand?

BarbaraofSeville · 24/04/2022 19:23

Yellowmellow2 · 24/04/2022 19:16

Very good cakes. Well done 👍🏽

As for the cake smash, words fail me……

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Well to be fair, cake smash is probably all the Costco sheet 'cake' is good for.

Spaghag · 24/04/2022 19:28

I've only once ordered a bespoke birthday cake - for DS2's 21st.

Every other birthday has been a supermarket cake & nobody has ever complained.

Itmustbeaproblemwithyourdoodad · 24/04/2022 19:29

I love making my kids elaborate birthday cakes, and I post them on social media every time and I’m not going to lie, it’s nice to get the appreciative comments! But I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t genuinely enjoy the creative process of coming up with the concept and then turning it into reality. I absolutely loathe the taste of fondant but it’s soooo fun to work with. Really therapeutic. I also like the fact that I can create art without adding clutter to my house, because it all gets consumed in the end. Though always feel emotional when my cakes get cut!!

Recently my 5 year old asked for an Encanto cake with Isabella and Mirabel hugging and the candle burning bright and they are in Isabella’s room with all the flowers. It took me hours but I enjoyed the challenge. And seeing her face light up when she saw it was just priceless.

Crunchymum · 24/04/2022 19:37

Maybe I shouldn't have googled "cake sitting"

Cake smashes are vile on every possible level.

Professional cakes aren't for me (can't afford it, wouldn't waste it on my kids who like like crappy supermarket shite) but have no issue with others paying for it. Especially if I get a slice

I can bake very basicallyand did make their cakes when they were little but mine now prefer to pick a Colin / Frozen cake.

TheYearOfSmallThings · 24/04/2022 19:38

Recently my 5 year old asked for an Encanto cake with Isabella and Mirabel hugging and the candle burning bright and they are in Isabella’s room with all the flowers. It took me hours but I enjoyed the challenge. And seeing her face light up when she saw it was just priceless.

How can you tell us this and not give us a picture?!

UnicornPooPoo · 24/04/2022 20:26

Definitely. MiL makes lovely cakes as a hobby. DH's ex presented her with a picture of something that looked like the Disney castle with two days notice and announced she wanted that for DSD. It's the sort of thing that would take a team of professionals a couple of weeks to do, let's put it that way. MiL just used a bit of artistic licence and made something else 😆

Giraffesandbottom · 24/04/2022 20:34

you and some other posters just sound jealous tbh.

I always get a cake maker to make fancy cakes for the children. I don’t post anything on social media - it has nothing to do with that and everything with enjoying creating a fun party with a theme. I like to bake and decorate but I don’t have time with 2 small children and it takes pressure off to pay a professional. How does that bother you enough to start a post unless you feel badly about not doing it yourself? Or do you just want to make fun of others/tear them down for no reason?

It’s been popular to get bakeries and cake makers eg Jane Asher to bake fancy cakes for decades, it’s not recent

Hawkins001 · 24/04/2022 21:03

Crunchymum · 24/04/2022 19:37

Maybe I shouldn't have googled "cake sitting"

Cake smashes are vile on every possible level.

Professional cakes aren't for me (can't afford it, wouldn't waste it on my kids who like like crappy supermarket shite) but have no issue with others paying for it. Especially if I get a slice

I can bake very basicallyand did make their cakes when they were little but mine now prefer to pick a Colin / Frozen cake.

I learned of the practice of cake sitting via the following

watched an episode of secret dairy of a call girl, and they had a sploshing party, which is food used in a messy way, then their was a csi ny episode also with a sploshing party theme, then that lead to the topic of cake sitting.

Original poster

Yellowmellow2 · 24/04/2022 21:25

Giraffesandbottom · 24/04/2022 20:34

you and some other posters just sound jealous tbh.

I always get a cake maker to make fancy cakes for the children. I don’t post anything on social media - it has nothing to do with that and everything with enjoying creating a fun party with a theme. I like to bake and decorate but I don’t have time with 2 small children and it takes pressure off to pay a professional. How does that bother you enough to start a post unless you feel badly about not doing it yourself? Or do you just want to make fun of others/tear them down for no reason?

It’s been popular to get bakeries and cake makers eg Jane Asher to bake fancy cakes for decades, it’s not recent

No, certainly not jealous. Each to their own I guess.

OP posts:

Giraffesandbottom · 24/04/2022 21:27

@Yellowmellow2

if you actually think “each to their own”, why start a thread saying people spending money on cakes is because they want to show off? Do people also buy big houses for the same reason? Or is it more about preference and being able to afford it?

LolaO · 24/04/2022 21:37

I love a fancy cake! I am actually good at making kids birthday cakes so, given that I think it’s fun, I make fancy elaborate cakes each time for my two DC. I don’t need to get a pro one done as while I am far slower and a bit less polished I can have a decent go at most things. (It’s my only culinary skill so I am not going to be overly modest about it! DH does all other cooking and baking in our household!)

