"Face the Cake" Birthday Game

by Dave
(Raleigh, NC, USA)

We have a tradition in our family that we call "face the cake." It is very silly. And yes, through the years many have faced the cake! Usually the cake is a very simple one. Really, just a pie pan with whip cream in it.

Sometimes we branch off and bake a real cake, if the parents or the birthday boy or girl requests it (we have found that a real cake is more messy). We always prepare two cakes for the party: one is the real cake and the other is the one we throw into the birthday boy or girl's face.

First, the birthday child sits in a chair with a blind fold on. A fresh flower or two is placed around their neck for decoration, and we sing the "Happy Birthday" song. As soon as we finish, the blindfold comes off and we and throw the cake into their face!

Everyone in our family knows what is coming and what to expect. This is all done in fun, of course, and all the kids in our family look forward to "facing the cake" just as much as they do to opening their presents.

This custom has been going in my family for over 65 years. It started with my grandmother's birthday party in Hawaii when she was as a child. Her father good-naturedly surprised her with a cake-in-the-face, and she enjoyed it so much, she carried on the tradition with her own children, in other words, my mother.

We usually stop making you "face the cake" in your early teens (unless you really want it)!