If you’re of the belief that snow is not food, or that when snow is food, it’s only food for those under the age of 12, you’re sorely mistaken. Nature has gifted us the delicious gift of edible precipitation, so what better reason for a party than an all-ages snow cone-themed bash? Here’s how you make the chilly magic happen.
Create a Snow Cone Station
You’ll want to have all the snow cone accoutrements ready to go for guests to tap into their inner kid as soon as they arrive. Set aside the Snoopy snow cone maker for the time being—this is a job for your blender. (Our Test Kitchen stands behind this one.) Create a mountain of shaved ice using the “crush” button. If you over-crush and the mixture becomes thin, add more ice.
For the setup, keep the shaved ice in an ice bucket on top of a bar cart. Next to it, offer guests an array of flavored syrups in both the alcoholic and all-ages varieties. You can buy them or easily make your own. They’re most pretty served in glass bottles with pour spouts (here are the ones we used), but you can also use the more affordable plastic squeeze bottles that you’d pick up for condiments.
How to Make Snow Cone Syrup
Basically, you’re just doctoring up a basic simple syrup recipe. We created a bunch—Shirley Temple, Pina Colada, Margarita, Blue Raspberry and Fuzzy Navel—to get you started, but the possibilities are endless. Add booze or leave it out. Your choice! And don’t forget the garnishes—pineapple slices for the pina colada, maraschino cherries for the Shirley Temples, and so on.
The best part: You can make them ahead! The syrups can be kept in the fridge for up to four days. (Psst: Once the party’s over, drizzle extra syrup on ice cream!)
Keep Drips at Bay
To offer guests a sticky hand-free experience, keep a stack of rocks glasses off to the side to place the paper cone in once the snow cone is assembled. (You can buy paper cones here.) Or, put out champagne coupe glasses to use in place of paper cones, if you want to get fancy with it. Cute and colorful small spoons—we used spoon straws—in a nearby glass jar or shallow bowl will also be appreciated.
Serve Snowy Snacks
You want easy grab-and-go apps for your guests that also stick to the tropical, fruity and fun theme of the fiesta.
- Skewers: Create a sweet and salty app of balled melon, fresh mozzarella and prosciutto on wooden skewers.
- Tropical Bagel Pizzas: These make the perfect hand-held pizzas with a tropical twist.
- Coconut Fruit Dip: Here’s the perfect summer fruit dip.
- Baja Chicken and Slaw Sliders: Grilled chicken, tangy slaw and Hawaiian rolls? Our mouths are watering.
- Colorful Oreo Truffles: This riff on cake pops is even easier than the original!
Put up Decorations!
And summery, tropical ones at that. These fruit balloons on Amazon are really fun. If you’re throwing the party al fresco, these hanging solar lanterns emulate the look of snow cones. You can get these cute and colorful hanging rosettes for pretty cheap, too. Use them to make a backdrop that will anchor your space indoors or out.
Create a Beachy Playlist
Set the mood by mixing in some tropical/Hawaiian/beachy music that includes hallmarks like steel drum instrumentals, the Beach Boys and Bob Marley. Here, we’ll start you off with this Snow Cone Party Playlist.
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The post How to Throw a Summery Snow Cone Party appeared first on Taste of Home.
Amanda Kippert