Baking kit for party bag

[CCW14]

DC is having a party later in the month and I was trying to think of items that are not just tat. I was thinking of doing home baking kits so they could make cookies in their own time. I bake a lot with DC and they love it, but DH thinks it’s not a good idea, not that he has any alternative ideas.

if you recieved this would you be please it’s something different to do with DC or annoyed that you had to make cookies and clean up after them

That's an awful idea, I'd chuck it straight in the bin and then begrudge the gift I'd spent time and money getting for your child plus the inconvenience of attending your party in the first place.

This thread is hilarious. There’s all manner of snobbery on here. Snobbery over party bag tat which kids love (and it is supposed to be about kids and not adults showing off!) and now we’ve got adults competing with each other about how they bake.
Some of you would have hated the last party bags I gave. Bubbles, a slinky, a packet of haribo, some novelty glasses, and a kids scratch art picture. I had 5 kids in the car on the way home and they were all very pleased indeed with their haul.

Wow. A bit of an overreaction isn't it?

Put it in the cupboard to do whenever or pass it on to someone.

You don't get a birthday gift for a kid to expect an amazing party bag, at best it's a bit of cake and some stickers.

And you attend the parties for the kids not yourself, so no need to "begrudge" anything.

Chill out.

So when you say a baking kit do you mean a Betty Crocker box type thing or cupcake cases and sooons?

I’d love it and far prefer it to a bag of tiny rubbish to get strewn around. We bake relentlessly at home so it wouldn’t be an extra job but DD would be thrilled anyway. Finding the negative responses really odd!

Ok let me rephrase it.

please don’t do it. I’d be hacked off if I had my child come home with the expectation that we make cookies. I’m then put in the position of either making fecking cookies or disappointing my child.

just give them a cake, balloon and cheap toy like a normal person.

I presumed one of those jars of ingredients that you see at craft fairs sometimes - but made by the OP rather than bought for £££.

Maybe I am a bit of a baking snob (!) but that's not really my issue with this gift. I'd like it (tho maybe for a7 yo not a 5yo) but I just think as I and others have said, it's going to be challenging for some parents. And if you already have all the kit, well you probably bake already and don't need a jar with flour and sugar. It's not very immediately kid-friendly is all.

If you already bake “relentlessly”, why would there be any novelty in a jar of flour and sugar for your child to be thrilled about?

Because she still has a sense of joy and wonder unlike the miseries on this thread who’ve said they’d throw it in the bin, “fecking cookies”, “oh god please no” and other insane overreactions.

Why feel sorry for people - you have no idea what other activities and hobbies we do with our kids. I assure you we do loads of fun stuff, but not much baking as that just isn't our thing. We craft, play games, go to the park, the beach, paint, swimming, to name just a few.

Some people are being very righteous if parents prefer not to bake. You bake, good for you. I don't, good for me. There's already so much to juggle without judgy expectations thrust upon us making us feel like we're shit parents if we don't want to bake bloody cookies straight after a 5 year olds party.

Yes I do.
I bake with my children then I am up to it. We bake vegan/glutenfree so another issue.

That wouldn't help because it is not necessarily the child who is gluten free. I don't tell a host all the food that everyone in the house can or cannot eat, only those relevant to that particular child.

Very sad that parents may not have the ingredients nor time. Nice and judgemental.

News flash baking isn't the only quality way of spending time with a child. There's a million options that don't involve the kitchen being trashed!

Nobody I know bakes, 🤣. The only time we resorted to it was peak COVID I can do without the flashbacks.

So we think it means a jar of ingredients. I think many kids would be very puzzled by this as a gift in lieu of a more regular party bag. My approach is cake/stickers/freddo but not plastic tat toys.

Wow! I wasn’t anticipating this thread being so hotly debated!
The jars would be an all in one recipe so mix the jar with butter/dairy free spread, so figured it would be a fun and easy activity to do, with not much effort as I know they all have baking trays/roasting pans at home. I have given these to friends in the past with both younger and older children who have enjoyed so didn’t think it would be an issue with I will have a another think and see if there is something else.
DC has been given a few craft projects which also could not be done in the car/straight away and he was fine with waiting. The activity went down well and it was something I wouldn’t necessarily have bought for him to do.
The party itself is a day activity with lots of things to do and they get given balloons and masks from the day anyway.

The jars would be an all in one recipe
What exactly is in the jar?

The ones I have done in the past have flour, white and brown sugar, baking powder and soda, salt and M&Ms. The allergen one would have GF flour and non dairy chocolate chips

I think I'd prefer something linked to the party theme. Also with jars and small kids the potential for mess and glass is a bit of a worry. I'm impressed that a baking gift from a boys party is being suggested though.

Yes, sorry but I do think it’s sad that parents don’t want to spend the time or effort baking with their DCs if that’s what their DCs want to do. It’s not a particularly difficult or time consuming activity, and can do it in about 30 mins. If parents don’t have 30 mins to spend with their DCs then yes that’s sad.

I really don't see the problem. If your child gets a baking kit and wants to bake, just do it. Even if you don't bake, don't tell me it would be such a horrible experience.

If a child doesn't want to bake, you give it away to someone who wants it or throw it out.

Every single party gift we received (cheap plastic) ended up in the bin (my child wasn't interested at all). Why is it a problem to receive a baking kit and see if your child wants to do it or not?

@Katherina198819 you like baking and I think it's shit. We're all different. I'm sure there are activities we like that you don't. And I wouldn't force them on you. I don't see what's difficult to understand here, we all like different stuff.

I think it's hard for me to understand when someone doesn't bake. What kind of sweets people are offering to the children? Shop bought cakes and chocolate? Parents needs to study the ingredient list or educated themselves on what kind of poison is inside those. I take baking into the same category as cooking or taking a shower. It's not an activity. It's a huge part of life. Getting my child involved in these makes me happy- and it makes her happy too.
Even if you for some reason think you don't need it, don't understand why you won't want your child to experience it.

@Katherina198819 I definitely don't see baking as important as showering. My kids don't have cakes or cookies all that often - although they bathe every day.

We're all different, it's what makes life so interesting. One to agree to disagree.

If you used a cheap cake making box from a supermarket and cutters from Temu, then you ARE using unhealthy ingredients and cheap plastic tat!

Some people just don’t eat huge amounts of sugary crap. It seems to feature far more largely in your life than most people’s.
Baking cakes as integral to your life as taking a shower 😳