DIY

Is it me or do people go way overboard for toddler birthdays these days?  Trust me when I tell you that I am in no way excluding myself from that comment.  We had M&Ms made with our child’s face on them for his first birthday and kept the ones that weren’t eaten. By the time he is old enough to appreciate that, the M&Ms will certainly be stale and M&M might even be out of business, who knows?

Toddler parties have a theme, my son’s was Curious George and we had bananas, cupcakes, figurines, candy bananas, sandwiches, punch, hats, streamers, stories, puzzles, dvds, books, tablecloths, paper plates, napkins and goodie bags to name a few.  ALL CURIOUS GEORGE theme!!  He even has a stuffed Curious George monkey on his shelf. Now this was birthday #1, an important one, if not the most important birthday for any parent.  Let’s face reality though, no 1 year old is going to remember their party, their guests or what stress his or her parents went through to get that day perfect.  In due time when our child is older they may hear stories , see pictures or video of their birthday and they will either roll their eyes, be in awe that you did something like that or just dismiss it because they don’t remember a thing about that day.

Our family went to our good friend’s daughter’s 2 year birthday this past weekend and the theme was Dora the Explorer!  Again, napkins, drinks, umbrellas, backpacks, maps, streamers, tablecloths, colouring books, goodie bags and Dora themed games.  It was a blast, the kids were running around, cake was eaten, sugar was in high supply and demand.  It was a great way to get together and let the kids do their thing.

Now, to the point of this weeks blog…  It was home made!!  The cake, cupcakes, coffee, snacks and beef for the wraps were home made!  The Dora cake looked like Dora!  It was awesome.  I would have bet a lot of money that the cake was just purchased from some bakery but I would have been wrong!  I asked a number of questions to find out what the deal was with the cake, it looked too perfect.  I did find out that the cake comes with a special mould and icing instructions but still it was made with love!

It can be done, with a little knowledge, a little time and some patience anything can be done at home.  If a baker can bake it so can you! If a chef can cook it so can you!  Dare to be different and make it yourself!  It may not be cheaper but neither is getting every little thing to fit the theme of the party…

The best part is that in due time, your child will look back on his or her memories and birthday parties and be able to proudly say, “All my birthday cakes were home made”. That really does go a long way…

Happy Birthday!