Stock Up

Almost everything you need for the party can be found at the grocery store or in your pantry.

The Essentials

In addition to the cake, icing, and frosting ingredients, you'll need:

• 4 measuring cups (1 for dry ingredients and 1 for liquids for each group)
• 1 set of measuring spoons
• 8 small bowls for premeasured ingredients
• 2 large mixing bowls
• 2 small mixing bowls
• 2 wooden spoons
• 1 sifter
• Waxed paper
• 2 baking pans
• 2 pot holders
• 4 pastry bags
• 4 metal flower tips
• 4 rubber bands
• 1 rubber spatula
• 1 thin metal spatula
• 9-inch parchment rounds (estimate 2 per guest)
• 1 cake knife

(Partymakers.com offers Bake-a-Cake Party Book for $25, or as part of a set that includes pastry bags and tips, food coloring, a spatula, and baking pans, for $40.)

• Hand wipes
• Aprons (personalized aprons, $25 each, Williams-Sonoma)
• Chef's hats (fabric chef's hats, $8 each, Sassafras)
• Plastic tablecloth (gingham plastic tablecloth, $15 for a 100-foot roll, MyPaperShop.com )

The Extras

• Mini baking sets (Duktig 6-piece set, $7, IKEA)
• Cake boxes (6-inch square boxes, $1 each, Fancy Flours)
• Gingham ribbon ($8 for 25 yards, The Ribbon Peddler )

• Play kitchen (Retro kitchen set, $747 for the full set or $249 each for the stove, fridge, and dishwasher, Pottery Barn Kids )
• Play food (Pretend Bake 'N Play set, $30, Constructive Playthings)
• Maurice Sendak's In the Night Kitchen to read to the kids
• Poster-size birthday card (36-by-48-inch Premium foam display board, $15, Elmers, officedepot.com) for kids to decorate (Baking scrapbook stickers, $1.19, Stickopotamus, Stuff 4 Scrapbooking )

Next Page: A party-preparation timeline