Friday, January 9, 2009

Let them eat cake: more birthday dilemmas

Now onto another dilemma.

Am I going to make and decorate Bro's birthday cake or buy one?

A bit of history here...

I make all of Lulu's birthday cakes. Yes, I have my own cake decorating kit and I make her cakes every year - without fail. It's not as hard as it seems; if you can paint-by-number then you can make one of these cakes. I have asked if Lulu would like me to purchase a store-bought cake for her and she has been adament that her birthday cake is ONLY MADE BY MOMMY! Lucky me!

This "tradition" started because Gator's mom made Gator's first cake and told me that this was what I was supposed to do too. (Gator's mom: if you are reading - I love you!) (Read about Lulu and Gator here - you'll have to scroll down a bit.)

Making the cake is fun but is also very, very time consuming. I am wanting to buy Bro's cake because he won't even know the difference anyways. However, that mom-guilt is tugging away at me.

These are my choices, as I see them:

1. Make Bro's cake and Lulu's cake... until they go away to college.

2. Buy Bro's cake but still make Lulu's cake (which may start to make feel Bro left out in years to come - however, he is a boy and my husband said that boys don't care about cakes).

3. Buy Bro's cake and buy Lulu's cake from now on (it was fun while it lasted).

I am thinking about making this cake for Bro, if I make one.


It's easy enough to make. I won't have to buy a special shaped pan or color a bunch of icing and apparently the snowman is made out of rice krispy treats. Can I buy those sugar cubes at the grocery store? How am I going to make the hat?

What do you think? Buy the cake or make it? Do you buy or make at your house? Do you have a tradition that you stopped once you added more children to the mix? Please share.

Did I mention that we didn't even get Bro a Christmas stocking this year? Pathetic or what?

8 comments:

Manic Mommy said...

You make the most beautiful cakes! You must make the cake! Your swimming party cake was what got me interested in doing homemade birthday cakes (not to mention the great farmhouse you did for Evan's first). You're amazing! PS - Boys do REALLY love the homemade cakes too. :)

Mrs. Bird said...

That's a pretty cool cake! I don't bake, yet. I bought Brooklyn's cake for her baptism....BUT, yes you can buy sugar cubes at the store, I think by the tea, maybe? I don't know what you could make the hat out of...I'm thinking maybe a Vanilla Wafer and a Marshmellow??? You could make a cute tree out of an upside down ice-cream cone and green frosting too...

Nap Mom said...

I could add a tree. That wouldn't be hard. You are right, I could use the wafer and marshmallow to make the hat and then pipe over it with black icing. That's simple enough. Voila!

mimbles said...

I've made and bought cakes at various times for all the kids, which I do depends on the kind of party they're having and the type of cake they request.

I started out wanting to make all their cakes but sometimes it's just not practical/possible and the kids understand.

One year David had plain orange and poppy seed muffins because we took a bunch of his friends to the zoo and the food had to be transportable. Caitlin prefers ice-cream cake so her's has been bought a few times and Tom got a bought mud cake last year because I simply didn't have time to do anything else.

Also, Manic Mommy's right about boys loving the homemade cakes too, even their friends are gratifyingly appreciative! My R2-D2 cake was particularly well received one year :)

Jen said...

Make the cakes until they go to college and then maybe sometimes while they are in college. My mom used to make all my cakes and then she started buying them. But I always wish she would bake them, and you know my mom and what a great cook/baker she is.

P.S Homemade cakes always taste better no matter what they say. And it comes from the heart. I like the snowman cake it's cute and fits the Season.

Anonymous said...

Buy the cake! When Bro's older, if he would like a "mommy made" cake you can offer him that choice, but save yourself some time this year. My boys have had both "mommy-made" and store bought and belive me, as long as the cake is made from sugar, they eat it. In fact, part of the fun now in bday prep in our house is the special trip to the bakery with mom to pick out the cake they'd like to purchase. Don't feel guilty about changing traditions. The only thing constant in life IS change...

Catherine

Anonymous said...

Make the cake. If you buy it he won't know now, but years later it will come out when you least expect it.. My mom (your great grandma) not only made all our birthday cakes, but we volunteered her to make cakes for every school party because all the kids loved them!

Nap Mom said...

I might make this one... especially since it will be the cake that I will see, for all of eternity, in his baby book. I can't make any promises for future birthdays though.