Birthday Cakes with a theme - Cheap!

There are 2 things I refuse to do when it comes to kids birthday cakes!

1. I refuse to pay $20 plus dollars on a birthday cake when the only people there are the 5 in my family plus grandparents.
2. I refuse to make a cake that involves real cake decorating and mixing icing colors. (I've done that in the past and for me it's just too much work :-) There are some people who love this - but that's just not me.

Here's how I make our kids birthday cakes and they are always thrilled. I don't spend more than $3.00 for their cakes. Usually less!

1. I make a cake from the cake mix (usually use a coupon and spend less than $1 on the mix)
2. Use the Betty Crocker whipped icing (my favorite because it is smoother than regular icing; use coupon, buy on sale and stack with ecoupon.)
3. Use a toy that matches the theme for the party for the cake decoration. Double bonus: this serves as one of their gifts + it is the cake decor! For this last birthday, I used Little Einsteins rocket toy that we already had. Washed it well before hand so it would be brand new clean and dry. Of course I wouldn't use the toy if it was well worn but these toys are usually just played with in the house anyway.
4. Use writing Icing that I bought on clearance last Fall with coupon so I could write the childs name.

I'm done! and if I do say so myself - the cake looks pretty good. I'm thrilled to have a fun cake for my kids and I'm pleased that I invested so little money in something that is gone in 10 minutes!

In the past, I have used a small Lego Indiana Jones or Star Wars then added some extra lego pieces for additional color. I used pet shop toys one year and put them on cupcakes.