As summer draws to a close my merriment-making crew, Friends Who Fete—Aida of Salt & Wind and Meg of This Mess Is Ours—were dying to get together one last time and celebrate with the whole family. An ice cream social seemed like the perfect excuse to soak in the summer sun, play games, eat ice cream until our bellies burst, and give one last hurrah before the kiddos head back to school and life gets busy again. Here’s how we made it happen!
1.No-Churn Vanilla Cream Cheese Ice Cream: There is nothing more essential to an Ice Cream Social than vanilla ice cream. This homemade version requires no fancy ice cream machine and is extra tangy and rich thanks to the addition of cream cheese.
2. Chocolate Chocolate Ice Cream: Aida mixed up a batch of decadent homemade chocolate ice cream to satisfy the chocolate lovers in the crowd. Perfect for topping with a s’more—you know how we do.
3. No-Churn Churros Con Chocolate Ice Cream: I took my No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream base and add a swirl of Mexican Hot Chocolate Sauce and churros, no biggie.
4. Chocolate Almond Butter Cup Ice Cream with Almond Butter Swirl: Aida recreated her sister’s childhood obsession with this decadent combo. She took her extra chocolatey ice cream and swirled in a ribbon of almond butter then added miniature almond butter cups.
5. No-Churn Blueberry Mezcal Swirl Ice Cream: I felt it very important that the adults didn’t feel left out. Rich vanilla no-churn with a ripple of mescal-infused blueberry sauce; warning, this ice cream will make you swoon.
6. Hazelnut Chocolate “Baci” Ice Cream: This luxurious ice cream was inspired by Aida’s love for Baci Perugina, the Italian chocolate-hazelnut truffles.
7. Strawberry Aperol Spritz Poptails: These grown-up boozy pops are Meg’s ode to Italy’s signature summer cocktail, but with fresh strawberries added for an extra fruity kick.
8. Mexican Hot Chocolate Sauce: Impromptu sundae making calls for chocolate sauce. This is the sauce (with a touch of almond and cinnamon) that I swirled into my churros ice cream. I made a double batch so we’d have extra to drizzle on top.
9. Coffee Salted Caramel Sauce: No ice cream party is complete without caramel sauce. Aida upped the ante with this topper. Rich caramel gets a boost from a shot of dark espresso for a sauce you will want to drizzle on everything.
10. Homemade Waffle Cones: Meg made these sweet cones in chocolate and vanilla. They were the perfect size for little hands—and gluten-free!
11. Toppings: You really can’t have too many toppings. Sprinkles are obviously a must, but we also lined the table with rainbow marshmallows, chocolate-covered candies, mini stroopwafels, macarons, graham crackers, and more!
12. Metal Ice Bins: Unless you want to be running back and forth from the freezer every five seconds you should have a plan on how to keep the ice cream as cold as possible. A metal bin filled with ice worked well for us, even in the LA heat.
13. Ice Cream Pints and Ice Cream Cups: We packed our homemade ice cream in these cute paper pint-sized containers (which, by the way, makes leftovers really easy to take home) and used colorful cups for sundaes.
14. Ice Cream Scoops: Invest in more than one ice cream scoop so multiple hands can be scooping at once. Sturdy scoops like this stainless steel one are my favorite but the spring-loaded scoops work well too.
15. Colorful Candy: Okay, I’ll admit having candy at an ice cream social is a little overkill…but its so pretty!! Try Twisty Rainbow Candy Lollipops, Swirl Pops, or Candy Ice Cream Cones.
16. Garland, Tassels, and Honeycombs–Oh My!: Colorful decorations are a must at any ice cream social but you don’t have to be a crafter to create a IG-worthy background. We used vibrant Tassel Garland and Honeycomb Balls from Sweet Lulu to set the scene. But PS, they also have Honeycomb Ice Cream Cones which are ohmygod so cute!
17. Punch Balloons: Let’s face it, kids who are eating tons of sugar need somewhere to put their energies, punch balloons to the rescue! Plus, they look really sweet too.
18. DIY Tattoos: Partying with uber-creatives like Meg and Todd has it’s perks. Like getting a full sleeve of handmade temporary ice cream tattoos. Click the link for instructions on how to make your own!
19. Ice Cream Cone Piñata: Word to the wise, filling the piñata with confetti makes the moment of explosion extra special.
20. Pin the Cherry on the Ice Cream Cone: This was a cute game that Meg and Todd came up with and the kids just loved.
A big THANK YOU to This Mess Is Ours and Salt & Wind for all the photography!
Friends Who Fete are three gals (¡Hola! Jalapeño, Salt & Wind, and This Mess Is Ours) who love to throw parties big and small. Every season we do something new–find them all here!
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So many fun ideas!! Love pin the cherry on the ice cream cone, and brilliant idea to fill the piñata with confetti. Also, coffee salted caramel sounds amazing! (good to know too that a metal bin filled with ice is cold enough to keep the ice cream from sweltering.)
Hey Lyndsay! So good to hear from you, thank you! We had a blast at this party. It’s one of those things that makes you want it to stay summer forever.