Decorating a childs birthday cake is a lot of fun. Candy is probably the easiest decorating tool for you to use, as well as the most popular type of decoration as far as children are concerned. Have you met a child that doesnt like candy? Me neither. Candy is colorful, and as everyone knows, children love color. Candy tastes good (why else would they eat it?), and is a treat that they probably don't get very often. All of those factors make candy very appealing to children of every age.

Besides candy being extremely easy to decorate with it is, obviously, edible. Edible means not having to remove it from the cake before cutting and serving, as must be done with plastic decorations. Remember searching through the cake for those tiny, plastic eye decorations before cutting into it so a child (or adult!) wouldnt accidentally choke on it? Using candy means not having to hunt for plastic. Just give your guests warning that there might be small pieces of hard candy, to avoid any surprises.

A few popular choices in candy are: M&Ms, Skittles, Oreos, licorice, animal crackers, pretzel sticks, teddy grams, gummy bears, gummy worms, jelly beans, gum drops, mints and mini marshmallows. If you have a bulk food store, take a walk down the candy aisle and you are sure to be inspired and amazed at the choices you have available.

By using candy to decorate with, you can get the birthday girl or boy involved in the process and have them decorate it how they please. It might not turn out exactly as you planned, or as you wanted it to, but think of how proud they'll be that they did it themselves or had the chance to be your "big helper" as my son of 3 often boasts.

Please eat responsibly. Those little teeth are just as susceptible to cavities as adult teeth. Brush well after enjoying the cake, candy, and maybe a bit of ice cream.