When my daughter was 4 she went to Clip n Climb for the first time and absolutely fell in love with climbing. So it felt only natural that come her 5th birthday a climbing party was her first and only request.
A Change In How We Do Parties
This climbing party was to be the very first party in my 13 children’s birthday parenting years, that would be held outside of the house…or village hall! And not hosted by me.
You see we have always had themed parties. I would ask them what they would like or used their interests to tailor to their party wishes. It just so happens, especially with my eldest daughter, to be home that they have chosen. I have never ever once complained given my penchant and enthusiasm for party planning in general. Something you may well know if you have read here before or follow on instagram. We have had Mermaid, Dinosaur, Harry Potter, Sleepover , Fairy, even an un-birthday Sports Day Party They’re always exhausting and always absolutely worth it.
I did love to bring out my inner Pinterest Mum to plan them in all their glory and we have had some of the most amazing fun. Having the privilege for making birthdays the best version for them that I can is a real honour I will never take for granted. And ok a little bit of over compensation because my eldest was inadvertently born 5 days after Christmas. A notoriously difficult time to conjure enthusiasm from even the best of friends out of their twixmas ‘what day is it?’ bubble. So make it special I would.
I digress
The Planning Stage
Clip n Climb she wanted so that was that. It was all organised for me, the activity, the food, all I needed to do was make the invitations and of course, the cake.
The almost 5 year old casually said ‘a climbing cake’ so here the planning commenced. Much research did not bring up any more than cakes that looked like rocks, bouldering or fondant climbers that were definitely well beyond my home baker capabilities and or enthusiasm.
That’s when I thought I could perhaps try to emulate the different climbing walls they have at the indoor Clip n Climb centre…in cake form. Try, being the operative word. So I got to sketching, always my way to get ideas out, of all the designs they had and how the cake would take shape. Move over computer programs or AI, pen and paper are in town!
I settled on 6 panels of different walls designs, with the mats on the floor in front and on the top the high columns that you climb on top of. Completing with the iconic button you press if you happen to achieve the feat of getting to the top of the wall and at the end added a strawberry lace depicting the rope itself. Which is thankfully a little more sturdy in person!
The Cake
For the base I made two square vanilla sponge cakes with buttercream, cut them in half and stacked them to make it high enough to look like walls!
Using fondant, and lots of it, in various colours, I made each section one strip based on their climbing walls with colours and shapes from the Clip N Climb centre. I did these all by hand and eye, teamed with maybe a lot of trail and error and do you know what? I think they look pretty good. For the most part.
Photos of the process are missing because, well I didn’t even know if it could be done so taking photos of it was not my priority. Having a mid baking ‘what have I got myself into’ seemed way more appropriate!
The Party
The party was great and so hands off, you can see why people always choose that option! I made the invitations, got a little climbing related keepsake to take home and just turned up with cake and child in hand.
I mean taking a cake based on their own climbing walls to the venue itself is a lot of pressure isn’t it? What was I thinking? There is direct comparison to my design right there!
Thankfully I checked myself and the end result Roma was so happy with and impressed by that even the harshest of Clip N Climb employee critic couldn’t burst the bubble. After all it is all about her.
Turns out they were actually very impressed and even asked to take photos of it. I have since been back years later and they asked if I was the lady who ‘once made that climbing wall cake’ so it seems I am down in some sort of cake history book after all! I’ll take that. I mean if you didn’t look too closely that is!
Importantly it was delicious and topped off the day perfectly. Nothing like a bit of style AND substance is there? She had the very best time climbing celebrating with her friends and I could not ask for more than that.
Albeit heartbreaking when it takes less than 5 minutes to decimate between 25 children something that took 2 days to make!
Onto the next one…
