Cupcakes Out, These Treats In, According to Teacher Tik Tok

Perhaps the days of worrying about what to send in for your kid's in-school birthday celebration are long gone, or maybe you haven't reached that point of parenthood yet. As for me, this is technically year 3 of navigating my daughter's September birthday in the classroom. Her first year of school took place in my living room (thanks COVID), and then the following year the school was still strict on the in-school snack policy with leftover pandemic regulations.

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So We Shouldn't Go With Cupcakes For The Classroom?

The past two years it was pretty simple to whip up a batch of cupcakes to satisfy the sweet tooth of all the little ones. Chocolate with vanilla frosting, vanilla with chocolate frosting, a few combinations of the two and done.

Or, you can take the quick and easy route and pick up the pre made cupcake variety packs from the grocery store and call it a day.

It seems, though, that one Illinois kindergarten teacher's better suggestions for in-school birthday celebrations is gaining some traction, so much so that PEOPLE Magazine did a feature on her viral suggestions for school birthdays.

In addition to it being a big mess at their desks, it seems like the kids aren't finishing these cupcakes that we are sending in, so this teacher, known on TikTok as 'kbcrayons' (aka Ann Brackemyer) has some other classroom birthday wins.

SEE ALSO: Did You Celebrate Your Birthday At One Of These Classic Hudson Valley Spots?

Instead Of Cupcakes, Consider Sending In...

So, rather than spending all that time in your kitchen creating the perfect Pinterest cupcakes for your kiddo's class, consider these options:

• store bought frosted cookies - you know the ones that usually have the bright colored frosting and sprinkles on top.
• donuts - and a bunch of local places (i've seen them at Shop Rite and Hannaford lately) have the mini frosted ones which are perfectly sized for little ones.
• ice cream cups - now this one i'd need to run by the teacher/school to coordinate the logistics, but those cute little chocolate and vanilla cups, sometimes they come with the little wooden scooper spoon, along with some add your own sprinkles, I think this would be a great option for my daughter whose b-day is in September while it's still pretty warm out.
• Little Debbie or other boxed snacks - individually wrapped, pre-portioned, and not to mention always delicious.

So, with five days until my daughter's 9th birthday celebration in school, the hunt is now on for the perfect pick for this year's classroom celebration (my money is on ice cream).