Homemade or Store Bought?

When I was a kid, my sister and I enjoyed many a Popsicle in the backyard on hot summer days in sunny CA. My favorite was the Big Stick. Anyone remember those? As a child I remember peeling off the wrapper and it seemed that marbled yellow, orange and red icy treat was almost as tall as I was!

Now that I'm a parent I see the same simple pleasure in my children's eyes when they sit on our deck and enjoy their frosty goodness in whatever Popsicles we have.

At one point I thought I'd be creative and thrifty and try to make my own Popsicles. What a disaster. They would never turn out nicely. The sticks would come out but not the treat. The kids would take them outside and the plastic sticks would disappear. The molds were cheap and would crack or warp. On and on the saga goes...

Today I came across this little number during my web surfing.

photo courtesy of William Sonoma site

Isn't it beautiful! I watched the 6 minute demo video and it seems so brilliant. It works like an ice cream maker with a frozen core that makes your Popsicles in minutes...literally! At least that's what the video says. So let's do a pros and cons list shall we?

Pros:

• looks cool
• homemade treats, you know exactly what's in your Popsicles
• makes them 'fresh' in minutes

Cons:

• only makes 3 at a time
• $49.95 price tag
• delayed frozen goodness gratification

So, if you were to choose a homemade Popsicle making experience would it be this

photo courtesy of Toy Report


or something like the Zoku? Maybe you prefer buying them by the box like I do. Maybe you go for the bag o' 24 twin pops that can be split in two and shared among friends and neighbors. How's that for thrifty?! What's your Popsicle fancy? Do tell!