Tips for hosting ice cream socials are never easy. However, I hope that you find this blog of helpful hosting tips for ice cream social rewarding for your event too.
All of these tips for hosting ice cream social are very informative and fun too as well.
Office Ice Cream Socials
Every year our entire university sponsors an ice cream social event for all of its staff employees. It is the most anticipated event that we look forward to during the summertime.
Some of the tastiest ice cream treats and toppings are catered in by our company. Employees are given a chance to build their very own ice cream sundaes.
Imagine yourself going through a buffet of ice cream towers and toppings at your disposal. In the words of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, CowaBunga! That’s right pure Heaven…LOL.
Every department needs a Portable and Mobile Ice Cream Truck to deliver ice cream within the office boundaries.
The video listed below sums up how I feel everyday of having ice cream social treats delivered to my desk…LOL….ONLY if it was true.
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Please see our affiliate disclosure page for more details via our website.
Hosting tips for an ice cream social, which is also known as an ice cream party, has been in the making of our lives for more than 200 years.
The first report of an ice cream social dates back from 1744, where Thomas Bladen, Maryland’s governor at the time, decided to serve ice cream for a dinner party.
As you imagine, the tips for hosting ice cream socials back then were probably simple too.
During the 1800’s, this is exactly the time where the first ice cream socials start to take place at different organizations such as churches and schools.
While it may seem strange, the reality is that ice cream back then wasn’t available to everyone.
There were no hosting tips back then for ice cream social events neither. I will list several helpful tips for your ice cream social event to be successful
While many still see ice cream socials as high-class parties, more and more “common” people are hosting them as well still today .
What Is An Ice Cream Social?
When you are looking for tips on how to host a ice cream social , an ice cream social can be a perfect idea. The main goal of an ice cream social is to gather around some friends and relatives for a casual party where everyone has fun.
Besides, since everyone loves ice cream, this is a perfect opportunity to gather both adults and children.
So, instead of just hosting a formal sit-down dinner, an ice cream social is perfect for the summer.
You can be outside, mingle, and try out a wide range of homemade ice creams, toppings, sauces, and anything else you want.
You can even play some games which allow you to know your guests better. This is a helpful hosting tip to keep in mind for ice cream social events.
Hosting Tips For A Ice Cream Social Event
Just like when you are hosting a normal dinner for your guests, when you are looking to host an ice cream social event, you need to plan it. Finding the right tips for hosting an ice cream socials is a must.
In fact, this is one of the best things about an ice cream social. You can have everything set up days before the party day.
In addition, you won’t need to do any serving at all. You just display the different ice creams, sauces, and toppings, and everyone can serve themselves.
This allows you to enjoy the party as a regular guest as well.
When you are planning an ice cream social, you want to ensure that you have everything ready in time so you can also enjoy the party. So, you may want to consider hiring an ice cream social venue.
While most people don’t usually turn to ice cream social venues, when you have a company and are looking to host an ice cream social for your employees, you may want to hire a venue.
This way, you will only need to choose the right spot for it and the venue will then take care of everything.
In case you are trying to host an ice cream social on your own, it’s completely possible and it will be a lot more affordable.
And since you can plan and execute everything (or almost) ahead of time, you will be able to do it even when you have a busy agenda during the week.
So, when you are about to host your first ice cream social event, you need to ensure that you think about the things that you need to do and buy for your party and ice cream social decorations.
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#1: Ice Creams, Sauces, And Toppings
The center of your ice cream social event is ice creams, sauces, and toppings. So, you need to ensure that you are able to offer a wide variety to all your guests.
One of the things that you should take into consideration is that you should have on your menu the more traditional ice creams as well as some novelties and new trends.
So, in terms of the more traditional, popular ice cream flavors that you should have at your ice cream social event are chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla.
Then, you have the new ice cream flavors that keep appearing every year. We will check on that in more detail below.
