Entertaining Ideas
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
How much would you pay for a 1st birthday cake?
I found a picture of a cake that i want for my son's 1st birthday party this summer and brought it to a local baker to make it. It's 3 small tiers, feeds about 70 people, fondant, etc. I don't know much about how much something like this would cost, but she quoted me $200. That seems a bit steep, but then again, i don't know how much a hand-made custom cake would cost. Here's a pic:
Is that a lot? I haven't price shopped with any other bakers yet, so hoping you all can offer some input. Thanks in advance!
Re: How much would you pay for a 1st birthday cake?
interesting! i have never heard of that before! it's only for 50ish people, so at the very least, i was going to ask her to make the cake a bit smaller...that should bring down the price.
Thanks!
Yeah, I guess I would see how large of a cake you would need for 50-ish people and then make that as the base with the rest being fake...it's a rather nice little trick they do! Plus, it'll make it SO much easier cutting into one cake of one size as opposed to several of different sizes.
I would try to make it myself for that price! That's very high!!
The fake tiers are a good idea but it will still probably cost a pretty penny.
OOOH, you do NOT want me near any baking equipment, ingredients, etc. A baker I am not
seriously, i'm a horrible baker, but a terrific cook!
No friends or family who could help?
I guess I'm just cheap, but I wouldn't pay that astronomical amount of a birthday cake he won't even remember, only see in pictures.
Umm, fwiw, the fake tiers are not going to be an astronomical price! The cost that really comes into play is the actual cake itself because of ingredients, layers, etc. Fondant is more expensive than regular buttercream, but you could see if they have any other alternatives to regular rolled fondant (i.e., marshmallow fondant is much cheaper and tastes better IMO)....that may help to bring the cost down too. The fake tiers are styrofoam, which isn't costly at all. Trust me, you'll save a good amount of money by having 1 layer of cake and the others as fake.
If you're not comfortable in making it yourself, don't! It's not a big deal...getting cakes like that for b-day parties is pretty common nowadays!
what does fwiw mean?
Actually as a baker/cake decorator that is pretty accurate based on the ingredients and time and to make all the details. Sorry.
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound snarky about it! Clearly I don't know the prices of something like that
"For what it's worth"...sorry, I can get carried away with acronyms sometimes and it's easy to forget that not everyone knows what they mean! I still don't know what some of them mean!
thanks! i'm a little lost with some of the acronyms!
That's an accurate price for that type of cake. It's covered in fondant which is PRICEY. If you can afford it BUY it. If you feel guilty for spending that kind of money get cupcakes in different colors and stack them nicely on a 3 tiered cake stand. The kids might enjoy that better anyway.You can buy the little stars at any craft store and put them in the cupcakes. Just as pretty for less money.
No problem! There's a bunch of them and like I said, I don't even know some of them, but most are pretty easy to figure out. Here is a list of them (I think it's from the bump, so a lot of them are baby-related; however pretty much all of the ones we use on the nest are on there)!
That does seem pretty accurate. You could contact someone who bakes from home instead of an actual bakery, they may be a little more affordable.
I think it would be cute to have just the top part as your childs cake and having cupcakes that match in color for everyone else; then you won't have to worry about cutting the cake.
Its a cute cake!
You've essentially asked for a wedding cake and they do go for the $2/slice pp mentioned.
Since you asked what I'd spend, I'd spend $2.39 on a box mix or, since you said you need it for 50 people, $25 for a grocery store cake.
It seems that nest/bump first birthday parties are rarely about the child - they're simply about parents one-upping each other. Your child's gonna smash the cake all over his face and you're gonna get a cute pic whether the serving cost 6 cents or $2. A 1 yo will not know if you have a designer cake, a blow-up jumper or anything else. Birthday parties should be about having fun with family and celebrating the child's life.
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I just wanted to say thank you for posting this.... I was about to start going overboard with planning my son's birthday party.
Wow...judgemental much?
How is having an expensive cake making a party NOT about the child? Have I mentioned anything else about the rest of the party? Do you have any idea how much I'm spending on it, or how little? Do you know my budget? Do you know how many DIY projects i'm doing?
Nope didn't think so... so before you generalize, you should think twice before you jump to the conclusion that this party is about me simply because i found a picture of an expensive cake.
Thanks for your professional input! Hopefully I can work with the baker to scale it down so it fits more with my budget.
I know someone else mentioned cupcakes. Just wanted to say that I recently went to a 1yo bday party where they had a similar cake.
Except instead of 3 tiers, it was 2. The cake itself had his name on it and then in front of the cake where cupcakes spelling out h - a - p - p -y - b - i - r - t- h - d - a - y. Maybe something to consider that might help with the cost.
GL!
As a professional pastry chef I just have to LOL at this comment. It would still cost almost as much to do fake layers. If you are talking about a professional bake shop that obviously orders their ingredients in bulk, the labor is most of your cost. NOT the ingredients. There is a reason that pastry departments always have the lowest food cost in a restaurant. As pastry chefs we are basically selling air. High end cakes like I make will include real butter and higher quality ingredients, but the average bake shop is using a lot of shortening. "Buttercream" made with a high percentage of shortening holds up better and is more predictable than real buttercream.
If you don't need 70 slices, I would tell the bake shop how many people you DO need to feed, give them the photo, and ask them to use that as inspiration. Maybe you only need 2 tiers, for example. I wouldn't ask them for a half fake larger cake.
FWIW, $2.85 a slice (which is what $200 to feed 70 people works out to) is very reasonable. Personally I won't have near 70 people coming to my kid's 1st birthday, but I would have no problem spending $200 on a cake for 70. Even if it were for a 1st birthday. How much you spend depends on your personal financial situation though, obviously.
that cake is SO cute! I love it!!!
that's just a touch more than what you'd pay for that cake in Denver - depending the bakery. My thought would be to do only do 2 layers (the top 2 as they're the cutest) if it's for 50 people. I bought a 2 layer cake for my friend's 40th birthday that was decorated in a similar style (different colors) and it was $85.
I was simply stating that there are several posts every week on here about mothers wondering how fantastic to make their child's birthday party. Kids are gonna have a great time whether there's a slip n side in the backyard or if their parents have reserved a private section of a water park. It's about perspective. Your child can't tell the difference between that $2/slice cake and a regular cake, so what's making you spend $200? What's your personal motivation for it? To show off, right? Because no average person spends $200 on a cake just because it's cute, especially when a 1yo hasn't even developed the mental capacity yet to know what's going on, much less appreciate the fondant and fruit filling. Parents are trying to impress the other adults.
And I'm not gonna apologize for my words. It's not personal - I don't know you. It's directed at all parents who start to lose their minds over this and go overboard.
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So glad to know
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There's no way in hell I'd consider spending triple digits on a birthday cake for a toddler. I have yet to meet a toddler who cares that much about what a cake looks like. Be honest - the cake has nothing to do with making your child happy, and everything to do with impressing your friends and family. Your one year old would be thrilled with a frosted cupcake.
Ok, I'll be the weirdo who says that price sounds incredibly low.
Where I live, specialty cakes often start at $7/slice, so this would be a steal.
If you can afford it, the cake does not constitute "going overboard." The cake is not for the toddler. The cake (and the whole party) is really to entertain yourself and your guests. Let's be real here.
The kid is not going to remember a goddamn thing. If the logic is that the party is only for the kid, you may as well not have a party at all.
Live it up and have fun.