Today, I’m sharing a really cool retirement party my friends and I hosted – an ice cream truck party! We had so much fun celebrating one of my teacher friends as she brought her long career in education to an end. Opting for an ice cream truck for party theme was a perfect idea because she loves ice cream! And…let’s not forget…ice cream trucks are just so darn cute! They are a party in themselves!

Read on and see how renting an ice cream truck for a party simplifies things so much! You can rent an ice cream truck for a birthday party, a retirement party, a wedding shower, a baby shower, graduation parties, etc.

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We had a small committee of people helping to plan my friend’s retirement party. We all agreed to chip in equally to split the cost of the party. Additionally, there were several other people who offered to help with the cost. Our friend was the school party planner for years and years so we had a lot of pressure to pull off the perfect party for her!

Why Renting an Ice Cream Truck for a Party Makes Sense

For one thing, ice cream truck rental for party planning takes the stress out of the food prep. For our friend’s retirement party, we were dealing with a potentially warm day of May in Arkansas. Our friend loves ice cream so serving ice cream was one of the first ideas our group came up with.

We looked into some of the chain restaurants to see what they could offer. Mostly what we were told is we could pick up big containers of their soft serve ice creams, but then we would have the responsibility of keeping the ice cream cold. And, of course, we would have the responsibility of purchasing bowls, spoons, cones, and serving the ice cream ourselves. Then, there would be the clean up of all of those things involved.

One of the committee members came up with the idea to hire an ice cream truck for party simplicity. At first, that seemed like a crazy expensive idea. (Read on below for more on that.) The pros were that with the truck, all we had to do for the party was set up our decorations and ensure we had a good trash can for disposal of trash.

And because the set up of the ice cream truck party was so simple, the format of the party was simple as well. For parties such as retirement parties, graduation parties, etc., the person of honor often flutters around mingling with the guests – talking all the “what’s next in life” talk. An ice cream truck party works well to accommodate this style of party. A person can walk around with their cone or their cup of ice cream while mingling at the same time. And the party can be held drop-in style.

Since the party committee consisted of exhausted school teachers during the month of May, we were all in agreement on keeping things simple! Renting an ice cream truck for a party eliminates the hassle of assigning food items, planning out food portions, considering how you will store the hot or cold food ahead of the party, etc.

How Much is a Retirement or Birthday Party Ice Cream Truck?

The cost of an ice cream truck for party purposes will vary depending on the needs, the region, and the company. We were quoted a few different prices. Eventually, we went with Loblolly Creamery Ice Cream Truck out of Little Rock. We were quoted $3 a scoop with a minimum of $200 buy in for coming to the party venue. We reserved a spot with the gourmet ice cream truck for two hours.

In the end, 90 scoops were scooped. We owed $270 which we split among the 10 people helping with the ice cream truck party rental. That came to only $27 each which I thought was a great deal for having a gourmet ice cream truck party!

Other Details of Our Retirement Ice Cream Truck Party

Retirement Party Time

In our experiences, the best time for any type of school-related party is immediately after school. Most school staff want to pop in, visit a bit, and then head home. So we set up a drop-in party time of 4:00 – 6:00 in the afternoon.

Ice Cream Truck Party Location

We easily could have hosted the event at the school. However, there was a bit of concern that many of the friends and family who are not connected to the school system would be hesitant to come, maybe feeling it was more of a “staff only” type of event (which is sometimes the case with school retirement parties).

It was eventually decided to hold the party outside at a local church – the guest of honor’s church – which is just up the street from both schools the guest of honor had worked during her teaching time. The church has a beautiful outdoor prayer garden which had recently been spruced up, and that is where we decided to set up. (The charge for churches is sometimes reduced or comped for church members. But even if you have to pay, the fees are often reasonable.) This location seemed more “even territory” for all guests.

Ice Cream Truck Party Invitation

We sent an online invitation around the schools in our district that my friend had worked in during her years. We also printed some out and gave to her family and close friends to send around to friends and family outside of the school district. On the invitation, we made sure to mention we were having an outdoor ice cream truck party to let people know this was more of a unique retirement party.

Ice Cream Truck Party Food and Drink

We decided to only provide the ice cream and not set up other foods. When we said we wanted to keep it simple, we meant it! We did set up large coolers of bottled water for guests.

For the ice cream flavors, our guests had a choice of milk chocolate, double vanilla, strawberry buttermilk, salted caramel, Rocktown bourbon pecan, strawberry sorbet, and cherry limeade sorbet.

Retirement Party Decorations

Since the ice cream truck party was being held outdoors, we kept decorations super minimal. The greenery around the prayer gardens was pretty enough so there was no need to try to compete. We did set up two tables – one that we kept mostly bare aside from a tablecloth and a bucket with a pen and stationary for well-wishes. This table was also the gift table.

The other table was a decorated table with a boho scheme of macrame table runner, plants in neutral pots, and a letter board with the guest of honor’s favorite quote – “Bloom where you are planted.”

The over-the-table rod is one of my favorite purchases of the last year! In fact, I think this party was the first time I ever used it. The wind was not on our side with our cheese cloth gauze table scarf. (I bought this bright blue one from Hobby Lobby. It is the color blue of our school district). It kept flying all around in the breeze and didn’t turn out like I originally styled it. But you just can’t win against the wind!

We decided to forego chairs and tables since this was a drop-in party and people would likely mingle anyway. You know how a bunch of teachers are when they get together! There were benches built in around the prayer gardens for those who couldn’t stand long or who did wish to sit.

Plus, it was also a logistical issue because we would have had to drag chairs out of the church quite a ways to the set up area. Of course, you could set out chairs and tables if you wished to do so at your own ice cream truck birthday party or retirement party.

From home, I brought my vintage peacock chair which we dressed up with a touch of greenery for a photo spot. By the chair, we placed another letter board that said “Queen of the Five Year Plan,” which is an inside joke among the guest of honor and her friends.

A big downpour came down an hour before the party and lasted until we started setting up. Concerned my vintage wicker chair would be water damaged, I folded up a plastic trash bag and shoved it under the chair to protect it from the pools of water on the ground.

And that is it, folks! It was such a simple yet beautiful party! It did rain lightly off-and-on throughout the event, but that didn’t seem to deter many people. We did have the option to move the party to a nearby covered gazebo, but we stayed put. A few coworkers gave incredible speeches honoring our friend. The overall vibe of the party was modern and cheerful, but also touching and special.

I highly recommend renting an ice cream truck for party time, and I will do it again! The party hosts can actually mingle and enjoy the party instead of worrying about serving and cleaning up.

Our friend was happy with the way everything turned out and had the best time at her party!

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