I'm making a cake for my daughter's first birthday but we are going on a church beach trip the week before. So I was wondering how far in advance can I make the fondant decorations and melted chocolate decorations. I would like to make them before we leave which is on the 18th but her party isn't till the 31st. is that possible. TIA

The fondant figures you definitely can make ahead. Just keep them covered so they don't get 'dusty'. Not sure about the chocolate items though. It may 'bloom' and you'll end up with whitish chocolate. Like I said though, I'm not certain.

When you make the fondant figures, make sure that you take some Crisco with the tip of your finger and "cover" the entire figure with it. Then, cover the figure with a film of plastic (Saran Wrap maybe?). The figures will keep for months without cracking!

When you make the fondant figures, make sure that you take some Crisco with the tip of your finger and "cover" the entire figure with it. Then, cover the figure with a film of plastic (Saran Wrap maybe?). The figures will keep for months without cracking!

I made all the animals in my jungle cake 8-10days before the cake was due. I just put them in a cool, dry room. I wouldn't make anything with chocolate too far in advance.

If by "melted chocolate" you mean candy melts, you can definitely do them that far in advance. Just keep them at a reasonable room temperature and out of the sunlight. I have "leftover" candies made from candy melts in the pantry that have been hanging around for much longer than that, and they look exactly the same as they did when newly made. (Which is a little scary, actually... )

If you want to use real chocolate, though, it's more finicky, so I agree it would be best to do that closer to the party date.