Birthdays on a Budget

36 is my new number. Age, that is.  A far cry from the excitement of 10 (double-digits), 12 (traditional pie-in-the-face birthday), 16, 18, 21....but in my kindergarten class, turning 36 rivals them all.  The excitement my kids felt was contagious!  When I put up the February calendar, there was my little birthday photo sitting on Feb. 26 all month long, so there was no escaping it.  Even when I realized at 9:30 p.m. the night before I had promised my kids at school a special treat for my birthday coming in the morning.  (It had been a busy day, with work, workout, dinner, AND a church meeting...I was not sitting on the couch watching TV or anything relaxing like that!) I ran into Target to pick up cupcakes and that could have been the end of this story. Until I saw the $15.99 price tag. According to my husband, we are either poor or cheap depending on which week it is.  This week it was both.  Hmmm...I am sure it wouldn't take long to make some box mix cupcakes, and at only $1.20 a box?! Frosting $1.57. Yes. Sold.  At this point I am feeling victorious, awesome treats for $4 and only an hour or so of my time.  But as the night goes on, time gets late, I realize this is not an hour ordeal, there are dishes to do, and 12:30 a.m. rolls around. I have GOT to get to sleep.   18 kindergarten kids will eat me alive if I arrive to teach tired.  Then, a brilliant idea forms in my mind.  I will and I can go to bed now.  All I have to do bring the frosting, my elaborate sprinkle collection, and plastic knives to school. The kids will frost and sprinkle their own cupcakes.  I wasn't completely committed to the idea, but thought it could be fun. It turned out to be such an amazing time for the kids! They absolutely LOVED it.  I will be following this tradition for the next ???who knows how many until I retire??? years.  Cheap, easy, AND fun.  I call that a little kid, little money, and little time triple threat!  So moms/dads, you know your kiddos want you so badly to send in treats for the class on their special day, but they can really add up, maybe this could work as a good "celebrate birthdays at school on a budget" solution for your family, too.