Ice Cream Themed Birthday Party

Here's the scoop on this ice cream themd party. We're sharing our DIY ice cream decorations, ice cream party ideas including games and activities, and a full ice cream sundae buffet!

Jump to:

• Why We Love This Party
• DIY Ice Cream Party Decorations
• Loot Bags
• Party Drinks
• Party Activities
• 1. Invent Your Own Ice Cream Flavour
• Suit Up
• Make Ice Cream
• 2. Pom Pom Ice Cream Cone Craft
• 3. Ice Cream Cone Key Chains and Necklaces
• 4. Blind Ice Cream Tasting
• 5. Pretend Ice Cream Shop
• Ice Cream Sundae Bar
• Ice Cream Themed Desserts
• More Ice Cream Inspiration

DIY Ice Cream Party Decorations

We love decorating to make a party feel extra special. Check our best ideas for at home birthay party decorations.

• Giant Ice Cream Cone Backdrop

The most exciting part of the party was the ice cream dessert table where everyone could build themselves the perfect ice cream sundae for dessert. We wanted this area to feel really special so we made a special backdrop on the wall.

This ice cream cone backdrop was so easy to put together and had so much impact.

We started with making a giant ice cream cone shape out of brown kraft paper. And then we attached it to the wall. Then we added honeycomb balls that were only half open to create our 3-D ice cream. Don't forget a little red one for the cherry on top! You could also use balloons for the ice cream.

This special backdrop was really simple to make and had so much impact for the party.

• Colourful Wrapping Paper Table Runner

We kept the decor for the party pretty simple. For table runners we used some fun wrapping paper with bright colors. It was a great way to add lots of colour for the party, really inexpensive and great for clean-up. I think it's a great alternative to a plastic tablecloth.

• Ice Cream Centrepiece

We used some ice cream cone ceramic containers with a faux floral ball on top as a little centerpiece on the table. It was so easy and looked so cute for the party.

• Ice Cream Cone Bunting Decoration

Loot Bags

The main party favor was a also a "Make Your Own Sundae" kit inside for everyone. At the party everyone got to design and create their own ice cream flavour and then bring it home with them -more details on that below. 

Inside the the "Make Your Own Sundae" kit there were bags of sprinkles and candies, chocolate and caramel ice cream sauce, and some assorted cones and waffle bowls all to go with the ice cream they made so they continue the party when they got home!

I always think it's fun to display the invite for the party at the front door, so we did. There was also a basket of ice cream bubbles for everyone to grab on their way out.

Party Drinks

I also set up a little drinks cart for the party. There's nothing like pretty pastel colours of paper straws for a party!

Party Activities

We planned quite a few ice cream themed actictivies for the party. It was a four hour party over lunch. I would rather over plan for a party and run out of time than run out of things to do. I tend to think that busy kids are the best kind of kids (leftover from my teaching days). 

1. Invent Your Own Ice Cream Flavour

Our first activity was for our the kids to invent their own ice cream flavour. 

Suit Up

Our little chefs were invited to suit up for the occasion with their own chef hats and aprons when they arrived.

Design A Label

Next, our ice cream flavour inventors got to choose a container and make a label for their new flavour with whatever they'd want to name it. Some of the names were really cute and really creative! 

We had cute containers and sticker labels. The girls got to write the new flavour name and then decorate their labels with markers and washi tape.

Make Ice Cream

Next it was into the kitchen to actually create their new ice cream flavours.

We had a base of homemade vanilla ice cream for everyone. The churning of the homemade ice cream was timed so that it would be ready for them but still soft so that it would be easy to mix in anything they wanted.

We had lots of fun add-ins for the ice cream inventors. 

There was peanut butter, nutella, chocolate sauce, strawberry sauce, and caramel sauce. There was also fresh fruit and jams. 

We also had a whole bunch of different sprinkles and candy add-ins.

Time For The Deep Freeze

After the ice creams were created our guests put their labels on, and we popped the new ice cream flavours into the deep freezer for the rest of the party. They all had such a good time doing this activity.

At the end of the party we added their ice cream to their "Make Your Own Sundae" take home kits as loot bags. 

These were a real hit with the kids, and they couldn't wait to tell their parents when they came to pick them up.

2. Pom Pom Ice Cream Cone Craft

These cute pom pom ice cream cones were really fun to make, and all the party guests were able to personalize theirs with their own colour choices.

We used these wood veneer cones as the perfect ice cream cones. The wood veneer cones are usually used for food service, all we had to do was cut off the tip to make them look more like real ice cream cones. If you couldn't find these though, you could make the cones from some kraft paper, or brown construction paper.

