How can a party be cool without ice?

I thought I had it all. A nice villa in the Hollywood Hills, a sports car, a tennis court and a huge backyard to throw big barbeque parties in. Actually, only the backyard part is true. We love to hang out there with the family and friends, to roast chicken, drink a few cups of cold drinks and just to have a good time.

The problem arose when my daughter decided to throw a party in our backyard. Everything went fine in the beginning. I designed an invitation card ( not because I'm a nice dad, but mostly due to the fact that I'm a graphic designer and wanted to enlarge my portfolio), bought some balloons, hats, ordered a nice unicorn shaped cake ( my daughter begged me for one), bought tons of soda for the kids and set up the open tent.

Around 2 PM the kids started flowing in, so far everything went according to plan. My wife and I were running around like crazy, filling every cup with Coke and whatnot. We made sure to put ice in their drinks, as it was burning hot out there and even with the tent up you could see their little sweating faces. Then something terrible happened: we ran out of ice.

We had a small freezer, which was not designed to serve dozens of kids all day with ice cubes. The kids were going crazy, they all started chanting together "We want ice! We want ice!". I went to the local gas station and got some ice, but it was too late. One of the little girls, Dorothy, was passed out when I got back and had to be taken to the hospital. Three things happened after that: some panicking parents, a lot of embarassment and a decision, that next time I throw a party, I will make sure to have enough ice for an army.

So I started browsing around on the Internet for a solution. I knew there are machines that were made for the sole purpose of producing and storing ice, but I have never before thought about buying one for my home. What I found was an arsenal of under counter ice machines all waiting for me to order them.Finally, I found the best undercounter ice maker review, which helped me in my decision. I picked one which produces nugget ice, because my kids love to eat the ice right away ( which kind of destroys the whole purpose of it, but whatever) and this one is chewable. It wasn't even as pricey as I'd thought it would be.

We had the machine for more than a year now and it is still up and running. We had no problems with it and I can safely say that I have found my fourth love after my kids, wife and car. If you are someone who regularly throws parties or would like to do it in the future, or perhaps you're just a really big fan of ice, I would suggest investing in one of these ice makers. They are usually quite compact for the amount of ice they are able to produce and store, so you don't have to worry about fitting one in your home. Stay cool!