19 Mom Hacks to Know For Your Child's Next Birthday

Instead of the egg, oil, and water that usually get added to premade cake mixes, use a can of soda and prepare your kids for the moistest and fluffiest cake they've ever eaten. Sprite goes well with vanilla, and Coca-Cola goes well with chocolate, but there are tons of other combos you can check out for their next homemade birthday cake.

Grab a favorite store-bought cake for the occasion (we won't tell anyone) and decorate it yourself with a number sign, fun toppings, or a toy as a cake topper that fits the theme.

When you're hosting a party that includes crafts with a bunch of kiddos, the best way to ensure a mess-free situation (this is zero percent guaranteed, of course, but it's nice to dream) is with individual baking trays full of supplies. The slight lip on the edges will prevent things like glitter and sequins from getting all over the floor, and the crafting is easily transferable to another part of the table if need be.

If you're cutting into a fairly soft cake, slice it perfectly straight across with unflavored dental floss — this also works with other soft solids. Then you don't have to worry about a sharp knife in a room full of kiddos running around like chickens with no heads.

If you're looking to spruce up plastic forks or just want to entice little hands to actually use a fork, tie up the utensils and napkin in a candy bracelet so that there's a sweet treat to look forward to after party food.

The moisture in bread keeps your kid's leftover cake from getting stale. Attach slices to the open edges of a cake with toothpicks, or stick a slice in a plastic bag with fresh cookies — no more stale desserts destined for the garbage in your house!

If you're not into the above bread-slice trick, cut your cakes from the middle outward, then push the two halves back together to keep all of that moist birthday cake goodness locked inside itself for days.

Every kid party comes with its casualties — especially if it's in your home — which includes (but is not limited to) broken glass. The safest way to clean up broken glass is with a slice of bread. It "absorbs" the glass shards that you can't see and ensures that your fingers won't get pricked and those bare little kid feet won't get anything lodged in them.

Pro tip: plastic wrap will stick to the table and ensure a clean surface when they're finished with their works of art.

If the party isn't on your child's actual birthday, you can still make the day special without spending any additional money (kid parties get more and more expensive every year, don't they?!) by taking advantage of some freebies. Cinnabon gives you a free cinnamon bun on your big day, Auntie Anne's will bake you a free pretzel, Sprinkles will hand you a free cupcake, and a bunch of other restaurants and stores will treat you in their own special way.

As if you didn't have a million things to do, doling out scoops of rock-hard ice cream with every guest's cake slice can make the best of us crack under pressure. The night before the party, line a muffin tin with cupcake papers and drop scoops of ice cream in each one. Throw the tin in your freezer, then bring out the individual scoops when the cake comes out so they're ready to grab and you don't need to wrestle with the scooper.

Blow up a bunch of balloons, and using a plastic tablecloth taped to the ceiling, suspend them up high during the party. Then — perhaps with some music playing — unleash the balloons into the room and watch hours (read: minutes) of kiddo fun unfold before your eyes.

After peeling off the wrapper of a cupcake, tear the bottom of the cake off and hand your kiddo a cupcake sandwich. Though we're sure they'll still manage to find a way to get filthy — kids . . . — at least they won't be shoving their noses directly into the frosting.

Using a mini cookie cutter, cut out pieces of cake, lightly frost, and slide onto a kebab stick. If you're topping with sprinkles, punch a cupcake liner onto the bottom of the kebab to catch all of the sprinkles.

Not only will they look great during the party, the balloons can be popped later for a colorful explosion.

Use a knife to cut a "slice" of an ice cream pint, smash between two cookies of your child's — or their guest's — choice, and peel off the cardboard. Boom.

Instead of going out to buy things to baby-proof your house or not inviting friends with babies at all, make some temporary fixes — like taping Band-Aids over electrical outlets — so that the babies at the party can enjoy themselves just as much as the big kids.

This works for any cake mix — just pour into the waffle maker instead of waiting the better part of an hour for the cake to be ready and cooled off before eating. Your kid's guests can eat their treats and be back to the party games in no time. And the best part? Waffle crevices equal more room for toppings.

Even though everyone loves pretending their half-circle watermelon slice is a big smile, big pieces of watermelon are hard to eat and the juice gets everywhere. Cut it up for little hands and mouths by slicing it tiny, and let them eat their watermelon rectangles to their heart's content!