Next, we made a large pom pom as the scoop of ice cream. Then we made a much smaller bright red, or dark pink pom pom as a cherry on top. If the children were too small to make their own pom poms, you could use ready made ones. Lastly, we glued the pom pom into place and added some sequins as sprinkles.

3. Ice Cream Cone Key Chains and Necklaces

My daughter loves crafts so we also made ice cream cone key chains or necklaces as one of our activities.

Craft Materials:

• polymer clay
• key chains
• jump rings
• eye pins
• wire cutter

How To Make Them

We started by shaping an ice cream cone out of brown/beige polymer clay, and then adding one, two, or three scoops of ice cream. We used the serrated edge of a plastic knife to create the ruffled edge of each scoop of ice cream. Everyone could choose their colours of ice cream and how many scoops to add. To finish it off we made a tiny cherry for the top.

Then I carefully inserted an eye pin it into the cone, so we'd be able to attach a jump ring to it. Next, we baked the cones for about 5 min. to set the clay. To make it easy, I lined a baking tray with parchment paper and wrote everyone's name beside theirs with a sharpie.

Once they were cooled I they could choose wheather to make it into a necklace or a keychain. 

I used some small organza bags to put the finished key chain or necklaces into, and then we put them into everyone's loot bags to take home. It was a fun addition to our sweet celebration.

4. Blind Ice Cream Tasting

Everyone loved the blind ice cream tasting, and I would highly recommend it as part of any ice cream-themed party. 

We asked the girls to find a partner, and for one of them to blind fold themselves. Their partner then gave them a taste of the three different samples of ice cream and guessed which flavour they were.

Then the girls switched places, and we had another three different ice cream samples for them to try. The girls all had a little piece of paper to write their guesses on. 

This was one of everyone's favourite activities and was easy to put together.

5. Pretend Ice Cream Shop

This party was so fun! And I didn't take any photos of the final activity, but I still want to share it with you as one of our final ice cream party ideas because it was one of the kids favourites.

We set up a pretend ice cream store in the basement. You can see how I made a similar one for another ice cream party when my girls were much younger. Maddie set up a menu, and some tables and chairs as a little ice cream parlor. There was a little play kitchen and order desk for customers. 

She made pretend ice cream out of tissue paper balls, and sprinkles and cherries out of pom poms. The cones were a combination of paper ones and real ones. She had pretend syrup bottles, little cute paper bowls and spoons and ice cream party supplies like napkins. 

There was toy money and a toy cash register, and costumes for the all the girls to dress up in. 

She's growing up so fast. It did my heart good to see that what she really still wanted to do was have her little friends over and really play. I'm sure these days are really limited now, but for the last half hour of the party, with bellies full of real ice cream, they played and played, and laughed and played some more until their parents arrived.

Ice Cream Sundae Bar

You can't have an ice cream party without eating lots of ice cream!

We started with different flavors of ice cream. In order to keep it all from melting, I put some of the smaller ones into a galvanized pail of ice.

We had lots of different ice cream cones and waffle ice cream bowls to choose from. 

We also made some homemade ice cream cones. We picked up a new waffle cone maker for the party. One of the activities for the party was making the batter together. Then my awesome sister worked away cooking them and forming them into cones (the tricky part). They made the whole house smell amazing and were such a fun addition to the party.

We had lots of different toppings for the ice cream. I had loads of different sprinkles in mason jars, and had them on a little lazy susan so everyone could easily help themselves -and boy were they a hit with the kids!

We also had lots and lots of little candies, and nuts, and chocolates to add on top in the cutest ice cream cone dishes.

We also had some ice cream sauces -chocolate, caramel, and strawberry, whip cream, and the requisite cherry!

Ice Cream Themed Desserts

As if the ice cream sundae buffet wasn't enough, we also had a few fun themed desserts.

Ice Cream Cone Rice Krispies

Another fun addition were these little ice cream cones made with rice krispies.

Maddie used mini ice cream cones as the base, and added a small ball of rice krispies dipped in pink chocolate. She added some sprinkles and a red M&M for a cherry while the chocolate was still not set so they would stick. They were so cute, and delicious.

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

And the final desert was these ice cream cone cupcakes, instead of birthday cake. 

We baked normal cake batter inside some ice cream cones instead of cupcake liners. Then we added icing, sprinkles and a candy cherry. They were so sweet.

It was a very full of activities kind of a party and so much fun. We made our own ice cream flavours, did crafts, tasted ice cream, made homemade ice cream cones, ate lunch, and then played pretend ice cream store. It was like entering into a world of ice cream! It was also very full of fun! Just how we like it. 😉  I hope some of these ice cream party ideas will inspire you.

With an ice cream themed birthday party to enjoy and all these sweet ice cream party ideas, life really is a party.

More Ice Cream Inspiration