Most of the DC’s friends either have a pro one or a parent or grandparent that has a decent go - it’s the centrepiece for a party buffet and is part of the decoration too so it is good to have a nice one (we live in an affordable area, and the DC are at a school where the majority are pretty comfortable so I don’t think anyone is at risk of financially overstretching due to cake).

Sceptre86 · 24/04/2022 21:40

I buy them and can afford to, if I couldn't then I would buy a cheaper cake. My kids tend to have a big first birthday with both sides of the family so I will get a two or three tier cake for then. After that I either make the cake or will buy it depending on the theme. Last year my son wanted a dinosaur cake so I bought a waitrose made to order one which was delicious costing £40. This year my dd asked for a barbie cake with the doll in it and I paid £50 to a cake maker for it. Dd has had two lockdown birthdays where she has had supermarket cakes. It's only putting pressure on yourself if you can't afford it but still do so to keep up with others. Lots of people will spend money on different things, some of which I consider frivolous but it's their money.

PlasticineMeg · 24/04/2022 21:43

I agree it’s parents putting pressure on themselves. We get a Colin every year, as did I, it’s tasty and easy to cut up. No way am I buying into this OTT cake phenomenon - not least because it always creates a huge amount of waste

FangsForTheMemory · 24/04/2022 21:44

all the shit going on in the world and you're worried about birthday cakes?

hiredandsqueak · 24/04/2022 21:50

To be truthful we don't even bother with supermarket cakes. I make a Victoria sandwich and put icing and sprinles on. It always gets eaten where, when I did buy supermarket cakes they didn't.

Hawkins001 · 24/04/2022 21:51

FangsForTheMemory · 24/04/2022 21:44

all the shit going on in the world and you're worried about birthday cakes?

There are always various events going on in the world that could be debated that are more important, beside why should daily life stop, just because of x,y, ect happening, and even then, if x event is solved what about the next event, or the one after, would you agree there will always be something else that's more important, so what are people ment to do then ? Please enlighten us, with your perspectives and analysis.

Blondeshavemorefun · 24/04/2022 22:10

Yep

for dd 1st birthday I used a cake maker.

Think cost was about £70

it wasn’t huge

last 4 birthdays I’ve brought a large cake from Aldi. Think 3.99. Feeds 16 decent slices

even more so for parties. That kids will squash /leave cake

dont waste your money on costly cakes that are unlikely to be eaten

nokidshere · 24/04/2022 22:16

I make cakes for family and friends in place of presents. I started when I made my sons first birthday cake, it was awful and I like a challenge so I just kept making them and giving them away as I got better & better. He's 23 now and I've made a lot of cakes!

If I'm honest I make them for me rather than for them, they would be happy with a round choc cake with buttons on or something but I like to push myself.

This week I'm making a baby grand piano cake for a friends son. He will love it and I will be very pleased with myself for achieving it. I would never do it for money though because then it would cease to be pleasurable.

Toddlerteaplease · 24/04/2022 22:22

I love looking at pictures of cakes like that, but always wonder how on earth anyone eats so much cake, and how much gets binned. They are all hide. And why on earth would anyone spend so much money on a cake for a toddler who won't care!

2ndTimeRound90 · 24/04/2022 22:47

I've noticed this as a massive trend among my peers on social media (all parents of toddlers). Buying expensive elaborate handmade cakes for 1st, 2nd, 3rd birthdays and I assume will feel they need to continue to do so every year. I haven't given in to the pressure to keep up, and our 2 year old has only had supermarket cakes so far. I want to keep those special expensive cakes for milestone birthdays!

timestheyarechanging · 24/04/2022 23:20

I think fancy expensive cakes are a waste of money! My children were happy into adulthood with a Colin the caterpillar from M&S and a Victoria sponge kindly made by grandma! I'd never pay for one of these extravagant cakes (my sister does for her granddaughter though - the child doesn't even eat it)

timestheyarechanging · 24/04/2022 23:23

But the photo ones in Asda are good! And not expensive - I bought those for themed birthday parties when mine were young but would never commission a bespoke cake maker. Colin indoors, Photo one from Asda for parties!

JudgeJ · 24/04/2022 23:24

Yellowmellow2 · 24/04/2022 16:33

More and more I see threads on social media, of people showing photos of incredible birthday cakes (castles, palaces, Disney characters etc), and asking if anyone can make one for their child? When did this become a thing? Is a normal cake not enough any more? People just put so much pressure on themselves.

Isn't is simply because of social media, the need to make everything look 'perfect' for the Instagram pictures that some people allow to dominate their lives?

timestheyarechanging · 24/04/2022 23:27

Please don't buy balloon arches - they're so bad for the environment for your two hours of pleasure at a child's party. When the child really won't give a hoot about it - or the cake!

JudgeJ · 24/04/2022 23:32

FangsForTheMemory · 24/04/2022 21:44

all the shit going on in the world and you're worried about birthday cakes?

I'm sure that your pseudo concern for the whole of humanity makes you feel exceedingly superior to the mere mortals who are discussing such trivia as birthday cakes. Congratulations, give yourself a pat on the back.
My parents were married the day before WW II was announced, everyone knew it was coming, should they have cancelled their wedding in support of the rest of the world?