Unique Gift for the Person Who Has Everything

Fun Ice Cube Trays/Molds Make Entertaining Gift

Feb 1, 2009

For the person who has everything, give a unique ice cube tray to fit their personality or interest.

Some people seem to have everything, making it incredibly challenging to find gifts for their birthday, Christmas, anniversary, or Valentine’s Day. Based on their personality or interest, buy them a fun ice cube tray/mold they can use for themselves and to entertain guests.

History of the Ice Cube Tray

Making ice domestically was first invented in 1844 by John Gorrie who built a refrigerator to make ice to cool his yellow fever patients. It wasn’t until 1928 that the first rubber ice cube tray was invented.

Lloyd Groff Copeman was walking through the woods one day when he noticed how the ice flaked off his rubber boots instead of sticking to them. He conducted experiments using rubber cubs and eventually patented the designs for different types of trays, including one made completely of rubber.

Ice Cube Trays Today

Typical ice cubes, from a cube tray or the ice maker in the freezer, are still the primary form of ice these days, but creativity and ice cubes have finally met. Thanks to rubber and silicon, the possibilities of ice cube shapes are endless, from shark fins to penguins. Many silicon molds used for baking can also be used as ice cube molds.

To be released March 27, 2009, this fun tray will be available for those in the UK and Europe. It may take longer for the product to hit the American market without having to pay international shipping charges.

The Shark Fin Ice Cube Tray is engineered like an iceberg so the fin always stays upright in your glass, just visible above the beverage line, while the rest of the ice cube remains submerged.

Rare and Unique Ice Cube Molds

From Wesco Limited in the UK, this product was supposed to be released in July 2008, but it can’t be found for sale online. The production description from UK’s Amazon describes the Han Solo Frozen in Carbonite Ice Cube Tray with R2-D2 Ice Bucket:

“This is a great gift for Star Wars fans of any age. The cool ice bucket has R2D2 sound effects, and comes with handy tongs. The ice tray is an homage to Han Solo being frozen in carbonite and will make a talking point of any beverage.”

Lego has a Lego Ice Brick Tray being sold directly from their website. This bright yellow silicon tray makes 10 ice bricks at a time and is dishwasher safe. Also available from Lego is a mold for Lego Minifigures, which makes 3 minifigure popsicles at a time.

For the gun lover, the AK Bullet Ice Cube Tray will make sure your dinks are a big hit. Simply fill up one side of the tray with water, put both sides together and freeze. Because water expands when it freezes, once the two molds are in place, the ice fills both sides, creating a 3D shape.

From Dima Komissarov, a member of the Russian design studio Mystake, comes a Tetris shaped ice cube tray. Unfortunately, the neon colored trays are not available for retro refreshment in the United States just yet, and there is no word as to when they will become available.

For the child who wants to be or the adult who wanted to be a Paleontologist when they grew up, Fossil-Iced Dinosaurs Ice Trays from Perpetual Kid make the perfect gifts. The set of bone trays comes with one Triceratops and one Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Easier to Find

These ice cube trays/molds are easier to find – in department stores or from Amazon, all ranging from $2 - $7. One can be found to match just about anyone’s personality or interests.

For the Animal-Lover: penguins, dolphins, ducks, reindeer, seals, big penguin, butterflies, and dogs.

For a Romantic Gift perfect for Valentine’s day or Anniversaries: hearts, love lips, poker hearts, princess star wands, diamonds and gems, hugs and kisses (x’s and o’s), stars, and flowers.

For the person with a great Sense of Humor: pirate and skull shaped, denture shaped, cool shooters (molds to make shot glasses of ice), Titanic and iceberg, Family Guy Stewie, Simpsons Homer heads, Poker Suits, and Ice Kabobs.

For the Music-Lover: jazz guitar (with stir stick as neck of guitar), Rolling Stone Heads, and Beatle’s Yellow Submarines (perfect for lemonade).

Other occasions and personalities: practical ice tubes for water bottles, beach/tropical themes, numbers, and alphabet.

These fun and unique ice cube trays/molds make perfect gifts for many occasions: birthday, Christmas, Anniversary, Valentine’s Day, House Warming, Wedding, etc. If you have an ice cube dispenser in your fridge/freezer, fill it with these unusual ice cubes to surprise guests. Ice cube trays/molds may not be the first thing that pops into mind when you’re searching for gifts, but start having fun with ice and spread the icy entertainment.

Cabadas, J. (2006). DAC member remains forgotten Michigan inventor. DAC News July-August 2006.

The copyright of the article Unique Gift for the Person Who Has Everything in Party Food is owned by Angela Wilson. Permission to republish Unique Gift for the Person Who Has Everything in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.