My son is turning 5 this year and he wanted me to "make" the cake this time.  First he wanted an elephant.  But now it's changed to Spiderman.  I googled a bit for birthday cake ideas and found a great site that has almost every birthday cake idea imaginable - I'm talkin' ones you can actually make at home!

I also discovered that most grocery stores with bakeries will sell you a cake topper so you can make the cake yourself and use the character piece yourself.

So onward with the Spiderman cake.  The elephant would have been much cuter - but alas, "Spiderman is much cooler, mom....".

The site also has ideas for party favors and recipes and tips on icing cakes.  A great find - especially for the novice cake decorator looking to make a homemade splash.

For more cool birthday cake ideas check out flowergirl's tip on Birthday Cakes here