Help needed with 1st birthday cake decoration (also posted in chat)

[Agingmumoftwins]

OK here's the thing. I can make a pretty good sponge cake mixture. I can buy a mould in whatever shape I need.
but . . . I'm terrible at decorating cakes!
My Xmas cakes are always 'snow scenes' so I don't have to smooth the icing. I even ruin ready rolled icing!

Please help! We're having 2 parties for the DTs (I know, I know! But having just one party would mean about 30 adults and 20 kids in the house and that would just be too much for the twins I think), so I need to make 2 cakes.

Has anyone got a foolproof decorating method that will make my cakes look great?
Twins are boy/girl, so solution also needs to be unisex!

Is it your icing recipe? You could use butter icing which is a bit thicker? Or there's a great recipe I use called Swiss Meringue buttercream (google it)

Also - you could try using disposable icing bags from lakeland - which i always find are great for controlling the flow of icing (use your four fingers to kind of pump it out)

Or... can you do cupcakes? then you can dip the cakes into the icing, and go for shabby/chic look?

Or - buy a mould like butterfly and train and stick on sweets to make pretty shapes?

Good luck.... :)