I don't think you need to freeze them if you're serving them on saturday. If you have a tupperware big enough to hold them, I would put them in that when they are 100% cooled, cover the surface of the cupcakes with a sheet of plastic wrap, and park them in the fridge. Then frost on Friday.

I personally would store the frosted cupcakes in the fridge, and am certain any food safety expert will say the same thing. But I realize your odds of actually getting sick from buttercream that's been left out one night is pretty small, so its a personal choice.

I think that would work!

I always end up making the cake in advance, then frosting the day of, but I won't have time in the morning of this party. Party is Saturday. What should my baking and frosting schedule be, and how should I store it? Bake cupcakes today (tuesday) and freeze, then frost on friday and leave out and covered? My cake cookbooks always talk about storing buttercream frosted cakes at room temp for up to 3 days.