How about a little story about cupcakes? 80 of them.
My daughter attends a charter school, and they are money raising machines! Not that they raise much money, but there is always a raffle or an auction or a bake sale going. In planning the school's "Christmas Pageant" (which by the way has nothing to do with Christmas per say, because of the diverse nature of the school... which is why it is called "Peace and Human Rights Night") parents were asked to bring food to "sell" during the evening's events. I signed up for - what else - cupcakes.
After a complete breakdown due to stress of the season, and a quick phone call to a friend to see if I could flake out on my responsibility, I realized I did have a choice - bake or buy. I could buy a dozen or 2 cupcakes for $15-$20, but that would really defeat the purpose in more ways than one.
So, then my plan was to use box-of-cake (you know that it tastes just fine, and saves a ton of time) and make a nice buttercream. But, while I was shopping at Smart and Final for the mix, I noticed that everything was on sale. SALE! Each box-of-cake mix was only .99 cents! And, the cans-of-frosting were only $1.69. I felt a little twinge of guilt right before I plopped them in my cart and made my way to the register.
Add in eggs, oil, cupcake papers and sprinkles, and I am not joking when I tell you that I made 80 of them for less than $20. Easy AND guilt free.
The night of the event I went over to the area where the food was being sold, and to my horror I saw probably HUNDREDS of cupcakes. Hundreds! Oh well, I thought, so I brought "sand to the beach"... whatever.
Every single cupcake was sold by the end of the evening. Phew!
Will I do this again next time? You bet! Especially for the kids. Especially for $20.
my daughter and her friends singing "Feed the World" by Michael Jackson
notice the single white gloves - I love her school!