In what concerns toppings, there are a lot of options that you can include on your ice cream social menu. From candies to nuts, caramel, sprinkles, hot fudge, among so many others.
And if there is something that you need to have at your ice cream social event is bowls and waffle cones. This way, your guests will be able to eat their ice creams the way they prefer.
#2: Supplies And Decorations
Simply put, you need a large buffet table where you will display all your ice cream flavors, toppings and sauces.
One of the things that you should remember is to use clear containers. This way, your guests will immediately identify what each container has inside. Ensure that you have a lot of ice cream scoops to serve.
#3: Games
Another important hosting tip or part of an ice cream social event is to ensure that you plan some games to entertain your guests.
While most people love to eat ice cream and simply be talking with each other, the reality is that planning out some games that include everyone will make your ice cream social event a true success.
Now that we have an overall overview of how to plan your first ice cream social event, let’s take a closer look at each one of the things that you need to either do or buy.
This way, and with a well-planned ice cream social event, you can be sure that you will have all that you need to make your party a hit.
The Ice Cream Flavors
As we already mentioned above, one of the most important things about an ice cream social event are the ice cream flavors. So, which ones should you include at your ice cream social event?
The main idea that you should always keep in mind is that the wider the variety of ice cream flavors that you offer, the better.
After all, they are the center of your party. Besides, you want to ensure that each guest has their own favorite ice cream. However, this doesn’t mean that if one of your guests prefers chocolate ice cream, he will just eat it.
The reality is that it is likely that your guests want to try out each ice cream that you offer. So, the quantity that you offer matters.
In our opinion, when you are hosting an ice cream social event, you should never have less than 6 different ice cream flavors.
In addition, two of these flavors should be the most traditional ones, the ones that everyone knows and likes.
So, even if your guests try out other flavors and they don’t like they can always count on the traditional ones.
These can be vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. A coffee ice cream or one with a nut flavor also tends to be very appreciated by most people. So, they are great options as well.
Ice creams, Sorbets, and Gelato:
- Chocolate Gelato
- Vanilla ice cream
- Strawberry ice cream
- Peanut butter banana ice cream
- Coffee Gelato
- Pistachio ice cream
- Grape sorbet
And here are some options when you want to add some sophistication and different flavors to your ice cream social event:
- Plum and re-wine sorbet
- Honey lavender ice cream
- Cacao nib chocolate
- Mahón cheese ice cream
- Five-herb ice milk
- Jasmine tea sorbet
- Salted caramel ice cream
The Topping And Sauces
Toppings and sauces can definitely add a different flavor to regular ice creams. In case you prefer to stick to simpler ice creams so that all your guests can choose more classic flavors, you can (and should) definitely opt for more elaborate and crazier toppings and sauces.
In what concerns toppings, you have a wide variety of options.
You can include broken-up pretzels, candy-bar pieces, sprinkles, granola, brownies, crushed cookies, cherries, shredded coconut, nuts, graham crackers, and gummy candies.
One of the things that you need to ensure is that no matter the toppings that you choose to offer at your ice cream social event should chop up all of them to make it easier for your guests to try them.
In what regards to the sauces, there is also a wide range of different sauces that you can make available at your ice cream social event.
Sauces
- You can have a marshmallow sauce
- Dulce de leche
- Slated-butter
- Caramel sauce
- Buttery toasted nuts
- Whipped cream
- Fruit sauce
- Hot fudge sauce
- Chopped brownies
You should also consider having a bowl of fresh fruit. There are people who love to eat their ice creams with some fresh fruit.
Another thing that you need to have in mind is that not everyone likes to get their ice creams on bowls or to have their ice cream on cones.
So, you should definitely have both options available. In addition, and in what is concerned to cones, you need to know that there are different types of cones that you can have at your ice cream social event.
You can consider offering include waffle, wafer, and sugar.
Since more and more people suffer from some kind of food allergy, it is important to ask your guests about their specific allergies.
