TikTok is a great place to find everything from fitness challenges to fun, creative content.
But it can also be a treasure trove of useful tips and tricks, and we’ve found one kitchen hack that’s perfect for the festive season ahead: making homemade glitter ice cubes!
With 3.9 million views and counting, this simple yet effective trend has quickly gained popularity and is sure to be a feature across many of our home bars this Christmas. To help you get ready for party season, bespoke gift hamper company Bottled & Boxed explain how to hop on this trend and add some extra sparkle to your favourite cocktails.
How to make the perfect glitter ice cubes
To make your festive ice cubes, start by taking a standard-size ice cube tray and adding around a quarter teaspoon of edible glitter to each section. You’ll want to choose a fine, small-grain edible glitter to make your drinks sparkle as smoothly and elegantly as possible. When it comes to colours, you can’t go wrong with classic festive shades like gold, silver, or red — however, you may also want to match the colour palette of your Christmas table and consider what shade of glitter will complement the drinks you plan to serve.
Once your ice cube tray has been sprinkled with glitter, fill each well up with boiling water, leaving a little space at the top for the glitter to settle. Using boiling water helps to make your ice cubes freeze more clearly, reducing the cloudy white appearance of homemade ice. To make bar-standard ice cubes, you may even want to use distilled water and boil it twice: this will help your ice look crystal clear and allow the glitter to have even more impact. Freeze these for a few hours and ensure you have plenty of ice cubes on hand to serve your guests.
As they melt, your drink will begin to sparkle from the swirls of glitter. This looks especially impressive when you give your cocktail a stir, meaning these sparkling ice cubes are a one-way ticket to picture-perfect drinks!
How to use regular glitter
If you only have regular, non-edible glitter at home, never fear — you can still get stuck into the glitter ice cube trend! A great way to maximise the glitter you do have in the house (without ingesting anything unsafe) is to use your homemade ice cubes in a wine bucket. You can do this by simply adding a sprinkle of glitter into each well of your ice cube tray and filling them with water. As with the edible ice cubes above, you’ll want to use boiling water to avoid white, frosted ice. And, since you’re using them as decoration, you may want to choose a larger size of glitter from your local arts and crafts shop, so they can be seen and enjoyed as much as possible before they melt!
Obviously, you’ll need to use a clear ice bucket to see the full effect of your DIY glitter cubes. However, if you don’t have one to hand, you can always use a large glass or plastic bowl instead. Simply fill your bowl with the ice cubes before your guests arrive, and you’ll have a beautiful, festive place to display your bottles of wine, prosecco, or Champagne. This can even act as a centrepiece and bring some glitz and glamour to your drinks table, so your guests are sure to love it.
“If you want to add something special to your Christmas cocktails this year, why not take inspiration from the glamour of party season? As this trend grows in popularity on social media apps like TikTok, we can see that making ice cubes with edible glitter is an excellent way to bring some extra sparkle to your home bar.
“Whether you’re toasting the New Year or adding some beauty to your Buck’s Fizz, this simple yet effective trick can elevate your drinks in one easy step. Just remember to use safe, edible glitter, and experiment with boiling or even distilled water to make clear, less cloudy ice cubes for maximum impact.”
– Steve King, Managing Director at Bottled & Boxed
