Five Best Cake Smash Themes for 2021

First birthdays are the best, and what better way to celebrate than with a themed cake smash? By this age, little ones are showing so much personality – little quirks and details that make them unique, and which we’ll still be able to notice years down the line.

A cake smash is a great chance to really showcase that personality, incorporating things that they’re interested in, or which complement their growing characters. My cake smashes always include some classic portraits at the start, followed by the messy fun, so you get an amazing mix of formal images and free play.

Whether you’re thinking about booking a cake smash, or you’re doing your own during lockdown and looking for a few ideas, I thought I would take a moment today to share the best cake smash themes – a mix of my favourites and my most requested.

This post is written in conjunction with brilliant Manchester newborn photographer Dora Horvath, and you can read her advice on cake smash preparation over on her blog.

So without further ado, here are my five favourite cake smash themes.

Wild one / Jungle cake smash theme

This one goes straight in at number one because it’s my favourite theme to create. I put my money where my mouth is too – I chose it for my own son’s cake smash back in October! It’s great for boys, but it also works well for girls too.

I love the gorgeous rich colour you get in the images because of the green base to each image, and then beyond that you can tailor it perfectly depending on which animals your little one particularly favours. You can even throw in some dinosaurs and turn it into a Roarsome set!

The last little one who had this theme in my studio back before lockdown is a perfect example: his big sister had called him her little tiger before he was even born, so it was great to be able to add some tiger themed balloons and a large stuffed tiger to the setup to make it really personal.

I also love that this theme can also be adapted for a two-year-old cake smash, by going from “Wild One” to “Two Wild”!

Rainbow cake smash theme

This is a particularly popular cake smash theme at the moment, as many of the babies approaching their first birthdays at this time were either born during lockdown or have spent the majority of their lives in a perpetual in-out of lockdown cycle! With the rainbow being adopted as a symbol of hope during the pandemic, it’s the perfect theme for celebrating this particular first year on our planet.

It’s also a cake smash theme where you can go wild with the colour, or keep it more neutral and let the rainbow itself add the pop. Whichever you prefer, it’s great way to have a setup as colourful as your little one’s personality.

My favourite ideas include creating a rainbow out of multicoloured balloons, or choosing a painted rainbow backdrop.

Beautiful cake smash setup by Ashley Danielle Photography

Disney cake smash theme

No child-related list is complete without a mention of some branch of Disney! My boys certainly love everything about it, from the characters to the movies to the theme parks.

There are so many well-known characters and films that there are vast possibilities when it comes to cake smashes.

Stunning Mickey Mouse cake smash theme by Erika Rosales

Go classic with something like Winnie the Pooh, the Lion King, or Mickey Mouse himself. Or perhaps you’re looking for a modern classic like Toy Story, Frozen or Moana. My personal favourite film is Beauty and the Beast, so a Belle themed session is definitely on my cake smash bucket list!

It’s also an opportunity to dress your little one in an outfit to match the theme, whether you’ve got a little Mickey, Woody, or Elsa.

Gorgeous Toy Story themed cake smash by Little Dreamer Photography Studio

Sunflowers cake smash theme

Each year as we move into spring, I really feel like sunflowers are a great symbol of that cheerfulness we all feel as the evenings get longer and we see more and more sunshine. So what better theme for a cake smash than a sunflower styled shoot?

Yellow is such a joyful colour, and you really get that in abundance with sunflowers. So when you immerse yourself in an image filled with them, I always think it feels like you get a shot of happiness just by doing so. Personally, I could always take or leave yellow, but my younger son has always been such a sunny character that I’ve come around – after all, if I had to describe him in a colour it would be yellow.

Beautiful sunflower cake smash by Jill Ryder Photography

5. Classic and Timeless cake smash theme

Sometimes you don’t need to reinvent the wheel when you’re looking for the best cake smash theme. Simple and minimalist can be perfect.

A cream backdrop with a few floral or foliage type decorations, a grey-blue backdrop with a handful of fluffy clouds or a string of stars, sometimes the simplest ideas are the best.

Stunning classic cake smash by Maddy Rogers Photography

Gorgeous timeless cake smash by Capture the Light Photography

These are just a few of the best cake smash themes that I’ve been asked for over the last couple of years. There are so many other possibilities – perhaps your little one aspires to be a fireman like their mum or dad, or they love the water and a nautical sea theme would be spot on. Whatever your ideas, I’d love to discuss them with you.

Cake smashes perfect for children 11-13 months old, but I also love doing cake smashes with children approaching their second birthday too. You can find more information on my cake smash page.

If you’re hoping to use the photographs at a birthday party, please do book to come into the studio a few weeks in advance, to allow turnaround time for editing (I edit every photograph by hand to ensure it is truly perfect) and for you to make your final selections.

If you’re thinking about booking a cake smash, I’d love to hear from you, so please get in touch today to discuss your ideas for a theme, and secure your date.