Snow Cone Machine for Party

[Karalea]

Has anyone ever rented a snow cone machine for a party?

We are looking into renting one for nephew's graduation party next month. It is available for the day for just $40. He would love it.

We are doing a cookout with hot dogs etc at a local park during the afternoon.

I was wondering just how much of a pain is it. Is it messy? Hard to operate? I worry about the ice melting while we are having lunch but it shouldn't be that hot out as the party is in Upstate New York.

There is electric in the pavilion where we are holding the party.

 

[akcire]

Has anyone ever rented a snow cone machine for a party?

We are looking into renting one for nephew's graduation party next month. It is available for the day for just $40. He would love it.

We are doing a cookout with hot dogs etc at a local park during the afternoon.

I was wondering just how much of a pain is it. Is it messy? Hard to operate? I worry about the ice melting while we are having lunch but it shouldn't be that hot out as the party is in Upstate New York.

There is electric in the pavilion where we are holding the party.

We rented one for a block party a couple years ago. We just decided we didn't want to cook a dish.

We got the snowcone holders from the rental place, and the syrup from Gordon's Food Service.

We kept ice in a cooler and refilled from the house as needed.

It was a big hit. Kids ate them as they were, many adults added vodka (not provided by me). The cop assigned to our block party ate two (it was hot and he had polyster pants on).

The next year we rented a cotton candy machine, that was fun too.

 

[jedijill]

My parents actually bought their own for all the block parties. It is not messy...My dad just keep ice in the cooler and shaves it as needed. They bought different syrups at Target (usually a seasonal item available the beginning of spring). Not sure where they got the cones...I think they just use styrofoam cups now.

HTH

Jill in CO

 

[krcit]

My son has a small one. The kids love it. I got the cups and syrup on Amazon. All the kids LOVE blue raspberry..blech.

 

[LJSquishy]

I haven't rented one before, but back when I was in middle school we held a fundraiser and made them. It is not messy at all! It's very easy to operate and use, and very quick. I saw some syrups at Walmart for snow cones in their summer/picnic section if you don't want to worry about finding where to buy the syrups.

 

[momxx5]

The kids will love it.

I have a cotton candy cart. The plan is to rent it out, however I end up donating it to the schools for fundraisers, Relay for Life, etc.

We did snow cones at an End-of-Year class party. One parent had access to an ice machine that made the smallest little ice pellets. We had brought our snowcone machine (small one for home) but ended up using the small ice.....faster and way easier.

One tip.....we put the snowcone in the "cones" and put the cones into clear plastic cups.....easy to handle, easy to set down for a minute and no many worries about spills.

Have fun

 

[clh2]

Another option to consider - and IMHO - a lot of more fun - you can also rent "slushy" machines.

You do have to buy the slush mixture - and then it freezes in the machine.

The advantage is - you don't need to transport ice!

Don't know how that would compare to a sno-cone machine...but just thought I would toss this out as a suggestion.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I was a camp counselor one summer and my "lunch" job was to run the sno cone machine. It was easy and not messy at all. A friend whose kids use their shark ninja all summer to make at-home snoballs says that the stuff at walmart is thin and weak. It's cheaper and better just to go on Amazon and order the good stuff.

 

[marmalade]

This sounds like such a cool idea. We have a 4th of July party every year and I might look into renting one of these this year.

 

[Mrs.Malone]

I've operated these a couple of times. They're easy to use and always a huge hit on a warm day. The red cherry syrup and blue raspberry always go much quicker than any of the other flavors.

 

[fostrmom2mny]

Where wouldyou go to rent a snowcone machine?

 

[englishteacha]

We used one for a school fundraiser and it was a HUGE hit! A community member lent us her machine and it was awesome! We made our own syrups from Kool-aid packets. One of my coworkers made the syrups from a recipe online-this one seems about right: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/snow-cone-syrup-ii/

The syrups were yummy and flavorful, unlike some of the commercial ones that are so weak. We served the snow cones in paper cups, and had spoons available. We made a small fortune from snow cones...and this was in February! (We had them as part of a "Snow Ball" dance at the refreshment stand.)

 

[Cruise]

Where wouldyou go to rent a snowcone machine?

Try local party supply stores or party rental companies. There's a local one here like "Party City" (but not) that rents them along with the cotton candy machines. If not, try one of the places that rents things like folding chairs, tables, etc.

Good luck

 

[msmama]

Where wouldyou go to rent a snowcone machine?

Any party rental place would probably have them. The same places you'd rent tables and chairs from or the places you'd rent a bouncer.

OP - We had them at our preschool fundraiser yesterday. They are a HUGE hit on a hot day.

You can probably get the other stuff (cones, syrup) from the place you're getting the maker. For us, to keep things easy, we just use one kind of syrup - cherry.

I believe the box says that 25 lbs of ice makes 100 sno cones, but we sold about 100 and didn't go through NEAR that much ice, so...(I suppose it depends on the size).

When I was a kid I remember putting Hawaiian punch on the sno cones I'd make with my snoopy sno cone maker, so that's an option, too. Any kind of juice would work.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Any party rental place would probably have them. The same places you'd rent tables and chairs from or the places you'd rent a bouncer.
OP - We had them at our preschool fundraiser yesterday. They are a HUGE hit on a hot day.

You can probably get the other stuff (cones, syrup) from the place you're getting the maker. For us, to keep things easy, we just use one kind of syrup - cherry.

I believe the box says that 25 lbs of ice makes 100 sno cones, but we sold about 100 and didn't go through NEAR that much ice, so...(I suppose it depends on the size).

When I was a kid I remember putting Hawaiian punch on the sno cones I'd make with my snoopy sno cone maker, so that's an option, too. Any kind of juice would work.

When I read that, I was thinking "why would you rent a sno cone machine from a security firm" and envisioning a big, burly guy with biker tattoos, mirror shades, wearing nothing but blue jeans and a black leather vest, operating a sno cone machine at a party.

Then it hit me. Bouncer. Bouncy.

 

[Styx Fan]

When I read that, I was thinking "why would you rent a sno cone machine from a security firm" and envisioning a big, burly guy with biker tattoos, mirror shades, wearing nothing but blue jeans and a black leather vest, operating a sno cone machine at a party.

Then it hit me. Bouncer. Bouncy.

 

[PolyndianPrincessJes]

We just had one a week ago for DS's birthday. A local guy does a moon bounce, snow cone machine and popcorn machine (and supplies) for $200 for the day.

My 17 year old cousin ran the popcorn and snow cone machines. They were super easy!! The kids (and adults!) LOVED it!!

 

[NotUrsula]

For the best flavorings in the country, hands down, go to http://www.snowizard.com/flavors/flavors.php

140 base flavors available, and you can mix them for premium recipes. Trust me, the pre-made stuff cannot touch these for intense flavor.

The prices you see are for liquid flavor concentrate: 4 oz. added to 1 gallon of simple syrup base (that you make) will make enough flavor syrup for thirty 12 oz. snowcones. A quart bottle of flavoring is enough to produce 240.

Note: when mixing a gallon of syrup for snow cones, the standard recipe is 5 lbs (yes, pounds, not cups) of granulated sugar to 80 oz. of water, plus 4 oz. of flavor concentrate per gallon of finished syrup. Always add the sugar to the water, not the other way around.

(Note that finished syrup will need a preservative added if you plan to keep it for more than a week or so, but the bottles of flavor concentrate are shelf-stable as long as you don't expose them to heat.)