re: Do you feel bad about saying you can't do a cake?

I would go away on my holiday and have a nice relaxing break. Sorry to be harsh, but they knew ages ago about the date and if they had really have wanted you to make this cake, they should have booked you in. I would say that people should be more respectful of the cake decorators time too. They would not dream of going into an into town bakery and asking them to stay open all night to serve their needs (without paying a premium for the privilege) so why would a ‘friend’ expect you to move heaven and earth to accommodate their request at short notice? I am guessing what I am really saying is that we all need to get tough – it is not easy when ‘friends’ ask for a cake. I have done the very same myself – offering a cake for a present – and then getting massively stitched up with a totally increased specification, the cake doubling in size and complexity, which took over 9 hours on a New Years Eve – and I should have charged over £150 for. I couldn’t because I had already offered it as a present. So lesson learnt. I stopped being so ‘kind’ after that!!