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The Treats: If you're sweet on ice cream, here's a chance to let your inner kid get creative. We had tubs of vanilla ice cream, plus sprinkles, strawberries, walnuts, hot fudge, butterscotch, whipped cream, and, of course, maraschino cherries. Everyone built her own sundae, with only a brief pause before demolition began.

The Raves: "Ice cream, sprinkles and whipped cream—what could be more festive?" asked art director Suzanne Noli, scraping the bottom of the dish with her spoon.

The How-tos: Load up on the fixings, heat up the fudge, and invite guests to dig in. (Forget having dinner first—this is the main event.) Or, you can get a sundae party package (choice of three sizes) from BedfordFarmsIceCream.com.

The Variation: A cookie party could be as much fun as the sundaes, and cozier if it's cold where you are. You and your guests will mix up basic dough, then decorate like crazy and bake.