60th Birthday Cake Decorations

"I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire!"

• Even for those of us who enjoy and welcome our age, the idea of a birthday cake decked with 60 blazing candles is far from welcome. Yes, those big, chunky, number-shaped candles do exist, but limiting the candles to a big 6+0 shimmering in the middle of the cake can be a bit daunting. So how do you decorate a cake for someone about to step off the edge of the world into their sweet sixties?
  
  

Look For The Love

• Rather than choose decorations that center around age and age alone, why not look for ideas rooted in the celebrator's interests and joys? If your favorite 60-year-old is fond of gardening, decorate a cake with garden themes: roses and daisies, for example. Or, for a more practical gardener, try cabbages and carrots in colored icing. A sports nut may just love a baseball-themed cake. Someone whose core values are tied up in family may love a photo-icing cake printed with pictures of all the immediate family members. Themed parties make it simple to focus on the person having the birthday rather than how old that person is becoming, and many people will be quietly grateful to be spared an evening or an afternoon in the park focusing on the big 6-0.
  
  

"I Am Proud Of My Age"

• Some celebrators, however, hold a deep pride and delight in crossing the boundary from middle age into official "elder" standing. If your guest of honor is inclined to take pleasure in her attainment of full maturity, then an age-themed cake becomes appropriate. Even then, however, avoid the 60-blazing-candles approach. Instead, look to symbols associated with the 60th birthday and with longevity.
  
  White, silver, gold and diamonds are all seen as symbols of age and life. Trees, including Tree of Life patterns of all sorts, are signs of longevity in many cultures. China and Japan are rich sources of symbols such as the crane, the deer, chrysanthemums, and the longevity seal surrounded by five bats signifying good fortune and long life. For Westerners, pine trees and pine cones are symbols of long and productive life. Any of these symbols can be combined and used as central elements of cake decorations; plant and flower images are particularly adaptable to our traditional cake-decorating techniques.