First select the size...How many people is it for? You probably don't buy celebration cakes very often and it's difficult to judge the size of cake you need. Once you have a number of guests in mind you can ask the bakery! As a basic rule of thumb an 10 inch square birthday cake will be enough for around 40 children to get a piece (but bear in mind the cake capacity of your average seven year old is quite incredible!) The same 10 inch size of cake would be considered sufficient for around 25 adults.The numbers for a 12 inch cake would be 60 kids or 36 adults, a 14 inch, 80 and 50-ish.

What flavour cake would you like? Chocolate sponge with chocolate buttercream? Or vanilla sponge and buttercream? At this point give a thought to whether a gluten-free or eggless sponge would be an appropriate choice - most bakers who offer these options will require a little longer to prepare the cake.

Next decide on the look of your cake... Is it to be Stylish and Sophisticated? Jokey? Or From the Heart? Checkout the bakery's website for a suitable cake - they may have the perfect design for you but if you can't find exactly what you want, find something close and customise it! A different picture, colour or wording, extra flowers, no flowers - perhaps there's a toy or prop you'd like to include in the design? Any bakery will be happy to help you get just what you want. Take time over the message, possibly the most important part of the cake. An apt witty line, a subtle in-joke, a ribald quote or a simple Happy Birthday all have their place.... (check how many letters the bakery can put on your chosen cake - a small cake and a large picture means less space for piped lettering, although words can be added to the picture before printing).

If you've selected a cake that has a photo option, you have to get your picture, painting or drawing to the bakery. Either take it into the shop and they'll be able to scan it in for you or find out how to attach your picture file to an email and send it in. Make sure you identify it with your order number! If in doubt contact the bakery - they've done it hundreds, if not thousands, of times and will guide you through.

Payment options vary. If you're paying online, at the point where you give your card details make sure that you are connected to a https: site (look at the address bar) and that your browser is showing a padlock symbol. Then you know you have an encrypted link to a secure server. Giving your credit card details over the phone or in an email should be avoided. If you've ordered early enough then you can always send a cheque - but you'll have to allow a good two weeks for the post office and the banks to do their stuff. Or of course you can always simply go to the shop and pay in person, in cash...

Collection or delivery? Collection is easy (if you've got the time) and you can check the cake is as you want it before you leave the shop, but once you've left the shop it can be a long bumpy ride home. If you choose to have it delivered to your home, it's the bakery's responsibility until your cake is handed over and, of course, it can easily be delivered to any other address within the bakery's delivery area if you'd prefer - a pleasant surprise for someone.

So it's not just a question of picking up the phone, you must consider size, flavour, look, message, photo, payment and getting your cake. In our bakery we get several calls a week where the order process falls over when we ask; "...and what flavour sponge?" to get a reply like "Ohhhh, I like vanilla - but uncle Harry likes chocolate and so do the kids....but aunt Clarrisa can't eat eggs..." and so on... or "What picture would you like on your Photo Cake? "Well we have a great picture taken fifty years ago when he was ten years old...I think Granny Atkins has it...Or aunt Dorothy...but she's in a home and her things went into storage...." and so on. Please save your bakers' sanity and think ahead!