How To Safely Handle Dry Ice For Your Halloween Party Spread

Halloween parties kick off autumn and winter holiday seasons with frightful fun and spine-tingling mischief. Adding to the spooky aura of home and commercial fun zones is the simulated presence of fog in table centerpieces, punch bowls, smoky cauldrons, and faux backyard graveyards. Then there's the simulated smoke arising from Halloween cocktails, which takes things to another level. At stake is potential health risks and dangers associated with the smoky imitator itself: dry ice. 

Nobody wants to jinx a party, particularly one with a penchant for magic, real or imagined. But dry ice is no joke, unless it's properly handled. Fortunately, a few safety practices and a bit of diligence should do the trick. For starters, be aware that dry ice is nothing like wet ice. Rather than frozen water, dry ice is instead carbon dioxide gas in frozen form. Instead of melting, it transforms into a gas, potentially causing suffocation, cold burns, frostbite, loss of consciousness, and even death.  

When dry ice is part of your party plan, pick it up as close as possible to the event time and keep it in a well-ventilated area, preferably outdoors. Closed coolers, jars, and other closed contrainers are no-go zones for dry ice, since trapped gases can become explosive. Some experts even advise against storing in home refrigerators. Avoid directly handling or touching dry ice without insulated gloves, and wear safety goggles and face masks if cutting into the block. Ideally, order the exact size you need from the supplier.

Dry ice makes magical cocktails, but they carry their own precautionary tales. Specifically, avoid making faux-smoke individual Halloween cocktails from large commercial blocks or chunks of the substance. Use only small cubes of food-safe dry ice, which is designed to be void of unsafe chemicals or contaminants. As long as they're designated as food-safe, larger chunks are generally okay in well-ventilated spaces for multi-serving applications, such as in smoldering Halloween punch bowls. Again, never touch or break down large pieces without full skin and face protection.  

There's no worse party pooper than having to call for medical help, so keep the fun going with all of the recommended dry-ice safety precautions. That includes keeping vehicle windows open at all times when transporting the substance from the supplier to the Halloween party location. Once the reveling begins, watch out for signs of carbon dioxide exposure, which can start out with headaches and progress to difficulty breathing, nausea, and vomiting. In that case, immediately get all party goers into ventilated areas, and call for emergency medical assistance.

Dry ice melts — or rather sublimates — fairly quickly at room temperature. Once your ghosts and goblins (aka friends and family) begin dispersing, get that ice outdoors as quickly as possible. That means no toilet flushing, garbage can ditching, and definitely no leaving dry ice in the sink to freeze your pipes. Just let it drift silently into the open night, like a dissipating deadly whisper.