How to keep beverages cold during a party/picnic?

[scrapquitler]

Also, if you have room in your freezer, make BIG ice so that it takes longer to melt. You can use milk cartons (quart size or half gallon size cardboard type ones are great!) or even bundt pans, mixing bowls, tupperware containers, etc. to make big ice cubes.

 

[barkley]

Certainly useful for an all-day affair or where something has to be kept cold for days without access to any other kind of refrigeration. For a party it may not be necessarily.

I've been to parties where people brought coolers. There's the little dance where people sit on top of them and then others ask them to get off to find out what's inside. And often they're left closed and someone might go through several looking for a certain beverage.

There's a certain benefit to having everything more or less visible. At various professional meetings, I've seen beverages placed in a bowl with chipped ice. And often beverage cans/bottles are placed on ice in large trays.

I've got one of those types of bowls, and it is very popular with the neighbors to borrow to keep drinks cold. the nice thing is in addition to using it as a cooler for beverages it can also be used as a cooler for foods (put ice in it and set another bowl on top of the ice). we also use it when we are mixing huge batches of foods for parties (it's awesome for making big batches of salads). as far as storage goes we just have it sitting on top of the freezer in the garage (I keep the Costco and trader joes reusable bags in it) so it doesn't eat up space.

they cost around $30 to buy but can be rented for around $6, and an even better deal is to check with local party rental stores b/c they frequently sell off their excess supplies for around the cost of one day's rental fee.

 

[powellrj]

One of the ideas I found on pintrest was to freeze water ballons and add them to your tubs.
http://lifehacker.com/5902014/freeze-water-balloons-to-keep-drinks-cold

 

[cabanafrau]

We loan/borrow large coolers among friends and family all the time for the big gatherings. We have two large ones and they seem to spend a good deal of every summer partying it up.

 

[HeatherC]

I use a galvanized steel tub on a stand that was a gift from my dsis. I also freeze those round ice cream containers that you see at the supermarket of BJs which holds like four quarts of ice cream. It makes a nice round solid block that you can put underneath ice cubes and it lasts much longer.
I just pop it out of the container and you have like a four inch thick round block of ice.


Have fun planning!!

 

[pixiewings71]

Don't they leak? Of course real wine barrels are tested to be watertight, but I'd think planters would be intentionally designed for drainage.

I was thinking something like this:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Homz-17-Gallon-Rope-Handled-Tub-Set-of-12/21690863

8 for $43 seems pretty reasonable.

We use these for our parties. They always work great, if we need more space we also use coolers.

One of the ideas I found on pintrest was to freeze water ballons and add them to your tubs.
http://lifehacker.com/5902014/freeze-water-balloons-to-keep-drinks-cold

That's a really cool idea.....I may use that for DD's graduation this year.

 

[declansdad]

Certainly useful for an all-day affair or where something has to be kept cold for days without access to any other kind of refrigeration. For a party it may not be necessarily.

I've been to parties where people brought coolers. There's the little dance where people sit on top of them and then others ask them to get off to find out what's inside. And often they're left closed and someone might go through several looking for a certain beverage.

There's a certain benefit to having everything more or less visible. At various professional meetings, I've seen beverages placed in a bowl with chipped ice. And often beverage cans/bottles are placed on ice in large trays.

and without coolers you spend all day refilling the ice on whatever non-cooler you are using.

Like I said, they make coolers for a reason.

 

[EMode]

and without coolers you spend all day refilling the ice on whatever non-cooler you are using.

Like I said, they make coolers for a reason.

Yes they do make coolers for a reason, but humans are resourceful and can find many other things to use instead.

I have a large party every summer and I use those buckets for my drinks and I don't spend all day refilling the ice. If its done right and not sitting in the sun it can keep the drinks in it cold for the entire party.

 

[bittybabygrower]

We have used large garbage cans...which is great if you need a new one lol. I will freeze water in gallon containers to put on the bottom ( also makes it not as deep) then add ice and drinks. Works great!

 

[Lilliputian]

I have 2 huge plastic tubs, similar to the ones pictured earlier, that we use for drinks at parties. As long as we keep them in the shade, the ice will last for many hours. It depends on the temperature, of course, but we've never had our ice melt completely and the water (and drinks) go warm in less than 6-8 hours. Of course, you do have to take into account that you have to put the drinks on the ice at least an hour before the party starts, so that does eat into your time a little bit. You wouldn't have to do it as early if your drinks were already chilled, but you probably don't have that kind of refrigerator space before a big party.

Oriental Trading Company sells things that basically look like kiddie pools for holding drinks in a variety of themes, including graduation. I've never tried them, though. They look like they're so shallow that you would have to add new ice more frequently. You want something with less surface area.

I think that open bins of some sort are friendlier than coolers. People can tell by glancing which one has water, which one has soft drinks, etc. Coolers do last longer, but you need a lot to hold many drinks, and opening and closing them is a pain. I'd consider using them if the party was going to be an all-day affair, but for something that's going to be 4-6 hours, bins are a good choice.

 

[daisymomof4]

A wheel barrow makes a great drink cooler! AND you can move it if you need to.