To Bake or Not to Bake...The Cake is the Question!

I'm thrilled that I have great friends that are WONDERFUL bakers....because at my house, where there is smoke - there's dinner!  When my kids were little, I made their birthday cakes - and at no small expense.  I would travel to the far corners of the Earth to find the "right" candy rocks for a construction birthday cake, or the perfect princess for that precious little girl.  And every year, I would beg my mother-in-law to NEVER LET ME DO THIS AGAIN. I don't have the patience to painstakingly attend to the details that are required to make a cake great and it ends up causing more stress (and more expensive when you consider all the time and energy it takes to find all the materials, buy all the materials, and apply the ice packs to your head after banging it on the kitchen table repeatedly).

So now I purchase cakes...and it's a beautiful thing!  What kind of cake you make/buy should depend on many factors, not the least your budget!  Custom cakes can run into hundreds of dollars...money that might be better spent on something that won't be consumed in five minutes!  Here in Sarasota, we've done Publix cakes, Sam's Cakes, A Slice of Heaven Cakes and some private bakers (who were AMAZING!) to get just what we needed - and honestly - they were all perfectly fine!

Ask yourself...

• What's my budget? 
• How many people am I feeding? Check out my Pinterest page for a servings chart!
• How will I store the cake (ask me about the time that i brought an ice cream cake to my daughters pony riding party....still a family favorite story)
• Do I have a theme? Favorite flavors? 
• Do I have the time and energy to pull off a masterpiece of my own?
• Do i even want a cake? How about cupcakes? Cake Pops? Cake in a Cup?

Purchasing the perfect cake for your special event doesn't make you a bad Mom - being a frantic lunatic who's been up all night battling with fondant and arrives at party battle worn might!  I'm including a few pictures of some cute cakes for your viewing enjoyment....and throwing two thumbs up to all you Mom's out there - the bakers and non-bakers alike! Party On - and don't forget the inflatable fun from Party Jumpers.  Friend us on Facebook for monthly specials on bouncehouses, waterslides, obstacle courses, giant slides, dunk tanks and more fun for every event!