This way, you will be sure that you have all the ice creams, toppings and sauces that everyone will be able to enjoy.
As a way to prevent any problems, you should label each ice cream, topping, and sauce. This way, your guests will know what they can eat and what they need to avoid.
In sum, here are some of the best ice cream sauces that everyone loves:
More Sauces To Serve At Ice Cream Socials
- Caramel sauce
- Strawberry sauce
- Hot fudge sauce
- Burnt-sugar pecan rum sauce
- Marshmallow sauce
- Coconut dulce de leche
And here are some of the best toppings, cones, and mix-ins that you should consider offering:
My Favorites
- Ice cream cones
- Tiny chocolate chip cookies
- Chocolate covered peanuts
- Peppermint Patties
- Five-spice cones
- Malted candy brittle
- Double chocolate mocha brownies
- Deluxe peanut butter cups
Homemade Vs. Store-Bought
As you can see, you have plenty of options to offer your guests during your ice cream social event.
Besides, you already know that this is the kind of event or party that you have all the time to do by yourself since you won’t need to be cooking on the party day.
You can make everything in advance and just take care of the decoration for the party. Nevertheless, you may not prepare all the ice creams, toppings and sauces at home. So, it’s always good to know your options.
In case you’re not sure about if you should do all the ice creams, toppings, and sauces at home or if you should rather buy them at the store, you need to think about your ice cream social even itself.
The reality is that most people who host an ice cream social event tend to prefer to do everything on their own because they believe it is a part of their fun.
After all, this is a unique opportunity that you have to make a bunch of new ice creams, toppings, and sauces, and just mix-and-match with the different ingredients.
So, if you like to cook or bake, this is a great opportunity to be creative in the kitchen. On the other hand, and even if you wanted to make everything on your own, you may need to buy everything at the store.
It may be that you have tight schedules or that you just have a lot of work in the week prior to your event.
In this case, you need to know that there are great brands that do have delicious and premium ice creams. These include Ben & Jerry’s and Häagen-Dazs, for example.
The truth is that you don’t have to decide between doing everything by yourself or buy everything at the store. You may buy the ice cream, for example, and then just do the toppings and sauces at home.
This will be a more balanced option and you will still be able to have fun creating different sauces and toppings as you will also save time buying the ice creams.
To ensure that you get the best ice cream, you can buy locally made ice cream instead of simply going to a grocery store.
Another option that you have is to simply make one ice cream at home that will serve as your signature on the ice cream social event, and then buy the rest.
The truth is that there is not the best solution for everyone.
You just need to evaluate the time that you have and see what you can and prefer doing. As long as the ice creams are delicious, you can be sure no one will be complaining.
Determining The Quantities
One of the biggest problems hosts usually have when they are preparing a party is to know the quantities they should offer to their guests.
After all, you want to ensure that your guests can eat as much ice cream as they want, with their favorite toppings and sauces. However, you don’t want to make ice cream for an entire year or not do enough.
In addition, these helpful tips for hosting ice cream social are design to ensure that you have plenty of room in your freezer. So, while you may want to host an ice cream social event for many people, it is important to determine how many guests you can actually host.
When you are hosting an ice cream social event, you should have between 12 and 20 guests.
However, when you want to invite more people, you will definitely need to buy ice cream and toppings at the store as well as you will need help to serve all your guests. So, you need to ask two or three friends to help you.
When you are hosting an ice cream social event for more people, you may want to reconsider the toppings that you will be offering.
Since you will need your freezer to hold the ice cream, you should consider offering toppings that are room-temperature like nuts, for example. In addition, you can also offer one hot topping as well.
Now that you have a better perspective about how to make your guests list as well as the number of guests that you will invite, you need to know how much ice cream you need to make or buy.
In what concerns ice cream, you should consider that each guest will eat, at minimum, 4-ounce scoops (three half-cup) of ice cream, and up to a maximum of 12 ounces (1 1/2 cups) per person.
