This is a partnered post. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
This past weekend I invited a few friends over along with their children to have an ice cream party at the house. With our summer fun winding down, I thought it would be nice to have everyone over one last time before school starts again. I had never thrown an ice cream party before so I thought I’d share my experience on how to throw an ice cream party.
How to Throw an Ice Cream Party
Decide how “big” your party is going to be. I knew from the very beginning of planning that I didn’t want a huge party, with a big budget. I also knew that the time I had to invest in the ice cream party was minimal. So before I started planning the details for the party, I decided my budget, how many people I wanted to invite, and how much time I had to plan, execute, and clean up. In the end I decided on a small, intimate gathering with several friends and their children.
Pick a theme for your ice cream party. This can be as simple or elaborate as you want. I wanted something simple. Remember, I had very little time to commit, I didn’t want to spend a lot of money, and I wanted to spend some quality time with my friends and their children. My theme was “Pick Your Toppings.” I used my Silhouette to design printables that I placed in each of the different toppings. I used the colors from my printables, plus some complimentary summer colors in my other DIY decorations.
Think Ahead. Let’s face it. Ice cream can get sticky and messy, especially when there are children around. At the end of a party the last thing I want to do is have a pile of dishes to wash and sticky messes everywhere to wipe up. Use products that can be thrown away at the end of the party like plastic bowls, table clothes, etc.
Save money by going DIY. I love being able to do stuff myself. Sometimes buying things truly is more convenient, but the satisfaction I get when I complete a DIY project is even better than the money saved. The money I spent on this ice cream party was minimal, yet it still looked very pretty and put together. I made fun little pom-poms from dollar store tissue paper and I used glass bowls of varying sizes I already had on hand. I also painted the handles of wooden spoons from a prior party that were left over and I created my own printables (download them free!). I used toothpicks covered in washi tape to hold the printables and the streamers I used to decorate the island in my kitchen were also from a prior party. I also keep stuff that I don’t use and store it in the attic for when an occasion arises.
Decorate. This is pretty self-explanatory, but pull everything together with the decorations. I used the sprinkles as my color inspiration. I love sprinkles and I think they’re so cheery. Pull a few of your favorite colors and find (or make) easy decorations likes streamers and pom-poms.
And finally, enjoy! After all your hard work preparing for a fun ice cream party, enjoy the time with friends and family. Eat delicious ice cream and use as many toppings as you want — calories don’t count when you’re enjoying company with your friends.
This summer, thanks to Albertson’s-Safeway, you can make summer moments even sweeter when you grab your choice of Unilever ice cream products! Satisfy your family’s sweet tooth and stock up on all of your ice cream favorites with the Flavor Flurry Ice Cream Giveaway and Sweepstakes.
Visit www.FlavorFlurry.com and enter for a chance to win a year’s supply of FREE ice cream (new winners will be chosen each week during the 8 week sweepstakes). Consumers can visit the site and enter once per day. The sweepstakes runs through 9/16/15.
Plus, when you visit a participating Albertons-Safeway store between 7/15/15 – 9/14/15 and buy any 2 Unilever ice cream products in the same shopping trip (participating brands: Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Breyers, Fruttar, Good Humor, Klondike, Magnum, Popsicle), you will receive a code. You can then redeem the two codes on the www.FlavorFlurry.com website for a $5 Safeway-Albertsons Gift Card.
It’s a perfect time to throw an ice cream party. What’s your favorite ice cream topping?
Robin Gagnon says
Ice cream is my daughter’s favorite dessert. She will only eat it on a cone, but would like dunking the cone in these goodies.
MJ L. says
Love these ideas!! We all love ice cream and an ice cream party would be so fun!
Stephanie R says
What a cute party! I wish I had a reason to throw an ice cream party.
Candy o says
I love the topping bar choices! Kids feel so “big” when they can make their own sundaes. This is a fabulous idea!
Robin Rue (@massholemommy) says
Oh yes, giving kids choices always goes over big with them.
Robin Rue (@massholemommy) says
Well, twist my arm why dontcha! We are huge ice cream fanatics in our house, so we eat it almost every day here.
Catherine S says
An ice cream party sounds like a great idea. My son and husband would eat ice cream every day if I let them.
Melissa Pezza says
I love it! An ice cream party is so awesome! Who doesn’t love ice cream. Great tips!
Kate K (My Mommy Brain) says
What a great idea! Everyone loves ice cream!
Sheila says
This sounds like so much fun. I think an adult ice cream party would be fun too. I have no kids at home, but have get togethers from time to time for adults.
Stacey says
I love ice cream parties. My problem is keeping the number of bowls to a minimum… especially with this many topping ideas!
Kristi says
What a fun idea. That would be great for a neighborhood party I am debating on planning in a few weeks.
Brandy says
These are great tips, I am not brave enough to do this though. I think it would be fun, will have to pass info along to my friend! My youngest is WAY messy…
Veronica says
An ice cream party sounds like fun! I haven’t had much ice cream lately, but I would love to be invited to one of these parties
Liz Mays says
I need to do this sometime soon. We’ve been grilling and I think an ice cream party would go along with a barbeque really well.
Ann Bacciaglia says
An ice cream party is a fantastic idea. I will have to do this with the kids instead of a tea party.
Sara P. (@SensiblySara) says
An ice cream party would be a great way to end summer. I love those easy-peasy decorations!
Tonya says
What a fun party idea! I love any excuse to decorate for a party and no one in my house turns down ice cream.
Kristin says
What a cute idea! This would even be fun at a girls sleepover.
Liz Mays says
It would definitely be a big hit at a sleepover!
Sabrina @ Dinner, then Dessert says
You never need a reason to throw an ice cream party! I love making different recipes in my ice cream maker, so I might have to throw an ice cream party just to clean them out of my freezer!
Susanna @Zealous Mom says
This is SUCH a cute idea! I may do this for my son’s birthday party this year.
Christie says
Sounds like a delicious way to end the summer! I should have a neighborhood party this week!
Mama to 5 BLessings says
This looks like my kind of party! I love Byers ice cream especially the cookie dough flavor!
Tammileetips says
Amazing spread of ice cream topping! I love ice cream in the summer its one of my favorite ways to cool down.
Jacqui says
How fun! This sounds like a great way to end summer!
Jaclyn Anne says
Where was my invite? 😉 This ice cream party looks amazing – the decorations are beautiful and you had Breyers – my favorite kind of ice cream!
Ourfamilyworld says
Love how you arranged the ice cream bar. Ice cream parties are way too fun!
Ora Lee Gurr says
An ice cream party sounds like a lot of fun. You made it all special with printables and a theme. What a great way to host a get-together and have fun.
Kasandria Reasoner says
Super fun AND easy? Count me in!
Chrystal | YUM eating says
So fun and creative. Someone throws an ice cream party I hope I am top of the invite list!
ROsey says
Ah Albertson’s! I do lvoe that grocery store. I love ice cream too (said everyone always, I know). 😉
Latoicha says
Thank you for sharing these great tips! My kids love a good ice cream party. This will come in handy.
Debra says
This looks like so much fun! My kids would love it!
Shell says
Everyone in my family loves ice cream. This is a fun idea!
Fariha N. says
This is my favorite kind of party! I love ice cream and choose it over cake every time. This would also be great for the kid’s birthday parties.
Becky, Cuddle Fairy says
Great tips here, an ice cream party would be so fun! Lovely blog x
Krystal says
Save me some of those ice cream toppings! What a delightful treat and party dessert. Love it!