Here are the blank canvases!
And here are some of the cupcake masterpieces!
I felt a little bad about providing such terribly unhealthy, sugar laden, artifically colored snacks at my children's birthday parties until I realized that the majority of the children only eat one bite of the cupcakes. A few will eat the candy off the top (O did!)and lick a little icing, but most of them leave the cupcakes virtually untouched. It's all about the creative process! (However, I do want to make this activity a little healthier, but still a lot of fun...maybe I can find cake decorations and candy at Trader Jo's next time we are near one).
What a fabulous idea! I think my son would love the gummy worms! I know what you mean about sugar. I always try and have heathly meals on a daily basis. But being too rigid in this area creates a backlash. So everyonce and awhile (like for a birthday) I bring out the sweets! Thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteor you could decorate with all different kind of sugar cereals (coco puffs, fruit loops, crunch berries, etc) to still make it creative but semi-healthy too.
ReplyDeleteIt's a birthday! Sugar, artificial colours and a total lack of health food are great fun once in awhile. Wheat germ, veggies and health food at a birthday party would just be sad :)
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could try and use some semi healthier toppings such as nutella, fresh fruit cut up into small shapes, dried fruits such as raisings and pineapple, Jello shapes and I'm sure you could think of many more toppings once you really start to think about it.
ReplyDeleteI've seen it done using thick-cut melon cut using a scalloped circle or flower-shaped cookie cutter, then a home-made cream cheese frosting (dyes optional.)
ReplyDeleteYou could also make muffins and home-made frosting (with less sugar than the canned stuff) and then not feel so bad about all the decorations. My sister only uses a cream-cheese-based frosting (home-made) and you can let them squirt it on with pastry bags and tips, or even just Ziplocks with a small corner snipped off. They won't mind a smaller selection of candies if they can squort on loads of frosting!
I also use jimmies (the tiny little worm-looking ones) confetti (the flat, wafery ones) and non pareils (the tiny balls) sprinkles because they have less sugar per tsp than colored sugar sprinkles!