Delivering Birthday Cakes to Dorms

Whether you're a parent or a friend, sending a birthday cake to a student's dorm room can be one of the most thoughtful things you can do during those stressful college years. Parents worry about their kids while they're away, and friends want to celebrate in style with fun surprises. Whether you're long distance or just want to make your kid or friend smile, sending a little celebratory gift can make all the difference.

Delivering Birthday Cakes to Dorms

The first thing you want to do is see if the college you want to send a cake to offers special orders for birthday treats through their dining halls or student life services. This would be a fast solution, so scouting out the possibilities is key. Simply inquire when you visit the campus during orientation or give them a quick call. At the University of Delaware, for instance, you can send a YoUDee Gram –a 10 to 15-minute visit by the school mascot, who is a giant blue chicken that arrives at the student's dorm with balloons, an autographed photo, and more than a little comic pizazz. Parents and friends can also call the University of Delaware's dining hall to order a personalized birthday cake for dorm delivery or pick up. In fact, other colleges like Stanford's parent association deliver birthday cakes, balloons, and flowers, as a fundraiser for the college endowment fund.

Bakery Deliveries

Some college town bakeries deliver on campus. However, if you can't find a local patisserie, there are plenty of bakers who will ship their wares overnight or via two-day mail. Simply check in with the campus mail room to see if any restrictions apply. Some accept FedEx or UPS overnight, while others prefer US postal service deliveries.

Get creative with all the fun possibilities for your cake send by drawing inspiration from other colleges:

• Arizona’s Fairytale Brownies mails a birthday box with brownies, a teddy bear, a kazoo, and a pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey game for around $50.
• The Delaware-based SAS Cupcakes ships assorted vanilla, triple chocolate, and red velvet cupcakes decorated for birthdays or Greek life events, accompanied by little flags with your child or friend's Greek letters. Delivered by the dozen, this delivery costs around $45.

A Homemade Birthday Box

Forget all the headaches and assemble your own birthday-in-a-box. Frosted cakes don't do well in the mail, so you can bake a cake. The moister the cake, the better. Consider flavors like pumpkin, carrot, or banana. Once you've baked your cake, you'll want to make sure it's wrapped before you ship it off. Include little additions to your care package, like a simple can of supermarket frosting, a box of candles, and a birthday tiara. Alternatively, you can bake up a batch of chocolate cookies that are decorated to look like cupcakes, and ship them off. For something extra, add a birthday card or a small gift.