Every spring in college towns across the nation, a handful of female students on each campus, including UNC-Chapel Hill, temporarily put homework and studying on hold to focus on a different priority: cooler making.
This tradition, which seems especially popular at schools in the South, is a nice way to thank a date for taking you to his fraternity formal, mountain weekend or whatever event he may have invited you to. The least a girl can do in exchange for this kind of invitation is make her date a nice cooler and stock it with his favorite drinks, right?
However, making a cooler has been taken to a new level, especially because websites like The Cooler Connection have given girls and guys alike often unrealistic expectations of what the cooler is going to end up looking like.
Here are a few tips to ensure that making a cooler is the fun, rewarding process that it is supposed to be!
Preparation:
1. Try to borrow paints if you can. Paint is expensive, and having to spend money on it can ruin the idea of making the cooler before you even begin. If you are also filling the cooler with liquor, think about what your date would rather have: nice alcohol or nice paint.
2. Plan. Be realistic with your time and abilities. If you know that the week before formal will be really busy, start early, and if you know that you’re a bad artist, decorate in a way that will fit your talents. Going into the process without any idea of what you want the cooler to look like will be a pain, and planning helps you be more efficient. Also, make sure you know what your date likes. If your date hates rap and you put Kanye West lyrics on the front side of your cooler, he probably is not going to be too thrilled.
Painting:
1. Be patient. You will get frustrated, but the more upset you become, the harder the job will be.
2. Utilize websites like “The Cooler Connection,” but stay realistic. Expecting your replica of the Bud Light logo to be exactly like the real thing is not a good way to approach the project.
3. Work with friends. You will be able to bounce ideas off each other, and working with other people who are in the same situation will make the painting seem not only more fun, but much more doable.
4. Paint pens. Paint pens are a great alternative to paint when it comes to doing small details or writing things out.
5. Use some kind of sealant. The worst thing that could happen is if you spent hours on a cooler only for it to be ruined the first time it was used. If you are making this cooler for a beach trip, be especially careful, because sand can really damage the paint job. Be prepared for the paint to chip a little, but using a sealant will prevent a lot of avoidable harm to the cooler.
All in all, this is supposed to be a fun, relaxing weekend. Having a great cooler is exciting, but it should only be the icing on the cake. Remember that your date asked you for a reason, and his time is really not going to be affected because you messed up the Ralph Lauren logo on the side of his cooler.
So, put on your favorite playlist, bring out the supplies and get to work. You probably have a long process ahead of you, but enjoy it as much as you can! Since you are doing this as a “thank you,” remember what you are thankful for, and know that whatever event it is will be here before you know it.
Sources:
Fraternity cooler (photo): http://daniellebushrow.blogspot.com/2011/07/cooler-art-tfm.html
Bowtie cooler (photo): http://totalfratmove.com/402678