My son's first birthday party is this Saturday. I am torn between letting him have his first decadent taste of sugary sweet cake/ frosting...or making a semi healthy carrot cake with very lightly sweetend cream cheese frosting. What did you do?
For his first birthday, we did cupcakes and each person including him had one. It is wasteful to me when children have a separate cake for themselves and one for the guests.
I would go with which ever one is the cheapest. We bought her a mini cake from Vons and she really only ate the frosting. Having all that sugar didn't make her totally crazy for sugar. She has turned down lots of sweets until recently (she's two now).
We did a regular cake. My daughter was tired and she didn't like the frosting sticking to her fingers. She barely ate any of it. We were quite disappointed, since I had anticipated a huge mess!
I couldn't resist the all out sugar cake!!
It was amazing...my son had been to two birthday parties previously and was so excited to see his cake. I agree it's really about the pics, but I love looking at my own pics from my 1st birthday...the memories last forever!!
they won't always "like" cake or be aware of it at this age.
It's more for the Parents and taking photos of their birthday, with them and the cake.
Get something cute and memorable... for his scrapbook so he can look back on it.
Just a small cake is fine... carrot cakes are great too. That's what we did.
Good luck!
It's more about the pictures than anything. I chose chocolate frosting b/c it makes for a better mess than white. If you are good in the kitchen and can make your own, sure go ahead, but I'm not but still wanted to make my daughter's first cake, so I bought a box of cake mix and canister of frosting.
I'm surprised at the most recent answers I read. My baby is about to turn one and he still really only eats breastmilk. He dabbles with food and I know his interest will grow stronger really soon, but I think one is early for eating sugary cake. I believe in baby-led eating. I would buy the cake for the adults and the pictures. The baby is only one, aren't these parties really just for us anyway.
Go for full sugar! I'm all for healthy food and regulating my child's intake, but for birthdays or special occasions, I try not to sweat it. Let him enjoy himself! I'm sure you're not going to give hime a huge slice anyway. Moderation is key. A little cake on his birthday won't hurt, I promise!
Come on its his birthday a little bit of sugar never hurt anyone. Just remember the kids that are deprived of sweets find them anyways (friends house's etc.) and usually over do it because it is forbidden. Of couse that is a future worry but just something to ponder.
Hi J.,
For our daughter, we bought a small round cake at Wal-Mart, I think they are $1. Your son won't very much of the cake, so spending $1 on it is worth it! And since he won't eat much of it, go for the real deal! :-)
-Char
I did a carrot cake and it was mostly healthy.
Happy Birthday!
M.
We had a smash cake for my dd, and a regular sheet cake for everyone else. Your son really won't eat much of it. It's more for letting him smash it into his face and taking pictures. If you're really concerned about it, just go with the healthier choice. But we just did regular cake.
I made my own healthy version of "banana bread" cake and used organic no sugar added strawberry jam as the "frosting" for my son's personal cake (a small pie sized cake). We all had fun! He got to eat "cake"! and the pictures of him with jam on his face/hands turned out terrific. Everyone loved the banana bread cake! I did use a light cream cheese frosting for the big cake for the rest of the guests.
Best wishes!
C.~
