Decorating Cakes with Playmobil

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As the new year gets under way and all the pages of the calendar lay out before us, certain people in my family are already thinking about their birthdays. It’s been a few months since we celebrated one. But FishPapa’s is at the end of the month, so the scheming has begun.

One of the tricks I use to make birthday cakes special is to decorate them with Playmobil toys. They make the cake fun, festive, and fit the theme of whatever your kid is interested in at the moment.

Super Cool Toys

As far as toys go, we love Playmobil. The boys’ interest in their collection has been greatly renewed since I downsized their toys and they received some new pieces for Christmas.

Playmobil fit a myriad of themes that kids love as well as historical moments that we are studying in school. My kids have always been history buffs, so it’s been fun to find toys that supported their interests.

And yes, someone really did request a Playmobil Ancient Rome birthday cake!

Super Simple Cake Decorating

Playmobil make great cake toppers. I can’t remember when I first started using them for such, but they’re a perfect fit. One friend of ours buys a new set for the Birthday Kid and surprises him with it on his cake.

At our house, I usually send one of my minions to go scrounging in the Playmobil box.

“I need a palm tree and a swimmer. Go find those for me.”

“I don’t know where those are.”

“That doesn’t matter. Go look in the box.”

And then I use my Jedi mind tricks to get them to actually find the items in question.

Frost your cake and then let your child assemble the Playmobil however he wants. Sprinkle on some candy, and you’re good to go. You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to make great cakes.

Want more instruction?

I’m stunned that our family has eaten as many birthday cakes as we have. Since I’ve had so much fun making cool cakes, I’ve compiled them into two ebooks. It really is not hard. I can say this because I’m really not that talented at cake decorating. But, my kids are always pleased.

And that’s what matters most.

  • Pretty Cool Cakes is available for purchase now.
  • More Cool Cakes is coming soon. Final edits are happening as we speak. Be looking for it next week!

FishMama’s Birthday Cake Challenge

As if Ancient Rome wasn’t difficult to depict on a birthday cake, I allowed you to challenge me to a new cake theme. Gotta practice my chops before birthday season hits at our house.

You can see in the graph below, survey says, “Narnia.”

So I’ll be working on a Narnia-inspired birthday cake and sharing it at the Birthday Cake Round-Up next week. Mark your calendars for the 27th so that you can come and share the cool cakes you’ve made for your family — and be inspired to make new and unique designs.

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What do YOU do to make cool cakes at YOUR house?

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18 Comments

  1. Have you tried using Playmobile 1.2.3 on cakes? I’m curious if these pieces would work or if they would be too heavy. Working on a cake for a toddler and would love for them to be able to play with the toys! Thanks!

  2. I saw that you can order these on Amazon, but I was wondering if they are available at any major stores. I ordered one little guy and it was about $8. Yikes. Is there a way to get these cheaper?

    1. I’ve bought them at Target and Toys R’Us before as well as directly from Playmobil.com. You can find deals on their site. Don’t pay $8 for a person. No way.

      1. I looked at Target, but maybe I missed them. I’ll check the other spots. I had it wrong, it was closer to $7, but still. I wanted the Roman soldier for Easter, but didn’t buy anything else because it was so expensive. It was a lame purchase, I have to admit. My son is at the age of losing parts to things, so I’m thinking he won’t look Roman for very long. 🙂

        1. It sounds like you got one of the more deluxe guys. I’m assuming he came a bunch of accessories?

          It’s always hard when you want it for a special purpose. 😉

  3. Do you usually get your Playmobil stuff through Amazon (hello Swagbucks!)? I’m going to make my son a pool cake next month and am trying to find a good deal on a beach/swimmers Playmobil set. I wonder if Hobby Lobby (hello 40% off coupon!) has them??

    1. @Sara, I have gotten some at Amazon, but believe it or not, ToysRus often has really great sales on Playmobil and usually carries some harder to find sets.

  4. FishMama,
    I’m soooo thrilled that my Narnia suggestion won! I can’t wait to see you’re design and I’ll hopefully be able to reproduce it for my daughter’s 13th birthday! Can’t wait! 🙂

    1. Yes, well. Ahem. That’s a tough one, especially since I dejunked out Narnia Happy Meal toys last month. Oy!

  5. Why have I never thought to raid our Playmobil collection to use on cakes??? I’ve used HotWheels cars and Star Wars figures and such, but there are so many possibilities with Playmobil! thanks for the inspiration…

  6. We use toys on top of cakes too. My oldest daughter’s birthday is coming up soon and she is a history fanatic. I’ll have to hunt me up some Playmobil.

  7. hmmm…we have had a sunshine(her nickname), a rabbit(her birthday was really close to Easter that year), a flower(her request), a heart(sweetheart is her nickname) We’ll see what this year brings!

    Oooo…Narnia, it would be really cool to do the stone table broken in two pieces…what fun!

  8. When it comes to a “themed” cake, I let my kids help make the cake – but not the frosting part yet. I’m particular and want the cake to look the way I want it. When it’s just an “I feel like having cake” mood, I frost the cake, and then let my kids have the decorator gels and go to town on it – whatever they like. Using buttercreme and decorator gels I’ve made many theme cakes. I prefer to challenge myself to make that cake without using a mold, i.e. the snowman cake I made was actually made out of 3 circle pans (all different sizes) and a sqare pan for the hat – vs buying a snowman mold that can only make a snowman. Then I still have those circle pans I can use to make other types of cakes – I’m not just limited to a snowman mold (which can add up and all get very pricey with different molds). Without buying a mold, I used my heart shaped 9″ pans to make a butterfly for my 3 year old a few years ago. I find it much more creative and intelligent to use my brain to figure out the puzzle of how to cut and make that cake out of what you already have.

  9. Just made a cake this week for my mother-in-law. I turned it into a birdhouse since they have LOTS of them in their backyard. It turned out pretty cute and really wasn’t that hard. I’ll share it on the 27th.

  10. I’ve never heard of Playmobil! I’ll have to check them out. And the birthday cake is usually the thing I leave to the experts. I’m pretty good at decorating, but it’s the one thing I’d rather someone else do just so it’s one thing off my list. Besides, our house is tiny and most birthday parties take place in our kitchen. I don’t want one more thing to clean up. lol

  11. First, I’m a dork, I have no idea about Playmobil. They look like great imagination toys for kids! I shall keep them in mind for my munchkin’s birthdays!
    Making cakes cool, hmmm, I let my kids frost it, then let them decorate the top, sprinkles, M & Ms (though I usually have my hand in the bowl with those!), marshmallows etc. I do the same thing for cupcakes. 🙂