So, here’s the amount of ice cream that you will need to buy depending on the number of guests that you will have:
Amount Of Ice Cream To Buy For Your Guests
- An ice cream social event with 12 people: 1 1/4 gallons (144 ounces, or 9 pints)
- Ice cream social event with 16 people: 1 1/2 gallons (192 ounces, or 12 pints)
- For an ice cream social event with 20 people: About 2 gallons (240 ounces, or 15 pints)
Nevertheless, you should always have some extra ice cream containers in case you run short.
What about toppings? How many toppings do you need per guest?
As a rule of thumb, you should consider that each guest will have around 1/4 cup of sauce and between 1/4 and 1/3 cup per guest of other toppings.
One of the hardest parts is that there is usually one ice cream flavor, one topping, and one sauce (at least) that are the most popular at the event.
And the reality is that you have no idea about which ones will those be. So, just like you need to have extra ice cream, you should also have extra toppings and sauces just in case.
Making Ice Cream At Home And Storing It
In case you decide to make your own ice creams and toppings at home, or at least some of them, you want to ensure that you can make them in advance.
In fact, you can really do it with up to one week in advance since this is the time that you have to keep your delicious ice creams and toppings on the freezer while they still have their amazing flavor.
This is an excellent hosting tip for preparing ice cream socials too. This is just my opinion on this matter.
One of the things that may lead you to opt to buy both ice creams and toppings at the store instead of making your own at home is that you need to make one at a time.
And this takes a time that you might not have, This is why it is so important to determine all the details about your ice cream social event and have a good plan.
This way, you will know if you have the time to make any ice cream or topping as well as when you will do them.
If you decide to make your ice creams at home, you need to ensure that you have the space on your freezer as we already mentioned above.
Besides, you need to make sure that you can pack each ice cream that you make into a different container that is tightly sealed.
This is extremely important since it is what allows your ice cream to have that amazing and delicious flavor that you like.
In what concerns the containers, while you don’t have to buy new ones, it is better to use rectangular ones since it will be easier to serve once you are at your ice cream social event.
To ensure that you can keep the flavor at the top, you should consider wrapping the container with plastic.
While you may think that a sealed container is more than enough to preserve the ice cream flavor, a plastic wrap can also help.
Preparing The Toppings
As you know, some toppings only need the room-ambient temperature.
Nevertheless, toppings such as brownies or cookies that you want to cut into chunks may have their flavor changed if you cut them ahead of time.
So, in the case of these specific toppings, it is better to reserve sometime within the day of the party to prepare them.
The truth is that if you try to do this on the day before the party, the chunks will go stale or be dry.
As we already mentioned above, there are a lot of people who like to mix fresh fruit with ice cream.
So, you should be ready and have some fresh fruit sliced for your ice cream social event.
While you can slice most fruits on the day before of your party, there are some, like bananas, that you should wait up until the last minute to slice them.
I sometimes use scoops2u.com as a guide for my flavors of ice cream hosting tips and social events too.
In case you are wondering about some more ice cream flavors that you can add to your menu, here are some that will leave your guests incredibly happy:
More Ice Cream Flavors
- Fresh mint chocolate chip ice cream
- Chocolate malted ice cream
- Zabaglione gelato
- Raspberry-cassis ice cream
- Cinnamon toast ice cream
- Tin roof ice cream
- Passion-fruit nieve
- sour-cream ice cream
- Dark chocolate and cardamom ice cream
Setting Up The Ice Cream Social Event
Now that you already have the number of guests decided and the menu that you are going to prepare or buy at the store, it is time to think about setting up the ice cream social event.
As you can imagine, the best environment for an ice cream social event is outdoors.
After all, this kind of party is usually done in the summer (or as long as the hot weather is present). In addition, an ice cream social event is an informal party.
So, you shouldn’t worry too much about the dishes that you use.
