If you are anything like me and don’t have much talent when it comes to cake decorating, Wilton Candles and Candle Picks are a fun way to ‘spruce up’ an ordinary cake.

They come in a wide variety of styles… everything from ice cream (pictured) to happy faces to Disney themes (like Cars and Wall-E) to flowers, to Sesame Street to cute little rubber duckies.

Wilton candles are clean burning and feature hand-painted details. They are all actually almost TOO CUTE to burn.

(That being said, I guess you could always replace them with traditional candles, when it’s time for the lighting ceremony. The decorative candles can, then, go home with the birthday boy or girl.)

Now for a bit of trivia… drum roll please! The first birthday cakes were presented to Greek Gods and Goddesses, as part of the celebratory event. The Greeks were the ones who came up with the idea of putting candles on the cake, as well.

Also interesting, at least to me, is the fact that during the Middle Ages the English would hide items in a cake that were supposed to predict the ‘item finders’ future. They included objects such as rings, thimbles and coins.

What’s your favorite birthday tradition? I’m always looking for new ways to jazz up a party.