How to Host an Ice Cream Social

An ice cream social is fun for kids and adults at any time of the year. Here are some tips to help you plan and set up your ice cream party.

Serve at least three or four flavors of ice cream. Choose a variety of flavors, some classic and some complex, to appeal to everyone.

Offer your guests lots of toppings. Include chocolate, butterscotch, strawberry, caramel, and marshmallow sauces; nuts; sprinkles; candies; maraschino cherries; whipped cream; and sliced strawberries and bananas.

Cookies go perfectly with ice cream. Offer your guests sugar wafers, vanilla wafers, or sandwich cream cookies.

Your guests might not want to have their ice cream in a cup or bowl. Give them other options by supplying ice cream cones and root beer and glasses for floats.

Choose beverages that will complement the ice cream without overwhelming your guests’ taste buds. Ginger ale, root beer, iced tea, iced coffee or espresso, fruit-flavored seltzer, and chilled water are good choices.

Ask your guests if they have any allergies. Be sure to have allergen-free treats for guests with dietary restrictions and to let them know if any of the products contains something they should not eat.

Serve the ice cream and accompaniments buffet-style. Group items by type and arrange them in the order guests will serve themselves.

Put bowls, spoons, napkins, soda glasses, straws, and ice cream cones at one end of the table. Next put all of the ice cream flavors, followed by bottles and bowls of toppings, and then drinks and cups. Put cleanup items such as wet wipes and paper towels in a separate location so that guests will be able to clean up without slowing down the flow of traffic.