I had a lady ask me if I'd be interested running a cake decorating activity for her daughter's 12th birthday. Apparently, the kid is obsessed with Ace of Cakes and Cake Boss.

She wants me to think about what I'll need and how much it might cost. I tried to get her to give me a budget, but she wasn't set on one yet. I don't think she's cheap... but I don't have any idea about what to charge her or to what extent the decorating will go.

Anyone have any experience with this?

I charge per person in the range of $20-25 per person depending upon what the customer wants at the party (i.e., small individual cakes, cupcakes, cookies??) for the kids to decorate and whether they also want a decorated birthday cake to cut and eat in addition to the other treats for decorating. The host provides the location, paper goods, beverages and any other food. I also require at least one adult be present for the duration of the party which is limited to 1 1/2 hours for the price quoted. Hope this helps!

I just taught a church group of 3rd-5th graders and it was a lot of prep time!
Granted, there were 30 kids and each had a 6" 1 layer cake.
The cost of the materials was much more than I expected and I needed to buy additional 6" pans and star tips. Our church reimbursed me for supplies but Ii donated my time. It was fun, but lots of work!

Here is a site of someone who does these types of parties:
http://www.cakedecoratingparties.com/index.html

Hi jhay. It just so happens that I did my very first deco party for 10 year olds (12 of them) last Saturday. It was so much fun.

Each child got:
2 cupcakes (2 flavours)
3 cookies (3 shapes)
a paint brush (cheap bulk pack from the discount store)
a small 'rolling pin' (made from sawn up PVC piping-thank you DH)
a zip-lock bag with a small amount of 4 colours of fondant

Then in the centre of the table, for sharing, I put:
4 plastic cups of water (for 'gluing' fondant)
lots and lots of small cutters in various shapes (esp hearts, flowers, stars)
2 tubs of toothpicks
4 cornflour shakers
about 8 small tubs of various sprinkles, glitters, cachous etc

I took with me:
3 cookies already decorated (one of each of their shapes) showing different styles/techniques of decorating
2 undecorated cupcakes for me to demonstrate with
My cupcake stand

The mother of the birthday girl provided:
an apron for each child
a 'gift' box for each child to take their cookies home in.
a large plastic table cloth

The way I structured it was:
* I introduced myself and told them a little bit about what fondant is and how it works - what not to do etc: that water will make it horrible and sludgy, always be gentle with it, you only need a small amount of cornflour etc
* Then I showed them how to roll it and cut out a cover for their cupcake
and how to glue it on with a little water
* I then did a very basic design to show how to stick details on , add sprinkles etc.
* I then covered my 2nd cupcake so that they saw that for a 2nd time.
* Then I let them get on with it.
* I moved around the table answering questions and giving suggestions as they worked.
* When a couple had finished their cupcakes, I then stopped them all and showed them the cookies I'd done and told them about how to be careful with the cookies - don't handle them too much etc
* As they finished each piece they took it over to another table (so we didn't get too crowded) and the mum arranged the cupcakes on the stand.
* At the end (after I'd cleaned up) they took photos of their work, sang Happy Birthday and ate their cupcake as birthday cake.

They all had such a good time and I made sure my business card was in each of their take-home boxes!
The only thing I'd do differently is that I'd give them 2 cookies instead of 3 because by the end they were getting a little 'over it'

I have photos on my Facebook page.
PM me if you'd like any more info
HTH
Emma

Thanks y'all! She specifically wants cakes, not cupcakes, but I think I can take a lot of great ideas away from all of your suggestions. I SOOOO appreciate your help!

Emma, congratulations on your party. I have always thought about these parties but don't know where to start with tha advertising. I don't decorate cookies or cupcakes so I would just concentrate on 6" cakes. Do you need to have a license for this and insurance just in case a child harms themselves?

I have also been thinking of doing this for some time, there is a lot of good informations here! Thank you.