I scream, you scream, we all scream for vintage ice cream!

The weather simmered down a minuscule amount today, but scarcely enough to warrant mentioning. As such, my thoughts have turned to the topic of all manner of ways to help beat the heat if you’d don’t have AC (or improve the situation further even if you do!). From daydreaming about Alpine ski resorts to imaging a picturesque Christmas morning, snow falling as gracefully as fluttering angels, my mind has been on chilly, refreshing ideas this week.

One of the tastiest and most time honoured methods to help you – if only for a few minutes – cool off a bit, is to cozy up with a frozen treat. While prior to the widespread availability of ice, and more recently refrigerators and freezers, frozen desserts where generally only consumed by the fabulously well-to-do (or perhaps those who lived in chilly climates, too), for several decades now nearly everyone has had quick access to frozen desserts.

Just as the availability of such treats has become immensely widespread, so too has the number of ice cream and frozen snacks options sky-rocketed. From a virtually endless array of ice cream flavours (including some that most of us would rather pass up, such as the 101 flavours on this list) to frozen novelty treats on sticks, sherbets to ices, gelatos to dairy-free “ice cream” options for anyone who opts (or needs) to milk products (tons of lovely options exist in the dairy-free and vegan ice cream category, such as recipes and store bought brands made from soy, coconut or almond milk). So many incredible frozen treats exist in fact that we’re almost spoiled for choice by them! (Note, I said "almost"! :D)

Based on the comments Monday’s post about the surface-of-the-sun hot temps generated from readers who are similarly melting, I thought we could all imagine that we're getting together at the local malt shop, gathering in someone’s kitchen or around the backyard swimming pool. From there we’ll partake of some respite from the sizzling temperatures by looking at a scrumptious slew of vintage ice cream images – while lapping away at a cone, bar or treat on a stick of our own!




{Getting stranded on a dessert island with a heaping bowl of coconut fudge ice cream does sounds infinitely more fun than just having a volley ball to pal around with, don’t you think? :D}



{A pair of immensely cute youngsters take a break from painting their white picket fence to enjoy an ice cold Popsicle in the lovely, colourful early 60s ad.}



{Anyone else think this strawberry ice cream loving child could pass for Beaver Cleaver’s cousin? On a different note, I love the rather clever idea of keeping a dish or container of ice cream cold in a bucket of ice – so logical!}



{Peanut butter + chocolate + ice cream = super-duper yummy! These sound fantastic, like a frozen Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.}



{The idea of individual little cubes of ice cream is really quite adorable, I’m surprised they didn’t stick around – yet what I especially like about this 1949 advert is how deeply stylish and beautiful the lady tumbling the ice cream out into the little glass dish is.}



{I just had to post this vintage magazine page, it has a recipe for maple nut, my mom’s favourite flavour of ice cream (and one of mine, too!) – though I’m not sure either one of us has ever had a version such as this, which calls for rennet and corn syrup.}



{Surely I can’t be the only who’s a little intrigued by the idea of creating ice cream with three everyday pantry items: Kool-Aid, sugar and evaporated milk.}



{Blizzards are undeniably fantastic, but I must admit, it’s always been Dairy Queen’s sundaes and ice cream cakes that make me go weak in the knees.}



{I swear I was just thinking of little cups of ice cream like this a couple of weeks ago, and here today I chanced upon this Dixie ad for them. While I can’t recall for certain whether they were Dixie brand or not, individual servings of ice cream like this always make me think of the annual Sports Day at my elementary school because mid-way through the day the teachers always gave each of the students a little ice cream in a clear plastic cup with a flat wooden spoon.}



{Cherry nugget ice cream? Yes please! I think this flavour sounds absolutely delicious, perpetual candied cherry fan that I am ;D}



{This 1958 ad for Big Dip low calorie ice cream looks appealing...perhaps a little too appealing, just how low cal was it? :D}



{This deeply charming ice shop photo is wonderful, yet I can’t help feeling sorry for the poor chap, as it seems the young lady is more into her float than her beau!}



{Adorable mascots and a mouth-wateringly delicious soft serve ice cream and soda hybrid, what more could one ask for from a frozen treat?}



{Ice cream is generally fantastic all on its own, but who doesn’t love adding toping such as these Kraft sauces that were available circa 1959?}



{Frozen custard and chocolate ice cream, I can see why the gal spinning the records looks so excited!}



{Whether homemade or store bought, I have such a fondness for ice cream sandwiches. It’s so neat to know their design hasn’t changed much at all in the past fifty or more years.}



{A delectable assortment of ice cream flavours and tasty desserts to whet your appetite, from a vintage RCW freezer advert.}



{Anything – especially no-bake freezer desserts – that conjures up thoughts of snowmen is A-Ok with me when the mercury starts staring 100° in the face!.}



{During weeks as hot as this one had been, it really does seem like you need a larger-than-life sized 7-Up float to dive head (or perhaps more aptly "mouth") first into!}



{And what summer trip down memory lane would be complete without an image of children gathered round the ice cream man’s truck? Fascinating I found part of this exact same illustration used in another ice cream ad – certainly not an occurrence you chance upon every day in the vintage world!}

{All images above are from Flickr. To learn more about a specific image, please click on it to be taken to its respective Flickr page.}


Few amongst us aren’t keen on a frozen treat of one kind or another. While I don’t eat sweets all that often, if I am going to indulge in an frozen goodie, I especially love sundaes, Creamsicles, soft serve, sorbets, and Italian gelatos. Thinking back to my childhood I was crazy for raspberry, tiger tail, cotton candy, rocky road, and black cherry ice cream as well as my mom’s homemade popsicles. What are your all-time favourite frozen desserts, the ones that make you scream with delight just thinking about them?