Age group(s) for this recipe:
Preschool and Younger
Elementary School
Middle School
High School & Beyond

Estimated time:
Time to locate an "ice shaver" gadget

Time to freeze cups o' ice (do ahead; store in Ziploc bags), unless you splurge on the high-end model that can use regular ice cubes

Very Little time to crank out the shaved ice! (Bigger kids can manage to do this; little ones will need some help)

Number of servings:
Lots n' lots!

Ingredients: (Hit your return key to start a new line)
Hawaiice machine; frozen cups o' ice, flavored syrups or fruit juices (reg. or concentrate).

Directions:
The cup of ice plops into the top of the unit, where it fits into a li'l groove, and as you crank the handle, it "shaves" the ice as fine as snow (much softer than "sno-cones" I chomped on as a child, and the syrup soaks in, vs. settling to the bottom). One source recommended using styrofoam cups for serving; we like to use clear plastic 8 or 9 oz. cups, which can certainly be washed in soapy water and re-used.

Other suggestions and comments:
Some units come with an introductory packet of syrup mix. It's not that hard to make from a mix plus water and sugar, and put into a sports bottle thang for pouring, but the pre-made stuff is surely convenient. Fruit juice or Punch concentrate, lemon or lime ade concentrate, lots of grocery store stuff can be utilized for flavorings. On the 'Net, I found the ice shaver gadgets at 2 places; there are likely more: http://www.pure-earth.com/ice.html http://www.fernsnutrition.com/hmiceshav.html The Pure Earth people say that filtered water makes a better product; they are in the filter-selling biz, but they are right! We use Brita filtered water; it's crystal clear and the shaved ice tastes like pure summer delight. I also used up a few gallons of bottled water I had bought for the Y2K crisis that wasn't... ;-) My "SnoMotion" kids' model came from Target a couple of years ago, and I saw one in a Linens n' Things store advertisement this week. Cherry was the flavor of mix included in that one; that and the blueberry were highly popular with my son's kindergarten. We had 2 machines goin', and cranked out 20-plus servings in almost no time at all (it's the prep and transport time that can add up, if you take it On the Road). My kids don't care for the Orange flavor; I think if they cut it with ginger ale, or stirred the stuff, they'd find it more to their liking. My favorite is the Blue one! You get Lots of mileage out of the syrup, and each li'l cup of ice will make 2 large cups full, or 3 smaller ones, depending how you pack it in your serving cup. Also an awesome gift for any Birthday child, and a party activity, too.