Recently on our hometown Facebook page, a resident was asking for ideas for a fire truck birthday cake. Wow, memories came flooding in on all the homemade specialty cakes I made over 40 years ago. Back then parties were home parties with friends and family. No one would have ever thought to rent a venue. However, that did not stop the creativity of the moms in my network of friends. I remember one year making a Grover (from Sesame Street) Cake using a Hostess Twinkie for the nose, marshmallows for the eyes, and black gumdrops for the pupils. It looked very much like the Character but my kids did not like the idea of eating blue frosting.
Now the internet has volumes of ideas, especially on Pinterest. The elaborate cakes online were amazing. However, if you want some simpler versions of fun cakes for your children let me share a few ideas that are coming back as I reflect.
I was going to recreate a few for you and take pictures. However, I cannot be trusted to not eat my creations and I really don’t need the sugar. So I will try and describe as best I can the process and you can take it from there.
Fireman Birthday
I used a sheet cake for the base which had a wide street iced in brown and grass on each side iced in green. The truck was made of store-bought pound cakes one for the body and one cut shorter for the cab of the truck. Of course back then the icing was red for the truck now it can be yellow also. The wheels were Oreo cookies. The ladder was made of pieces of black licorice which were stuck on the side in the icing. It was certainly not as elaborate as the ones I saw online but the kids knew it was a fire truck and I got a toy fireman to put on the truck and my son was very happy.
I made a “put the ladder on the fire truck” game which I hung on the wall like “pin the tail on the donkey”. We took a walk to the fire station and the firemen handed out the goodie bags that I had pre-arranged for them to have. Each child got a picture taken with the truck and a great time was had by all.
I donated to the fire company which I felt was well deserved as they entertained my son’s friends.
Castle Birthday for boys and girls
I went to a craft store and bought different-sized square pans. I then made cakes the the various square pans for cakes to build the castle. I used unwrapped caramel squares around the edges to form the battlements and upside-down ice cream cones for towers placed on Twinkies cut in half. Icing color is up to you. For windows and doors use Hersey bars.
I got knights to place on the Castle from the Five and Dime store (I guess now you look online). Your local party store may have appropriate decorations. I found crafts at Oriental Trading that can be part of your activities both for boys and girls.
Craft Party
Moving closer to the present. I think one of my most popular parties is one I did for my granddaughter. It was a craft party. I got several craft kits to make from Oriental Trading to give out at the party. The kits are reasonable in price and usually, you can buy them in lots of a dozen. Having the
crafts to take home eliminated the need for goodie bags. In keeping with the idea that each child was created for the party. I gave them plain cupcakes to decorate and plain ice cream to make their own sundaes. No rules on how much icing or extras went on the cupcakes or ice cream. Sheer fun on all counts.
Enjoy the celebration day remember it was the day God chose to give you a baby to love!
Blessings,
Melody