The reality is that you need to look at your ice cream social as a kid’s party. So, with this in mind, it is a good idea or tip to provide a few pans of water as well as rolls of paper towel for sticky faces and fingers.
The reality is that it really doesn’t matter if you are hosting an ice cream social event for adults, for kids or for both adults and kids.
We all love ice cream and we just don’t care if we get dirty while we are eating it.
We love it and that is the most important thing. Besides, since you are hosting an informal event, everyone will be a lot more relaxed.
The Ice Cream Social Serving
In case you are only used to hosting dinner-sit parties, then this may sound a bit strange to you. Nevertheless, we are only showing you the truth.
When you are hosting an ice cream social, you are looking for a more personal and intimate relationship with your guests. So, it makes no sense that you should serve your guests.
Most ice cream social events tend to include a serve-yourself buffet.
Nevertheless, if you are worried about all the mess, you can pre-scoop ice cream yourself and put it on chilled dishes or bowls. Nevertheless, we have a strong feeling about this.
Part of the fun of being invited to an ice cream social event is that you’ll be able not only to know other people better and enjoy ice cream as, on top of all that, you’ll be able to try out new flavors, sauces and toppings like never before.
So, while it will be a bit messier, we believe that most guests will prefer to scoop their own ice cream (some of them for the first time) and just let their imagination and creativity go wild.
In case you are on the mood of letting your guests have as much fun as they want, then just allow them to serve themselves.
After all, you can always keep a basin of water and a sponge in place to clean when there are any spills.
If you have a long guests list, then it is probably best to hire one or two individuals to serve the ice cream.
To ensure that there is some balance, you can then allow your guests to add their own toppings as they like.
Organize Everything
While you are the host of the ice cream social event that you are planning, this doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy it as well.
The truth is that this is one of the main advantages of ice cream social events. You can prepare almost everything beforehand and you don’t need to worry about serving your guests.
As we already mentioned, when you have a plan, you won’t have any problems in making on ice creams, toppings, and sauces all by yourself.
After all, most of them can be made ahead of time. Nevertheless, as you can imagine, there are some things that you will need to do in the ice cream social event day.
So, a few hours before the ice cream social event, you need to ensure that you have the time to prepare the buffet table with all the bowls, utensils, and nonperishable toppings.
You need to make sure that you have all the spoons, scoops, and tongs prepared for each one of the different toppings that you will be offering.
This ensures that your guests won’t get their hands dirty messing around the toppings and that there won’t be any cross-contamination.
Before you display the ice creams on the buffet table, you also need to ensure that each one of the ice cream, sauce, and topping containers has a label. In case some of your guests are allergic to a specific ingredient, they will immediately avoid it.
Everything that is frozen should wait up until the last minute to be served. After all, you don’t want your guests to see your delicious ice creams melting before they have a chance to taste them properly.
One of the best hosting tip ideas that you can take advantage of when you are hosting an ice cream social event is to have some roasting pans or deep trays crushed with ice and simply nest the ice cream containers inside.
However, you should have too much ice on them. It is better to keep adding new ice than putting too much.
In case you decide to make any hot sauce, you need to make sure that you heat them on a double pan or boiler on the stove and then just refill small serving bowls when necessary.
The Supplies You May Need To Buy
While you may be sued to host formal dinner parties, the truth is that hosting an ice cream social event is completely different.
Yes, you need to welcome your guests, make them feel at home; ensure they are having a good time, etc. Nevertheless, the basics of the host are completely different.
When you are hosting an ice cream social event, you need to ensure that you have the right supplies that allow your guests to enjoy their ice creams and that allows you to have the least work possible.
In case you are hosting an ice cream social event for a lot of people, you shouldn’t even question yourself – just go with disposable bowls and spoons.
In case you are like most people and think that your guests won’t appreciate it, you don’t need to worry about that.
