Do you bring your own cakes to Birthday parties

Hi,
I am also an Andrea. My son always has brought his own food or snacks. It worked out well when he was younger because it was so clear-cut for him to remember. He is now 6 y/o, and he has learned what foods and brands of foods are safe for him, so he is able to have some things (in a package, that we know are safe), but we still avoid bakery items.
Take care,
Andrea

I think my 12 year old DD has only had birthday cake once at someone else's house.
Once in a while I've sent cupcakes, but usually she takes a favorite safe snack. In Canada, we can buy Chapman's icecream, so if the mom asks, I offer to bring some, or they volunteer to buy Chapman's and then my DD can have icecream.

It never seemed to bother her that she had to have something different. She liked picking out her own treat to take.

Hi

My dd is PA and my son is allergic to eggs, nuts and sesame.

My kids' Birthdays

- I always make my own peanut and egg free cake that I decorate for their birthdays. At the museum of science and tech and at the bowling alley last year they wanted me to use their provided cake but when I told them my son has an egg allergy they agreed to let me bring my own.

Other kids' parties:

When we are invited to parties for their friends, my kids never eat the cake. They know they can't and that is just life. I talk to the parents before the party and if it is at a home I offer to bring Chapman's ice cream, although most parents have done that already. The invites are always from classmates who know of their allergies.

Family Parties:

- For family parties someone seems to always buy or bring an unsafe cake, no matter how much I educate. I bring ice cream or buy or make something safe ( I found a cheesecake at Costco that seems to be safe). Again, my kids know not to eat any cake unless we brought it ourselves or I say it is safe (they are 6 and 8).

take care

deb

When it comes to parties, I send my son a cupcake. He has learned to accept that he can't eat birthday cake at other people's parties. I can't trust the ingredients that bakers and other families use in their food/cakes.

Same here. He always brings his own cupcakes.

Oh and I want to add that my kids don't really like cake very much so they don't see it as a hardship to not eat the cake!

deb

My kids take their own cupcakes to friends' parties. Sometimes I find out the theme of the birthday cake and put something on the cupcake that matches; i.e., a tiny Pikachu for a Pokemon birthday. I have run into problems when the other kids would rather have our cupcakes than the birthday cake.

Before I became very peanut aware we ordered cakes from the grocery. One came with peanuts sprinkled on the corner (some bakeries do this to mark the type of cake), so no more bakery items for us.

Thank you, cupcakes it is matthew loves them anyways, I have also run into the other kids want his cupcake so I bring a dozen, so far its only nieces and nephews)

Like I said for my kids birthday party I found a bakery that will guarantee a nut free cake I have ordered 4 times everything is good so far. The lady that owns the shop bakes and decorates everything, they make things with nuts but no peanuts and she washes everything with bleech after I am comfortable with that, they are expensive so 2times a year and special occasions. (must feed 20+ people)

Andrea

When we go to birthday parties family or others I always pack food and a special treat for my children. I usually have cupcakes in the freezer from a peanut free bakery. I also feed my children before going to the party so that they are not 'starving' when they get there. I then pack lots of snack foods for them which I find easier to take.

I send my son with a cupcake which I make an effort to decorate to match the theme of the party.

How do you guys get your cupcakes from point A to point B in tact? What kind of storage/carrier do you use?

I did, for many years. But over the years, people have respectfully accepted our needs so that it has become less and less necessary.

Now, Mariah's circle of friends are very aware of the PA. I nearly always get a call from the mom asking what she can serve to make sure that Mariah will be included. They know that I'll still read the label. On the rare occasion that I don't get the call, I'll call them and ask and make whatever plans I need. (How many times have you sat in your car down the street --out of sight from the party--with your cell phone in your lap? [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img] ) Still, I'd guess that she gets 6 to 8 birthday invitations per school year.

We found out 2 years ago that Mariah's cousin is also PA. Our extended family is pretty large also (22 that all live nearby), but they, too, are extremely accommodating for family get-togethers.

I'd describe our comfort zone as tight, and still have found that people are willing to make the adjustment. It just took a while to get to this point and figure it out. We feel quite fortunate.

Gail

[This message has been edited by Gail W (edited February 27, 2003).]

We bring a safe treat, and most recently usually it is a cupcake, for 3 yo dd. She is used to it and I heard her boasting at a recent party that she was not having any cake because she had her own safe brownie(or whatever it happened to be that night). She was rather high and mighty about it and I might have otherwise told her to be nicer, but I was glad to hear her be so happy and proud to be different.

Oh, we also do the Codyman techniques od feeding before or packing snack things to get by. At good friends, we bring chicken nuggets to heat up for her. becca

[This message has been edited by becca (edited February 27, 2003).]

DD (8) usually brings her own treat. If I have time I bake, if not I confess it is a packaged safe treat. I really admire those the always bake and even decorate to fit the theme!

