The Ice Mistake To Avoid When Throwing Your Memorial Day Barbecue
If there's one thing hosts and party guests forget to add to their day-of party supplies list, it's ice. Whether you are serving up two liters full of soda or chilled summer cocktails to beat the heat, ice is an absolute necessity. When your family member or bestie inevitably asks you to "run and grab some ice" for your upcoming Memorial Day barbecue, it's best not to forget.
When it comes time to party, especially during the hot summer months, make sure you have plenty of ice for each of your coolers and some left over for those who want to add a few cubes to their red solo cups. One of the biggest ice-related mistakes you might be making is forgetting to have fresh ice on hand for your guests to use in their drinks. By fresh ice, we mean ice that is not currently being used in your cooler to keep your cans of soda and bottles of beer cold. Mixing your drinks with ice that has been used to cool down your drinks is a no-no for multiple reasons. First, it is likely already partially melted because it has been doing its job in your cooler, regulating the temperature of your drinks. Second, you don't want to be putting ice in your drinks that has been handled by other partygoers while they root around to find their preferred drink. Do everyone a favor and set aside some untouched ice for those who want extra cool beverages.
Pre-chilling your cooler may solve a lot of your problems
A summertime party without ice is a party foul no one wants to commit; ensuring your guests have access to ice-cold drinks is key. Even when guests mainly drink from cans and bottles, having extra solo cups and fresh drinking ice on hand will make all the difference on those extra hot days. To keep the ice confusion to a minimum, consider bringing two separate coolers: One just for ice with a scooper and one full of cold drinks. Make sure they are color-coded or labeled so people don't take ice out of the wrong cooler.
Another way to keep ice as cold as possible throughout the day is to pre-chill your coolers before your party starts. To do this, add a bag or two of ice inside and let it sit for 24 hours. Then, replace it with fresh ice and add your drinks before your party begins. With this hack, the ice will last longer, and you will need less to keep your drinks cold. This will allow you to redistribute that party-size bag of ice to offer your guests fresh ice that hasn't been sitting in aluminum can condensation all day. If you don't have any room in the budget for more ice to pre-cool your cooler, you can also try the aluminum cooler hack that keeps your ice frozen longer. Simply line the inside of your cooler with aluminum insulation and be amazed when your drinking ice is still solid and chilly as the set sets on your Memorial Day celebrations.