Easy Cake Decorating Ideas for Kids
There are tons of great ideas out there for themed cakes, but I’ve always found that the best ideas are the ones the kids help me with. With an endless amount of easy cake decorating ideas for kids, there's no end in sight
when it comes to activities that also delicious results. There are some easy cake decorating ideas for kids, and this a great way to keep your grandkids entertained.
I am a firm believer in doing things the easy way, so you’ll see that theme throughout this article. I use cake mixes and canned frosting instead of making everything from scratch.
Ask for Suggestions and Plan
As my grandson Cash’s fourth birthday was fast approaching, I asked him what kind of cake he wanted. I fully expected him to answer that he wanted a cake with Batman, Superman, Captain America, etc. He’s so into superheroes; just about every square inch of his bedroom has some kind of superhero, not to mention that he has two Batman, two Superman and one Green Hornet t-shirt so he can wear one to school every day!
But did he do what I thought he would? Nope, he surprised me!
I had recently taken him to see a movie, so he decided he wanted a Lego cake! So, Lego it was. Cash and I planned the entire party around that theme.
We made birthday invitations using the Lego theme by spelling out “Cash wants you to come to his birthday party," in Lego pieces on the dining room table. Then I helped him take a picture of it, which we printed out on a piece of paper before adding the pertinent details (date, time, where, RSVP) to the bottom in magic markers.
About a week before the party, he and I went to the Dollar Store to pick out the table decorations, plates, napkins and forks. He picked out some really bright reds, blues, yellows and greens. That let me know what colors the Lego cake would be.
He helped me make the cake also. I searched online and found a great YouTube video on how to make a Lego cake. It wasn’t exactly the most perfect cake when we were done, but it was delicious, he and his friends loved it and most importantly, it was something special we did together.
There are tons of ways to decorate cakes and cupcakes, and most of them are pretty easy. Just start with a basic cake mix, add frosting, and then tap into your imagination and decorate to your heart’s content: rainbows, flowers, animals, scenes, etc.
Use your favorite candy or cookies for the decorations. They’re fun and unique, and even more fun if your grandkids help! Here are just a few examples of ones that I’ve done:
Balloon Cake
When Cash was much younger and didn’t really have a say in what he wanted, I made him a cake decorated with cookie balloons.
I baked a basic round devil’s food cake from a cake mix and frosted it with vanilla icing from a can. Then I took several vanilla wafer cookies, put them on aluminum foil, frosted them with the same vanilla icing and topped them with colorful sprinkles.
I transferred the cookies onto the cake, scattering them around at different heights. Then, using very thin red licorice strips (you can cut a piece of licorice or use shoestring licorice), I formed balloon strings from the bottom of each cookie. You can let them free float, or if you’re feeling ambitious, you can tie them to get a balloon bouquet effect.
PB&J Cupcakes
If you have a grandchild who loves PB&J, combine that love into a cupcake dessert! First, bake a batch of yellow cupcakes from a mix. Then mix in about 1/3 cup of creamy peanut butter into a can of frosting and frost the cupcakes. Let the frosted cupcakes sit for about half hour before decorating the top of each frosted cupcake with a teaspoon of your grandchild’s favorite jam (mine love raspberry or strawberry).
If it’s a special occasion, I’ll put a small toy on top of each cupcake… usually something from Sesame Street or the movie Frozen. They love the cupcakes and they get a toy to play with!
Icky Sticky Easy Cake Decorating Ideas for Kids
When you want your little ones to help you – and have a blast getting sticky and messy – make an Icky Sticky cake. Use a yellow or devil’s food cake mix to make a 9 x 13 cake and frost it with cream cheese frosting.
Here come’s the fun part: let the kids decorate the top of it with cotton candy you’ve bought from the store. They’ll have a blast licking their fingers.
Picking a Theme
As my own kids got older, I would make them cakes themed around what they were doing. For example, my older daughter rode horseback, so I made a sheet cake, frosted it and decorated it with pictures of her riding her favorite horse. I added a couple of toy horseshoes I found, along with some candle holders in the shapes of horses and voila, the cake was done!
Another time, my younger daughter was playing varsity tennis. For the last match of the season, I made a sheet cake and decorated it with pictures I’d taken of the girls’ matches along with some toy rackets and balls. They loved it and everyone went home with a picture of themselves from their season.
Next time you want a fun, creative activity to do, try these easy cake decorating ideas for kids. I'm sure it will be a hit!