40 Reasons Why We Love You Drink & Snack Cake

I racked my brain trying to figure out what to give my husband for his 40th birthday last week. He shares a birthday with my daughter who just turned 1 and we agreed to have a party for her and celebrate his birthday on a much smaller scale. I, however, still wanted to get him something special for his birthday without blowing my budget. So, I scoured the Internet and was inspired by a few ideas that I liked.

First of all, my husband loves to snack on things throughout the day and never gains any weight in doing so. (*rolling my eyes*) So, I figured you can never go wrong with men when you add food to the equation. Besides, I've received my fair share of Edible Arrangement fruit baskets from him throughout the years and wanted to gift him something similar but with a more "manly" yet nostalgic touch to it.

While doing my research online, I came across this Soda Can Cake from Spot of Tea Designs and loved it! You can learn more about how to make one here.

In addition to that, I also fell in love with this Sixty Years of Memories idea that I found over at Nothing But Bonfires.

I decided to combine some of the elements from each idea, recruited the help of the children and came up with a "40 Reasons Why We Love You Drink & Snack Cake."

I purchased two cases of his favorite sodas, Pepsi and Sierra Mist, and then racked up on some of his favorite snacks (oreos, snickers, gum, chips, etc.) I divided the snacks and drinks up so that each "cake" would consist of 20 items. I used 11 cans to make a Pepsi Soda Can Cake and combined it with 9 snacks and then did the same for the "Sierra Cake."

The kids helped me come up with 40 reason why we love daddy, I transcribed it onto labels and then placed one on each individual item.  So, each time he grabbed a drink and/or snack he could reflect on one of the reasons why we love him so. (I'm such a cornball, I know)

Well, we presented him with both cakes the morning of his birthday and he loved it! I think the part he loved the most was that I told him he wasn't allowed to share any of it. It was for his enjoying pleasure, ONLY. The cutest part for me was seeing him remove the labels and save them in his wallet; something I didn't even think he would be moved to do. (Reminder to self: I promised him I would type them all out and print it for him)

Now, I'll be the first to admit that I could have and wanted to devote more time to putting the final product together but, the truth of the matter is, I was so pressed for time preparing for my daughter's birthday that that just didn't happen. It's the thought that counts though, right? Hey, there's always Father's Day!

Dear Daddy Bear, 

Thank you for being a part of our lives. You do a lot for our family and it doesn't go unnoticed.  We love you...Happy 40th Birthday!! We wish you many more!