Kindergarten teacher shares important message about cupcakes: ‘Please don’t bring them’

It’s a time-honored tradition for kids to bring treats into school to celebrate their birthdays. And for generations, cupcakes have been the go-to—but one kindergarten teacher is hoping to change that, pleading with parents in a viral TikTok video to choose different treats.

Ann Brackemyer, a kindergarten teacher in Illinois, posted the video to her TikTok page with her “unpopular opinion.”

“Alright, parents. For your child’s birthday, I love to celebrate birthdays in my classroom, but — I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion, but please don’t bring cupcakes,” she said. “These make a ginormous mess, and the kids honestly don’t eat them that great. They are just a mess. The frosting gets all over, and the kids are just not sure what to do. It’s just too much for them, and it’s too messy.”

Brackemyer then offered a number of alternatives that she says work better in the classroom, beginning with those giant, soft, frosted sugar cookies that all grocery stores sell.

“Bring these cookies. This is a great suggestion,” she said. “The kids love them, they have sprinkles, and they eat them. They’re not a ginormous mess.”

She continued, “Donuts. Donuts are also a great one. These are also really small, which is also really great, but the kids love them.”

Holding up a bag of those single-serve, prepackaged ice cream cups you can find at retailers like Costco, she added, “Another great idea is I have kids bring in these ice cream cups — all the kids love them, and you have these sprinkles, you put some sprinkles on there, and the kids love it. They ate it all, and it wasn’t messy. So your teacher may have a freezer in the classroom or in the break room, so just ask them if you can bring these ice cream cups. I’m sure they would love it.”

Her last suggestion was a little unconventional, but honestly? Genius.

“Another great idea: Go in the Little Debbie aisle and get any one of these Little Debbie snacks,” she said. “Cosmic Brownies are always a favorite in my room.”

We’re definitely picking up what Brackemyer’s putting down here.

“These are just simple, easy snacks you can bring for your child in a classroom that are not as messy and also that the kids love,” she said at the end of her video.

Are you ready to forego cupcakes and try out a different celebratory snack?