Ice Cream Day

How many gallons of ice cream do you think the Reese clan has consumed through the years? I think that is one for Dad to calculate and ask next July 6th. 


For non-Reese's who came upon this blog and have no idea what Ice Cream Day is...I will try my best to fill you in. Ice Cream Day is really not about the ice cream, more than it is about the family being together. It all started in 1969 when Bill and Meta were enjoying some ice cream with their kids one night. Someone (I have heard many different people claim to be that someone) noticed that they happened to all be on the couch together eating ice cream. Bill then proceeded to say that it was because it was Ice Cream Day, the 6th of July. The holiday stuck, and the Reese family has made it to the couch, ice cream in hand, every July 6th since. Here are some Ice cream day rules:

1. You must be legally in the Reese family to be in the photo. You are more than welcome to come to have some ice cream, but you cannot be in the photo. 
2. Dad has to use his old film camera. He takes a ton of shots, since he can't tell if they turned out until the film gets developed. We laugh and laugh watching him set the timer and run to make it in the picture in time. That is why he is usually kneeling with the kids on the ground. (I was happy to see he got to be in 'his' chair this year)
3. If you aren't on the couch, you have to touch someone that is on the couch. This used to be taken more seriously than it is now due to the fact that pretty much everyone is touching because there is so many of us.
4. Don't complain about your cone. We do it fast and organized on Ice Cream Day. Mom pre-makes the cones for easy hand off to ensure that everyone has a cone for the photo. This is unavoidable. I, however, would like to see more post photo ice cream fun in the future. 
5. Dad must make an Ice Cream Day speech. It is a combination of educating the grandkids on the history of the holiday, trying to stump the older kids with intricate trivia questions, and talking about the family. Vacations and family dreams have been unveiled during these speeches. They are (in my opinion) the best part of Ice Cream Day.
6. If you cannot be present on Ice Cream day you must eat ice cream wherever you are and take a picture. Reese's have been all over the world on various July 6's. I believe Carlton was in Russia one year, Amy was in Canada this year. I am sure there are more....
7. If you cannot be present on Ice Cream Day the Reese's will 'bag you' by drawing your face on a paper grocery bag and sticking you in with the rest of the family for the photo. This year the family got all fancy by printing photos of some of the missing members. This is not a new tradition- just the result of running out of paper bags. 

Props to Amy and the Lombard crew with their creative reversal of this process while on the carnival circuit in Canada. 

I am sure there are some more regular happenings with Ice Cream Day that I left out-- help me with more Reese's!

I would love to have a photo album of all the past Ice Cream Day photos in sequence. Do any of you have some oldies out there and could post them? 

Question for Reese family to reply:

What is your favorite Ice Cream Day memory?