Planning a retirement cake for your dad, your mum or a colleague? Start with the mood: should it make the room laugh, or say a quiet thank you? After that come the size, the message and the timing, and they're all below with the designs you can order from Avon Cake.
Choosing a design for the person
One of our designs is suggested for retirement parties. Others work well depending on the person, and you can always design one from scratch.
For someone who can take a joke
The Your Hair's Gone Grey, Obaid cake is sky blue with blue cream borders and a drawing of an old man in a thobe and shemagh leaning on his cane, under the Arabic line «شاب الشعر يا عبيد». It gets a laugh from the room, so make sure the retiree is fine with jokes about age. It comes in 6, 8, 10 and 12 inch, and you can add your own line on the base.
For a colleague
The Hard Work and Promotion cake is a white comic-style cake showing an employee in a headset sipping coffee at a laptop. Despite the name, the drawing doesn't mention a promotion, and you choose the line on the base. Write "Thank you for the years" and it becomes a farewell from the whole team. It comes in 6, 8, 10 and 12 inch.
For a teacher
The Thank You Teacher cake is a double-height yellow cake decorated with books, pencils and red apples. On top is a figure you choose when ordering: a male teacher with his student, or a female teacher with her students. It's 6 inch double height, serves 14–18, and takes up to 3 words on the base.
For your dad
If someone else is hosting and you want something from you alone, the Dad's cup cake serves 1–2 and takes your own line. For bigger designs, see our Father's Day cakes; some take your line on the base, so you can write a retirement message there.
Your own design
With Design Your Cake you choose the shape, filling, colour and writing, and you can print a photo. That opens up ideas no ready design has: a photo from their first year at work, a picture of the whole team, or calm colours and a line of thanks.
What to write on a retirement cake
Writing on the cake is limited to 25 characters. All of these fit:
- Happy Retirement
- Thank you for the years
- Officially retired
- No more alarm clocks
- We'll miss you
The Arabic equivalents, like «مبروك التقاعد» or «شكراً لسنين العطاء», fit too. For more ideas, see what to write on a cake.
What size to get
Count the people who will actually be there, not the whole team. If you're between two sizes, take the larger.
| Size | Serves | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| 6 inch | 6–8 | A small family gathering |
| 8 inch | 12–16 | A small team, or the family |
| 10 inch | 20–24 | A team or department party |
| 12 inch | 28–32 | A big party; book a day before |
More guests than that? See tiered and rectangular options in our large cakes guide.
The cake flavour is chocolate; vanilla is available in selected cities and needs a day's notice. Fillings are cream, Nutella, blueberry, Lotus or pistachio, and our fillings guide compares them.
Getting the timing right
A retirement party usually has a set time, so watch the slots:
- Slots: 9am–2pm, 2pm–7pm, 7pm–midnight. A slot is a window, not an exact time, so pick one that ends before the party.
- Party before 2pm? The morning slot can arrive any time up to 2pm. Plan to serve the cake after 2pm if you can, or look at picking up from a branch.
- Outside Riyadh: book the morning slot by 11pm the day before.
- Same day: regular sizes can be booked for the same day while a slot is open. The 12 inch needs booking the day before.
- Delivery: 29 SAR, free from 300 SAR, in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Khobar, Qatif, Al-Ahsa, Makkah, Madinah, Buraydah and Unaizah. Details are on the delivery page.
- Pickup: from a branch in every city except Unaizah.
Common questions
Do you have a ready-made retirement cake?
Yes. The Your Hair's Gone Grey, Obaid cake suits a retirement party, and designs like Hard Work and Promotion or Thank You Teacher work with a message you choose.
Can I print the retiree's photo on the cake?
Yes, photo printing is one of the steps in Design Your Cake.
What size for a department of 20?
A 10 inch serves 20–24. If guests are joining too, take the 12 inch and book it a day before.
Can I order a retirement cake for today?
Yes for regular sizes, while a slot is open. The 12 inch needs booking the day before.
Pick one of the designs above, or start your own in Design Your Cake.
Cake and the details that make giving personal.