How to Make Birthday Cake Kits

Celebrating birthdays is a big deal, especially for young children! Their excitement about turning another year older, enjoying a delicious cake, and being showered with attention is contagious. As teachers, we know how much joy these special days bring to our students. But for some families, celebrating a child’s birthday with all the trimmings can be a challenge. That’s where we, along with our students and their families, can step in to help by creating birthday cake kits for your local food pantry.

This is one of two community events my classroom can take part in each year. You can read about how to Read to Dogs at a local animal shelter here, which is our other community activity. Additionally, I want to note that this activity may not be something your school can contribute to, and that is okay. This may be something that staff, PTO, or even a local church could put together FOR your students if that is a community need.

Why Birthday Cake Kits Matter

Imagine the joy a child feels when they wake up on their special day to a celebration just for them. Now, imagine not being able to provide that for your child because of financial hardships. Local food banks and shelters help families meet their basic needs but often don’t have resources for birthday celebrations. By organizing birthday cake kits, we can bring families and communities together to support those in need while teaching our students about kindness and generosity.

Getting Families Involved

Creating birthday cake kits is a wonderful way to unite families around a meaningful project. Whether it’s your Girl Scout troop, a scout group, or a church group, getting involved in this community service project is easy. It allows children and their parents to give back to the community in a way that directly impacts other kids. Even our youngest learners can participate!

Before I discuss this activity with my students, I ask my parents if this is something they want to support and do together. If it isn’t something my families can do or want to do, we don’t do it. And that is fine. We also make sure to ask our school counselor if she would like to keep any of these kits at school to give out to our own families in need before we donate them.

Here’s how to get started:

Step 1: Start with a Sign-Up Genius

Set up a Sign-Up Genius to organize donations. Families can sign up to bring items such as a box of cake mix, a can of frosting, a disposable cake pan, or party supplies like birthday candles, Happy Birthday banners, and festive napkins. Don’t forget to include cans of lemon-lime soda for each birthday cake kit. This takes the place of the required wet ingredients.

Make sure the list covers everything needed for a simple but joyful birthday party in a bag. Parents can choose items that fit their budget, and this helps spread out the contributions. I also price items out and let my families know where they can get the items the cheapest. The Dollar Tree is a great place to get items, but I suggest Walmart for frosting. Guiding families with cost-efficient tips can be very helpful.

• 9×13 disposable aluminum foil pan
• a box of cake mix
• 1 can of lemon-lime soda (store brand will work) in case the recipient doesn’t have eggs or oil (more on this later)
• birthday candles
• paper plates, napkins, and candles if you choose
• a birthday bag to hold everything together, also optional

Step 2: Bring in Supplies

Once your sign-up is complete, set a deadline for students to bring in their items. It’s always fun to see the pile of birthday bags, cake mixes, and other food items grow in your classroom! Encourage families to donate items they’d want for their own child’s birthday party, which ensures that the kits are thoughtful and full of joy.

I always make the deadline the day before we plan to assemble the items. I count the items and make a last-minute run to the store to grab anything else we need to make kits so that none of them are short items. Additionally, if we find ourselves with uneven numbers in abundance, most food pantries will gladly take separate items as well.

Step 3: Assemble the Birthday Kits

Next, set aside time to assemble the kits. I do this while my students are at their specials. I started the line with the metal baking pan. Next, I organized the cake mix with a matching frosting container to make sure they would complement each other. Next in line was the soda. Finally the paper products and candles.

Next, students grab a lemon-lime soda to add to their kit. Remember this replaces the wet ingredients to make the cake. And finally, they top the birthday cake kit off with plates, napkins, and candles.

To make it extra special, have your students write a little note or create a personalized birthday card to include in the kit. We write these ahead of time in small groups and place one in each kit along with directions explaining how to use the soda for the wet ingredients for the cake mix.

Step 4: Wrap Them Up

Once everything is assembled, wrap the kits in a festive birthday cake kit into boxes or bags. Some of our pans came with clear lids, which was nice, but they took up a lot of room. The first year we did this, we use clear wrap to seal them up. It worked okay, but this year, we are putting the kits in happy birthday gift bags with a ribbon around the handles.

When everything is ready, coordinate with your local food pantry or executive director to arrange a drop-off. Remember, you can check in with your school counselor or a neighboring school to ensure they have kits as well.

A Big Impact with a Fun Project

This community service project is a powerful way to show your students the importance of helping others. They’ll see how a simple act of kindness, like making a birthday cake kit, can make a child’s special day even more meaningful.

Last year, our school gathered enough supplies to provide more than 30 birthday cake kits for their celebration. Imagine the joy on their faces as they receive their happy birthday kits, complete with everything they need to bake a delicious cake!

Free Download: Birthday Cake Kit Directions

To make it even easier, I’ve created a free printable you can place inside each kit with directions to use the soda in place of the wet ingredients. We put these inside each kit. 

Get your class excited about giving back and creating joy for others. Let’s make birthdays special for everyone, one kit at a time!

Finally, let me add that this was not my idea. I saw a family friend’s child had this idea and was raising funds to make these kits happen for my community. My heart knew this was something I wanted to contribute to my community. When I was talking about it at school, we decided to do this as a class to give back.

The post How to Make Birthday Cake Kits appeared first on Sharing Kindergarten.