I am making 2 x cakes for my son and husbands birthday's. They are needed for Monday.
So i wondered what day before hand would be best to firstly make the cakes and secondly to then ice them

I dont want to make them too far ahead if it wont stay fresh? but dont want to leave it too long and not spend the right time on making them right.

You can bake whenever you have time and freeze them. Make sure you double wrap with cling wrap (saran). I usually bake on a Tuesday for all my weekend cakes. I decorate the day before I need them. Take them out in the morning and let them come up to room temp. I find them much easier to carve or slice to fill when the cake is still a bit cold.

I always make my icing and decorations during the week as well, so on decorating day, I'm all set and ready to go!

HTH