One of the things that you need to keep in mind is that tips for hosting ice cream social event is an informal gathering. So, no one is expecting you to use your best service or anything like that.
Most guests are mostly interested in trying out the different ice cream flavors with the amazing toppings and sauces that you have to offer them.
In what concerns you, it is far better to use disposable bowls and spoons and simply throw them to the trash.
On the other hand, when you are hosting a small ice cream social event, you may prefer to use real ice cream service ware.
In case you are looking for these types of items, you can find them at Amazon at very affordable prices.
You can also find good options at Target which are great, saving tips to cut down your hosting supply costs .
Summing all up, here is a checklist of all the supplies that you need for your hosting needs and tips for ice cream social event:
#1: Tips For Ice Cream Social Servings:
- A large counter-top or table to display all the ice creams, toppings, and sauces
- A wipe tablecloth made of plastic, vinyl or oilcloth
- Metal pans or buckets to fill with ice to keep your ice cream cold
- Coolers with ice to keep your ice cream and any other beverages cold
- Ice cream bowls and scoops or pitchers of water that should hold the scoops between servings
- Jars, bowls or any other containers for each topping
- Slow cookers in case you want to make hot sauces (they will maintain the sauce hot)
- Tongs, ladles, and spoons for each topping
- Labels for ice creams, sauces, and toppings
- Plates for sauce ladles to rest between servings
#2: For Eating & Drinking:
- Ice cream bowls even when you have cones available
- Regular teaspoons and parfait spoons
- Napkins
- Glasses for drinks
- Ice bucket
#3: Tips For Cleaning Up:
- Basin of water with a sponge for wiping out any spills
- Moist towelettes for guests
- Extra bags and cans
- Paper towels
Having Fun At Your Ice Cream Event
As a formal dinner hosting tip, the ice cream social event is another occasion that you have to mingle with other people that you may not know that well as well as to have a lot of fun.
While eating ice cream and trying out different sauces and toppings is interesting and especially tasteful, you also want to ensure, as the host of this party, that your guests have fun.
So, you just can’t rely on their communication abilities. You need to be the one to set the mood for some cool and fun games that both adults and kids will love.
In case you just run out of ideas, here are three different ice cream social games that you can use at your ice cream social event.
#1: Spoon Race
While you may think that this is a kid’s game, you need to know that it is quite fun even for adults. The spoon race game is very similar to the classic egg on a spoon race.
All you need to do is to use a sundae spoon and put a cherry on it. After all, this is probably one of the toppings that you have available for your guests.
The first one to drop the cherry from one spot to the other needs to go back and start again.
#2: Blind Taste Test
In case you are dealing with guests who love ice cream, then this is the perfect game for your ice cream social event.
All you need to do is to blindfold the participants and then give them a few samples of the different ice creams. The winner is the one who guesses more ice cream flavors.
However, if you want to make things more interesting, you can add sauces and toppings as well.
#3: Ice Cream Eating Contest
Everyone loves a good eating contest. And what could be better than an ice cream eating contest?
While this can easily become a bit messy, you can be sure that your guests will have a lot of fun.
To ensure that no one cheats, you can tie their hands behind their back. The winner is the one who manages to eat all the ice cream in the bowl.
As you can see, these planning tips for hosting ice cream social event is not difficult at all. You just need to find the best location and then decide over the menu.
Between doing the ice creams, toppings, and sauces all by yourself, buy them at the store or combine both options, the decision is up to you.
Nevertheless, it is important to state that even though an ice cream social event is an informal party it still requires some work for the host.
However, with the right planning hosting tips and time, we are sure that you will be able to offer an amazing party to your guests that will stay in their memory for many years to come.
Plus, you will be a pro yourself when you come up with your own tips for hosting ice cream social too.
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Please see our affiliate disclosure page for more details via our website.
On behalf of icecreamsocialhub.com, thank you for visiting my site. I hope these tips for hosting ice cream social make your social event a success too.
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