All of her school friends are used to her having her own different thing - it is what she does when treats are given out in class too, so it is not an issue. At the frequent kids party places I got sick of trying to get info ahead of time or from the on duty staff so her eating her own thing seemed safer and easier. Also when a parent is baking/buying knowing that she would be OK, has been a relief to them.

There are a few very careful friends that "get it" and then she eats the cake.

My son is 6 years old. While he was in preschool, etc we always brought him a cupcake or something of that nature.
Now that he is in kindergarten, we have relaxed in this particular area.

I know that I am in the minority here...but we do let him eat what I consider to be "low risk" birthday cakes (ie, your basic yellow cake w/regular icing, etc). I am sure that LOTS of folks would disagree with us on this one. But these cakes are basically flour,sugar,eggs, etc. I am aware of the problem of possible cross contimination, but I have checked out the local bakeries in our town and they rarely have anything with peanuts (yes, there are LOTS of almonds, etc...but not really many peanuts).

We do not buy baked goods for at home,but in the birthday party situation, I sometime go out on a limb.

I always talk to the parents ahead of time about where the cake is from, etc and make my own calls. There have been times when I have brought him a cupcake (ie, I wouldn't let him eat a cake from Dairy Queen, for example).

Anyway, we have been to about 10 birthday parties over the past year and have not had a problem. Again, my comfort level is much wider than others on this board and that is okay, too.

Regards,

Kelly

My 4 1/2 ds has been to 1 bday party and I let him eat the cake. The mom is a really good friend, very informed and prepared with the epi. She has even taken a class on food allergies with me. (Although I knew a bit more than the person giving the class!) Thanks to everyone here. I personally am hopefull that many bakeries are now informed of the cross- contamination issue, I know there could still be a problem. But I do order cakes and let all three of my kids eat them.

Jill

At birthday parties, I always bring cake for my 4-1/2 year old son to eat.
I keep a supply of frozen cake slices in my freezer (Betty Crocker white cake w/ BC vanilla frosting). So whenever we have a party to attend, I just grab a piece and go.
When it everyone sings

Kylie always takes her own cupcake to birthday parties. Cannot trust that the one provided doesn't contain almond extract, or been x-contaminated somehow.

Lori

Cupcakes here too! My son always brings his own safe treat to parties and I often freeze safe homemade cupcakes so that they are available to defrost for an occasion anytime!

I handle it the way Kelly does. Leah's eight and we've never had a problem. I'm sure there are other parents like us but they may not feel comfortable posting. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img] Miriam

I usually send my son with his own cupcake or with a full-size Canadian KitKat bar (that's the only time he gets a full size bar so it's a huge treat for him). Sometimes, though, I let him eat the cake if it's from a local grocery store chain that I feel comfortable with. I consider those cakes safe and unlikely to be cross-contaminated and he's had them a million times.

We have always let our dd eat bakery cakes from Safeway. This is what most parents have at any party she has been to. Just your basic chocolate or white cake with white frosting. I have never seen any peanuts on or in any cakes at the bakery. Although we avoid tree nuts, we don't have an allergy that we know of. I am more comfortable with a bakery cake (from certain bakeries) than I am with one someone made at home.

Our comfort zone might be a little looser than some, only because we were not given ANY information at the beginning. We were not given an epi, nor were we told that we had to worry about cross contamination, touching peanuts, etc. And this was before we had online access. So there are certain items that dd has eaten a million times that we still feel comfortable with. Certain other items, we have tightened up on.

This seems like a good place to mention my son and I were talking about peanut allergy recently and he said there's one good thing about having food allergies--he gets better treats at parties!

I used to give him a homemade cupcake, but I was always running out. Now, I almost always send him with a big Canadian KitKat or a big Hershey bar. At school he has some of the same kind of safe candy bars for classroom parties.

He loves these! And the other kids like them too. He says they all think his candy bars are better than cupcakes. One girl even brought in Hershey bars for her birthday instead of cupcakes!

Heather2, there is a Tupperware item that holds cupcakes intact, with cover and handle. On the reverse side, you can use it for a 9x13.

I'm not much of a baker, so I've used Hostess cupcakes and twinkies as a treat. I'm comfortable with their labeling and I have a code for a nut-free facility in our area.

Pamela
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Mom to 2 y/o (PA>100 CapRAST)

[This message has been edited by Driving Me Nutty (edited June 28, 2004).]

I have the same Tupperware carrier for cupcakes and sheet cakes, it is great!!

For single cupcakes, I use small round gladware type containers and invert them like a cake carrier.

DD is only 15 months old so all of the birthday parties so far have been for the children in our family(15 kids 10 & under). I bring a safe cupcake for her and a safe cupcake for me. She is at the age where if I'm eating something she has has to have it too.

My family has been understanding re the cupcakes. My niece has Celiac and my sister has been bringing her "special" cupcakes to parties for almost two years.