How To Set Up A Red White Blue Ice Cream Floats Bar For 4th Of July

Red, White & Blue Ice Cream Floats are just what you need to celebrate the 4th of July. There’s something for everyone, including children or adults. Check out these tasty combinations and more ideas for a 4th of July party. 

What could be more festive and refreshing for a red, white & blue party for 4th of July than ice cream floats? These tasty combinations are terrific for “cocktail” hour or for dessert. You can make them with or without alcohol too, so everyone’s happy. You’re going to want to add this to your list of summer entertaining ideas.

I set up this ice cream float station using traditional colors, and added pops of gold for a modern touch. The theme-colored food helps set the scene, and you could add these fun red, white & blue balloons to the table as well.

With just three flavors of frozen dessert {ice cream, sherbet, sorbet} and two types of soda {Schweppes Ginger Ale and Dr Pepper} you can make an endless array of flavored floats. Is it a drink? Is it a dessert? You be the judge!

How to Set Up a Red, White & Blue Ice Cream Floats Bar

I find that any time I can set up a “serve yourself” station for a party, it gives me more freedom to mingle with my guests. It doesn’t have to be over the top or have a dozen choices. In fact, the leaner the better in some cases.

For this ice cream float station I shopped the grocery store for RED raspberry sherbet and WHITE vanilla ice cream. I picked up a quart of BLUE sorbet from Baskin Robbins. That’s all you need for 4th of July themed ice cream floats.

For the soda portion of the floats I picked up Schweppes Ginger Ale because it’s clear and allows the colors of the ice cream to show through. It’s also my personal favorite soda because it’s less sweet than other types of soft drinks…and makes a great highball mixer! Schweppes allows the fruitiness of the sherbet and sorbet shine through while adding effervescence and that classic ginger flavor.

I couldn’t stop there though. I needed a more traditional soda to mix with the vanilla ice cream – I chose Dr Pepper for a bit of a twist. Dr Pepper is my children’s favorite soft drink and one of my childhood favorites as well! It’s got a unique flavor which I’ve always associated with bubble gum for some reason(?), but it makes for a fantastic ice cream float.

To make the floats, all you need to do is add two scoops of your frozen treat of choice, and then fill the glass with Schweppes or Dr Pepper. A little whipped cream on top is a must, and garnish with some fresh berries.

Ice Cream Float Combinations

• Raspberry Sherbet + Schweppes + whipped cream + fresh raspberry garnish
• Vanilla ice cream + Dr Pepper + whipped cream + fresh cherry garnish
• Daiquiri Ice flavor Sorbet + Schweppes + splash Coconut Rum + splash Blue Curacao + whipped cream + fresh blueberry garnish

I think you can guess which flavor was my favorite! The raspberry was a strong second, and my children loved the classic vanilla.

You can get super creative mixing flavors too. With a drink/dessert bar like this the options are endless. Here are some more ideas.

• Create an all-in-one combo with a scoop each of the red, white, & blue flavors, and top with the ginger ale.
• Add the ginger ale to vanilla ice cream and a splash of Blue Curacao.
• Or add a splash of rum to the raspberry & ginger ale combo. 

Check out all the drinks and flavors and let me know what you think in the comments below. Cheers!