Blue & Gold Banquet: Cub Cake Wars

 I have had an incredibly busy week! I already told you about Curly's operetta yesterday, but the thing that nearly did me in was the Blue & Gold Banquet for our Cub Scout Pack. We have discussed many times that my sweetie is the Cubmaster and the Dog Walker is the Assistant Cubmaster, so I always have a fair amount of work to do with any Pack Meeting, but this one was especially busy because we were without a Cub Committee Chair. That meant that even procuring and preparing awards fell on my shoulders this time.

My sweetie really wanted to have an old fashioned cake auction this time. Not one that actually raises funds for the Pack like they used to do many years ago, but something that brought back that nostalgic feeling. So he announced it that way, but didn't really share any particulars. That left it up to me to figure out how to make things work. Since my brain was already a little fried, that was not a good thing.

We started with a simple list of tasks the boys could use to earn "Cub Bucks" for the auction. These included things like doing their chores, working on a scout project, brushing their teeth or exercising for 15 minutes. The next step was to figure out something for prizes. My sweetie wanted to give something to the four best cakes, so I put on my thinking cap and came up with a t-shirt idea. Thank goodness I have friends who own a vinyl business. They gave me a 24-hour turnaround time, an excellent price, and they even made a unique design for what I was now somewhat affectionately calling the "Cub Cake Wars."

Scout's not my best photographer.

The Drama Queen made me a huge banner to hang on the wall. I sent out reminders to all the leaders so they wouldn't forget to bring a pot of soup or chili and the boys ran fliers to every scout's home with their "cub wallet" and list of chores. Things were finally coming together in a way that made sense to me.

I made a trip to Sam's Club to buy salad and crackers. Then I made a second trip to get rolls and ice on the day of the banquet. Oh and a trip to the dollar store for streamers and curly ribbon...and don't forget the Scout Shop to pick up all the awards I had gathered from the leaders and entered into the computer. Then it took another hour to fill out cards and bags for each boy.

On the day of the banquet Princess, her friend, Daylen, and I ran over early to set up 90 chairs and the tables and serving tables. We covered the tables with yellow plastic tablecloths and streamers and curly ribbon. Did I tell you we made 150 cupcakes to use for decorations and desserts? And since my sweetie was a leader, I also made a crockpot full of homemade turkey soup.

Once we finally got everything set up and the food out and people started arriving, I could finally settle down and enjoy the evening. Sport received his Webelos badge, that means only one more major Cub Scout award coming up for him. I can't believe he will be finished with Cubs in June!

We ended up serving about 85 people which was just perfect for what we had planned. The auction did NOT turn out exactly as planned. Only about half the boys brought cakes and even fewer remembered to bring their Cub Scout bucks. My sweetie was definitely in charge by then and not me, so I didn't have to deal much with it, but I could see a potential for disaster brewing.

Sport was so proud of the cake he and his dad made! It was huge and looked like a pinewood derby track. The racing cars were made of granola bars, Zingers, and Twinkies. He really wanted to buy back his own cake, but by the time it was put up for sale as the last cake of the night, there were still boys left with money and some of them had more than him. If he didn't get that cake, he would be impossible to live with!

The bidding continued until it was past what Sport was clutching in his hand. He stood silently, the disappointment evident on his face. I brushed by my sweetie, my look reminding him that this was going to be awful! My sweetie was swift to look for a solution. He started encouraging the boys to pool their money together since that was the only way a clear winner would emerge. Sport was frustrated when three of the boys soon amassed almost $300 in Cub Bucks.

That's when the miracle occurred. Kimball handed his entire stack of cash to Sport, all $138! That put Sport over $300 and he proudly purchased back his own cake. I breathed a sigh of relief and we continued to clean up. The night was a success. Except that Kimball didn't get to buy a cake.

When we got home, my awesome 10-year-old had his dad help him cut a huge portion of his hard-earned prize and then they delivered it to Kimball's door.

It made all my hard work worth the effort.

And then some.