6 Delicious Deals and Freebies for National Ice Cream Day

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National Ice Cream Day arrives this Sunday, July 16. That means free cool treats at several of your favorite ice cream outlets, including:

  1. Baskin-Robbins: Get a free sample of Polar Pizza from noon to 5 p.m. Friday at participating locations. Additionally, if you download the chain’s mobile app, you will receive exclusive offers, including some deals for Sunday.
  2. Carvel Ice Cream: Get a free soft-serve cup or cone with the purchase of one cup or cone all day Sunday at participating locations.
  3. Krystal: Sundaes are 99 cents Sunday, July 16, through Sunday, July 23, at participating locations. You can choose from three flavors: chocolate, strawberry and Oreo cookie pieces.
  4. McDonald’s: If you download the chain’s mobile app, you will receive an offer for a free vanilla soft-serve cone, which you can redeem all day Sunday at participating locations.
  5. PetSmart PetsHotel: Get a free doggie ice cream sundae for your dog on Sunday at any PetSmart PetsHotel location, meaning a PetSmart store with a PetsHotel boarding facility. There are more than 200 PetSmart PetsHotel facilities. You can search for them using PetSmart’s store locator.
  6. Whole Foods Market: Get two pints of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream or frozen yogurt for $6. For more Whole Foods shopping tips, check out “10 Secret Ways to Save at Whole Foods.”

Call ahead to confirm your local stores are participating in these promotions.

Several other ice cream shops will give you a discount or freebie if you join their email list or download their app, regardless of whether it’s National Ice Cream Month. So check the websites of your favorite ice cream shops.

For example, Dairy Queen will give you a buy-one-get-one-free Blizzard offer if you join its fan club.

National Ice Cream Day isn’t just another made-up food holiday. It’s official — presidential, even.

Along with National Ice Cream Month, it was established by congressional resolution and presidential proclamation in July 1984. The proclamation, made by then-president Ronald Reagan, begins:

“Ice cream is a nutritious and wholesome food, enjoyed by over ninety percent of the people in the United States. It enjoys a reputation as the perfect dessert and snack food.”

Reagan concluded the proclamation by “call[ing] upon the people of the United States to observe these events with appropriate ceremonies and activities.”

So consider it your patriotic duty to take advantage of the ice cream deals and freebies.

Several other ice cream shops will give you a discount or freebie if you join their email list or download their app, regardless of whether it’s National Ice Cream Month. So check the websites of your favorite ice cream shops.

For example, Dairy Queen will give you a buy-one-get-one-free Blizzard offer if you join its fan club.

For more ways to enjoy ice cream for less, check out “5 Delicious Ways to Save on Ice Cream.”

Do you plan to observe National Ice Cream Day or National Ice Cream Month? Let us know how in a comment below or on our Facebook page.

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