When you think about parties, you most likely think about the festivities, the food, and the music. Most people don’t think about what’s in nearly every drink keeping it cold: ICE.  Ice always seems to take a back seat to the rest of the party, but in reality it’s the secret to making your guests say that it was the best party ever. Want to know how?

Flake Ice At Your Party

Flake ice is the type of ice that you’ll see in the grocery store keeping the fish cold.  It’s the most moldable ice out there, but it also has the distinctive quality of being slow melting.

Pack your beer or other contained libations into the cooler with flake ice. Flake ice works better than crushed or cube ice for keeping drinks cold for a long time.

Now, if you’ve got access to a flake ice machine, there are a number of other things that you could do with flake ice to enhance your guests’ experience.

  • Make snowmen!

There’s something incredibly soothing about dipping your hands into flake ice and crafting tiny snowmen out of it. It’s one of those things you have to try. Snap a picture before they melt!

  • Snow cones

Flake ice can also be used to make snow cones.  You can take flavored syrup and add it to the flake ice to give it some flavor. You can even make your own to experiment, or add liquor to your cone to make it a little slushier.

Ice for Cooling

If your guests dislike dipping their hands into frigid water to get canned and bottled drinks, you can make your own ice packs by using balloons. The best part about this technique is that once the water melts inside, you don’t have to worry about messy wet cleanup.

All you have to do is take balloons, fill them up with water, and throw them into the freezer the day before.  They will freeze in the shape that you leave them, so you can make sure that they’re in cubes, spheres, or anything you desire.

Gourmet Ice

ULine makes some excellent machines which produce absolutely clear ice cubes.  They are free of air bubbles and look beautiful in a glass. If you’ve got a highbrow affair going on, these make the perfect chilling addition.

Gourmet ice cubes also take more time to melt, so your guests can enjoy the chill of the drink without having to worry about it being watered down.

Nugget Ice

Nugget ice is the perfect ice for drinks that go down quickly like sodas.  It crunches quite nicely under the teeth, and it keeps the drinks very cold. We’re especially fond of the nugget ice because it’s very similar to the ice that can be found at a popular fast food establishment.  It’s also widespread at many convenience stores.

This isn’t the type of ice that you’re going to find in those huge bags.  While the bags of ice are nice, they don’t make for a true party experience. Normal full cubes melt fast, are hard to chew, and are frankly quite boring.

As you can see, ice makes everything a lot nicer for the parties.  It’s the life of the party! Try a different kind of ice for your next party and see if you guests notice a difference.

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