February 24 is the second annual National Cupcake Day for SPCA and Humane Societies: A wonderful way for pet lovers to help local animals in need, and share the joy that they bring to our lives, through yummy cupcakes!

All you have to do is register here; you can raise as little or as much as you want through your own initiative.

Here are six cute ideas of how to do this:

1. Bring smiles to your office!

Bake two dozen cupcakes, bring to the office and get your friends and coworkers to chip in $2 per cupcake. (An easy $48 raised!)

2. Host a pet-lovers cupcake party

Get 12 friends together, each back a dozen cupcakes, pitch in $20 per guest and walk away with a tupperware container with 12 delicious flavours to try! ($240 goes a long way at the SPCA!)

3. Ding-dong…the 1AM CUPCAKE SURPRISE!

Show up to the house party and get your tipsy friends to buy your cupcakes for a good cause instead of late night pizza. (This is a seriously sneaky way of striking up conversation with that guy/girl you’ve been crushing on.)

4. Dog Park Bake Sale!

Finally get to know everyone’s name in the dog park! Create a sign and head to the regular park where your four-legged friend runs free. Set up shop on a picnic bench and watch magic happen! (Bring a thermos of hot cocoa, Ol’ man winter is with us for awhile.)

5. Animal Afternoon with The Littles

Got kids? Nieces or nephews? Spend a Saturday afternoon baking with them! While you’re waiting for cupcakes to cool, gather the family pet(s), make a pillow fort and snuggle up with their favourite animal storybook. Or maybe write a story together with their pet as the main character! They can bring cupcakes to school, or sell to family friends. Awww! How cute is this plan?

6. Quiet time with your furry BFFs

Spend a cozy night in with your pets! Listen to some nice tunes, sip tea, bake cupcakes, take breaks for tummy rubs and donate what you can to the cause. (Just don’t share them with the animals, dogs and chocolate is a terrible combo. He/she can have a bone while you bake.)

Although my first batch were tasty, the cream cheese icing looked like lumpy mashed potatoes. That’s okay though! This isn’t a competition. If you got baking skillz, show them off! Either way, with a little bit of effort, some sweet pup or kitty (guinea pig?) is going to get a month’s worth of food and care thanks to you!

Send us photos! Is there anything better than a cupcake-dog-cat photo gallery? NO! 

We want to share your National Cupcake Day fun! Pets bring more smiles to our faces than possibly ANYTHING! Let’s help out the furry ones and give back to the organizations that do so much to help lost, stray, abused and abandoned animals from coast to coast.

Send your photos to olgabarskyATshedoesthecity.com, or share with us on Instagram by adding @Shedoesthecity #SPCA.

Happy baking!

xo