Smash Cake: 1st Birthday Party Must-Have – did you know that? Did you know that a Smash Cake is a 1st birthday party must-have? I didn’t. But, I have an excuse (or two) for being late to the Smash Cake Party!
Here are my excuses for not knowing (1) about Smash Cakes and (2) that they are a 1st birthday party must-have:
- I don’t have any children
- I’m old
- In my day, we sorta had Smash Cakes, but we called them a “piece of cake” and let the baby stick their hands in that!
Recently, my extended family gathered together in Arizona to celebrate my great-niece, Princess Sweet Cheeks, turning one! You can read the first post in this mini-series (yes, there are a few more posts coming about this auspicious occasion) here: Baby Turns One: Celebrating a 1st Birthday in Style.
I live in SoCal, as does a few of my other relatives. Some went several days ahead and made it a party weekend. My sister, Gail, and I decided to only go for the day because our 84-year-old mother has been rather ill and just entered hospice at the time of the party.
So, Gail and I drove the 6-hour round trip to Arizona in one day, gabbing and enjoying “quality time” together as we caught each other up on our lives.
When we arrived, we were bowled over by the beautiful party decorations that our sister, Dawn, and her daughter, Nicole (our niece) had put together to make this day special for Princess Sweet Cheeks and her party guests. On the dessert table was a small cake (the one above with the gold “One” mini-balloon stuck in it) surrounded by cupcakes. When I asked Nicole why she had both a cake and cupcakes, she told me that the cake was a “Smash Cake” and explained what that was about.
“Wherever did you get that idea?” I asked. “Pinterest,” she said.
Isn’t Pinterest a wonderful thing? Above is a picture of the Smash Cake board I’ve created on Toot Sweet 4 Two’s Pinterest site. UPDATE: I’ve consolidated boards and this board no longer exists! But, you can create your own! Here’s a link to my Pinterest page: Toot Sweet 4 Two’s Pinterest page
And, here’s a bonus – here are links to some of the blog posts I’ve found through both a Google search and on Pinterest to make your life easier, if you are researching the perfect Smash Cake:
How to Make a Smash Cake for a 1st Birthday Party by One Little Project – this is the one that Nicole based her baby’s Smash Cake on, but she had it made at a bakery. She just took them a picture of it. Debbie at One Little Project has over 60,000 Pinterest pins of her Smash Cake post, so this is THE post for “how-to” make one!
But, should you need “tips” about having a party with a Smash Cake, this is your go-to post for that: Smash Cakes 101 by How Stuff Works.
Jenny at The Jenny Evolution writes Make Baby’s 1st Birthday Memorable with DIY Smash Cake. Her’s has a nice “pinnable” infographic from Betty Crocker on the steps to making a Smash Cake.
Naomi over at Baker’s Royal writes a funny post about Smash Cake…check out her mess!
Barbara Bakes made a cute one for her grandson: Smash Cake for a First Birthday.
One of the twins over at Lolly Jane posted another cute one for her son: How to Bake the Perfect Size Smash Cake.
And, if you are concerned about the sugar in a regular cake for your child, Rachel over at Our Havenhill makes a Healthy Smash Cake for Baby’s 1st Birthday.
So, there you go – your own personal inventory of Smash Cake essentials!
Nicole decided to take off Princess Sweet Cheeks’ top (I think that’s the norm) for the event and, here’s what happened…
“Oh, this is all for me?”
“Really? Just for me?”
“Ummm…this is GOOD stuff!”
“Maybe if I smash it, I’ll get even better stuff underneath!”
“Yea! This is so much fun!”
“I need it in my tummy like NOW!”
“Mom, what are you doing? I’m not done yet!”
“Really, Mom, I’m not done!”
“I’ll clean myself – thank.you.very.much. I’ll lick it off.”
“Geez, Mom; can’t you wait a bit more?”
“Mom! Stop! I want more!”
“Pleeze…”
“Okay; save the rest for later, please.”
All clean and dressed up again, Princess Sweet Cheeks gets a snuggle from her dad, Rob.
Then, standing up and walking over to a tree (and a chair) for support, Princess Sweet Cheeks spies her birthday presents and thoughts of Smash Cake go flying out the window!
“Are all those for me? I’m a lucky girl!”
Tootles,
Related Posts:
(other party posts)
What an adorable cake Carole and your daughter is pretty darn cute too!
Thanks so much, Marianne! But, she’s my great-niece (I know, who’d have thunk that I’ve have a great-niece, much less several?)!
Your little princess is just adorable! My daughter made the same smash cake for her daughter’s first birthday. It looks so elegant and delicate – a must have cake for all little princesses. 😀
They are, indeed, the new “must have”! Thanks for stopping by!
Oh my goodness. I think I am dying of cuteness. I love the smash cake idea. This would be good for older kids as well with relatives who think it’s funny to smash their faces in cakes! (I am still a little traumatized from all the cake smashing in my family ha).
Hahaha! I’d be traumatized, too, if I’d had cakes smashed in my face as a kid! I made my husband, Charlie, swear on our wedding day that he would not smash the piece of wedding cake in my face (I was vain and didn’t want to chance ruining my makeup or my hair!) and he was a gentleman and didn’t! Thanks for stopping by!
What a delightful story! I had so much fun reading it and seeing the adorable pictures. I did not know Pinterest had all that info about Smash cakes either! Wow! Nicole just said we were having one and I said OK. All my kids just had slices of cake; I guess they were deprived. LOL.
I can’t wait to read the other post now.
I’m so glad you liked it! I don’t think your kids were deprived 🙂 – they still had a piece of cake! More posts coming after Valentine’s Day, so stay tuned…
Carole – Your post made my night! Thanks for the honourable mention about my smash cake!! I’m so flattered that someone would take it to a bakery to have it made! 🙂
You are most welcome, Debbie! I firmly believe in giving credit where credit is due and you are apparently the world leader in the Smash Cake category 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and now you know that bakeries are stealing your great idea!