Planning a party or gathering with kids and want to give them a sweet treat AND something fun to do?
Crave in Houston now offers cupcake party packs to go, allowing any kid to become a master cupcake artist and and any mom to be a hero without much effort.
(Is it bad to admit that I want to be a hero without a lot of work sometimes?)
The Party Packs come with everything kids need to decorate and enjoy one dozen cupcakes in 19 different designs— the cupcakes, frosting, adorable fondant pieces and decorations and a master drawing of all the suggested designs are all in there.
Kids can make ladybugs, fish, pirates, Cinderella, flowers and 14 more original, easy-to-decorate ideas.
The Party Packs cost $50 per dozen, which, in my book, is a great price for gourmet cupcakes and effortless fun. (For a price comparison, one dozen frosted Crave cupcakes cost $39.) And yes, these cupcakes are not only fun to decorate, but they are scrumptious, too.
Crave invited me to bring my daughter and her friend to the store to try out the Party Pack concept.
We opened the kit, set out the pieces and a few plates, and the two girls, ages 6 and 7 years, got right to work decorating cupcakes (and, yes, even snacking on a few of the decorating elements, of course. They loved the colored hair pieces.).
There were enough fondant pieces to create 2 of each of the 19 designs, and with that many pieces, that meant there were plenty of supplies to add their own touches, if they wanted. I think they loved having the master design sheet as a guide.
The only place the girls needed help was to remind them to coat the cupcake with a lot of frosting instead of skimming the surface. Other than that, the girls went to town decorating on their own, without any help needed from me.
There was one point that Joann Ho, the store manager at the West University location, stepped in to show us a trick for making curly hair for Cinderella. (This lady knows her cupcakes!!)
She suggests tying the decorating string into little knot and using those pieces at the top of the cupcake. Easy peasy and a great tip for anyone trying to make curly hair on a cupcake!
As I stepped back and watched the girls go, it occurred to me that, in addition to being a great kids party idea, this would also be a great activity and dessert for any party where kids are present. You could easily set this up in the kitchen or any room and let the kids go, while the adults could hang out in the next room visiting. Seriously— this was that easy. Plus, since they’ll have so much fun decorating, you could put the kids to work making not only their dessert, but cupcakes for the adults to enjoy, as well.
Even though I live way out in the ‘burbs, I see a few Crave Party Pack purchases in my future. Joann explained that the packs need to be ordered in advance, but that, for convenience, it is possible to pick up the pack one day and use it the next day. The cupcakes and frosting will stay fresh. (Just don’t put the frosting in the refrigerator overnight or it will get too hard to spread easily.)
When we were all finished, these girls could barely wait to eat lunch and then get home eat their creations…
Want to know more? Here are the details…
Crave Party Packs come with:
- one dozen unfrosted cupcakes in chocolate, vanilla and strawberry
- three tubs of frosting: chocolate, vanilla and strawberry
- cut out fondant pieces to make two each of 19 designs
- design guide for 19 designs
- knives for spreading
- $50 per kit
Crave has two Houston locations:
- 1151-06 Uptown Park Blvd., Houston, TX 77056
- 5600 Kirby Drive, Houston 77005
Phone: 713-62-CRAVE (both locations)
One quick note: Although we tried the party packs out at the store so I could report back to you, these are meant to be taken home or to a party, not decorated at Crave.
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