WFMW - frosting faces

This is more of a pre- or post-birthday tip, but it's something I remember very fondly from my own childhood. If you've used decorating frosting or piping gel (the stuff that comes in those tubes) to decorate a cake, save the last bit and use it to draw smiley faces on your kids' palms or fingertips - a surefire way to put a smile on their faces as well, and loads of fun to lick off.

And here are a few bonuses for you since I love decorating cakes and really enjoy all the effort it takes to do something special. I have terrific memories of my mother making special birthday cakes for me, and am thrilled to be passing that along to my own children. They've taken it quite to heart, too, and will spend hours flipping through my cake books trying to decide what they might want for their next birthday, even if that birthday is still months away!

If you're looking for a super-easy cake decorating idea, I posted this one a few months ago. For more advanced inspiration (read: takes work to make) here are a few others I've done (scroll down for pics).

Check out Rocks In My Dryer for more great birthday tips.