Messy DIY Puffy Paint Birthday Cake

Tu B’Shevat is the birthday of the trees and this Messy DIY Puffy Paint Birthday Cake is such a fun, sensory way to celebrate! All you need is a few supplies and then your children’s creativity can over. Save this for a Tu B’Shevat seder decoration or throw a little afternoon birthday party for the trees. Don’t forget to make some real, edible Tu B’Shevat treats too!

What You’ll Need

Empty box that can be taped closed
Tape
Shaving cream
Glue
Popsicle stick (stirring stick)
Food coloring
Spatula
Candles and other decorations (grab whatever you already have at your house!)

Putting It Together

Tape your box closed.
Mix together equal parts shaving cream and glue. Stir with a popsicle stick or other stirring stick.
Add food coloring if you wish. We chose green to represent trees!
We recommend setting up your “cake” base (the box!) on a tray, either outside or with a protective covering on your table.
Invite your child to decorate the cake with the DIY Puffy Paint “frosting” then whatever other decorative materials you gathered. We used all leftover materials we already had on our craft shelves–pom poms, glitter, paper circle cut outs, and candles (yes, I always have some candles on my shelves too!).
When your child is finished decorating, let the cake “bake” aka dry, then sing Happy Birthday to the Trees!

Finished & Loving It!

We have done numerous DIY puffy paint activities before (like these donuts and these ice cream cones!) and they are always a hit. There is so much forgiveness in these activities. You don’t need a perfect recipe or even much direction. The open-ended, creative possibilities delight my kiddos and they love them!

This was such a fun way to make a birthday cake decoration for Tu B’Shevat. It combined sensory exploration, creative expression, and dried to be a centerpiece or other decoration for the real holiday.

I loved using craft materials we already had at our house. Most were leftover from other activities or projects. Such a great way to practice and model bal tashchit–not being wasteful. I love that my kids can see that we use items that would otherwise have ended up in the trash.

Once the kids finished decorating, we had lots of fun singing Happy Birthday to the Trees in both English and Hebrew. It was such a fun way to review that Tu B’shevat is not only the new year, but also the birthday of the trees. I reminded the kids where this comes from–historically, the rabbis needed a way to count how old trees were because Jews have rules about how old a tree must be before it can be harvested. Tu B’shevat was created to be the birthday to count a tree’s age each year to know when it turned three and could be harvested.

Now, my family enjoys celebrating trees’ birth and thanking them for all the wonderful things they do for us and our world! This Messy DIY Puffy Paint Birthday Cake was such a fun way to celebrate!

Chag Tu B’Shevat Sameach!

If you didn’t see this year’s Tu B’Shevat seder shopping list that I shared on Instagram, check it out below. And can you tell what item I forgot? Luckily, my husband remembered and picked up: lemon plums, for our new fruit of the year! What fruit will you try this year?