Give Your Holiday Ice a Glow-Up

In our November/December 2024 issue, we share recs for tools and accessories that will help you take your holiday party’s ice situation beyond the sad cooler in the corner. For some extra tips and tricks, we tapped The Ice Book author Camper English to find out how he makes festive cubes, where to find ice molds, and how to glow-up your ice display.

Stockpile Ice

No need to settle for store-bought ice. In the days before your party, you can stock up on the good (and free) ice at home. Simply empty those ice trays into a sealable container and store it in the freezer, which English recommends doing regardless. “I personally don’t store my ice in the silicone trays I have in my freezer because the silicone can absorb odors formed from the freezer or the refrigerator,” he says. 

Freeze Edible Decorations

Although all sorts of objects can be frozen in ice for an eye-catching detail, it’s best to stick to those that are edible. “You don’t have to worry as much about drunk people swallowing plastic objects,” says English. Instead, for the holidays, he suggests freezing cranberries and rosemary sprigs for cheery cubes. Or for something a bit more elaborate, craft snow globes encasing rosemary sprigs and shredded coconut in ice to emulate a snowy pine forest. “You can find pictures on Pinterest and other places of people making little Christmas dioramas in the glass with an upside-down rosemary sprig,” he offers.

Create Colorful Ice Marbles 

Nowadays there are plenty of ice trays that go beyond the cube, such as this one for mini ice balls. English uses them to freeze cranberry juice to create ruby red marbles, which he then drops into a Champagne flute with sparkling wine for a pretty cranberry Mimosa. “I’ve made tons of ice with cranberry juice because it freezes better than most juices,” he says. “It’s bright red in color and it doesn’t throw off the balance of sour cocktails because it’s a little bit sweet and sour.” For a picture-perfect Mimosa, frozen orange juice marbles added to Champagne is “a fun point of differentiation between a glass of Champagne and a glass of Champagne with flavored ice floating in it,” says English.

Use Flavored Ice

Like cranberry juice and orange juice, coconut water can be frozen into cubes as a time-release ingredient. By adding it to a rum cocktail, the cube will slowly release soft tropical flavors as it melts, like in this scotch and rum cocktail from New Orleans’ Cane & Table. Meanwhile, coffee ice cubes dropped into a Negroni, such as this riff, will give the sipper some depth.

Look to Your Recycling Bin

In our Nov/Dec issue we recommend using a Bundt cake pan to create a multi-faceted ice ring for your punch bowl. But for a simple DIY version, English suggests looking through your recycling for plastic, deformable options like margarine tubs and cream cheese containers. “I’m always rummaging through my recycling bin to find containers to freeze ice into whether for something big or to make ice that is just going to cool the outside of things,” he says.

Glow Up Your Ice Display

Add some ambience to your holiday ice station with strategically placed waterproof votive candles or tealights. “Put them at the bottom of your ice container, whether that’s a cooler or an ice bucket, and it will make all of the ice shine,” English suggests. And to prevent the ice bucket from turning into a bucket of cold water, he employs a salad spinner with its built-in drain. “You can just dump out the water that’s in the bottom every now and then, and it’ll keep your ice drier and make it last longer.”

Skip the Ice Luge and Shot Glasses

You might have experienced an ice luge at a bar where a drink is chilled by pouring it through a tube in an ice sculpture. Though it sounds like a great party trick, English cautions that “your kitchen floor’s gonna get sticky.” Same goes for ice shot glasses. “There’s probably a 50 to 75 percent success rate as they tend to leak all over the place.” Instead, an ice punch bowl makes for a tidier but equally extravagant ice presentation. In his book, English freezes ice in a 2-gallon beverage dispenser then uses hot water to hollow out a bowl.