The long standing tradition of just smothering a little bit of cake from a slice of cake on a birthday are now old news. In an age where we want to capture great photographs and selfies, there are some new crazy traditions emerging – and cake smash has become a thing. Especially to mark a baby’s first birthday. You may be wondering what a cake smash even is. It’s exactly that- you make a cake, you pose your pristine baby in their best party frock for some cute pictures and then let the baby go to town with the cake. Whether that involves nibbling at it, guzzling it or most likely wearing it.
So it seems slightly bizarre, especially when you try and explain to grandma you have been baking and decorating a cake all day, not to eat but for the baby to demolish. It’s a crazy new tradition which is messy fun but it does require baby to play ball. Setting up a scene for the photographs is just half the fun. Using brightly coloured table cloths, bunting and fairy lights and flowers create the perfect setting. Bake a large cupcake cake and decorate it with buttercream icing and then pop baby in front of the cake. In theory one would expect it would be a babies dream come true to poke their hands through the cake. Unless you have a well behaved baby who has been taught the etiquette, not to touch cake. If your baby is the sort who likes to stay clean you may just get some cutesy pictures and have a cake to eat at the end of the day.
Alternatively you may find older siblings are quick to join in on the fun and after a bit of coaxing will demolish the cake fairly quickly. However be warned you may be creating a monster. After all the encouragement to partake in the cake smash don’t blame your child every time they see a cake they whisper to you “Yay, let’s do cake smash.” And although it may start as a once in a life time tradition, kids may plead for it year after year.
Top 5 tips for a DIY Cake Smash
1. Make sure your baby is well rested, fed and happy as cranky, tired one year old babies don’t do well posing for pictures
2. Set up on the floor to prevent any falls
3. Use bunting and disposable table cloths to create a backdrop
4. Choose a colour scheme and dress baby accordingly
5. Put your baby in a lovely outfit that you don’t mind getting dirty
