I just tried Tower's affordable Slushie machine alternative, for £179

(Image credit: Tower)

Let's be honest, the drinks are as important as the food at Christmastime and properly come into their own when New Year's rolls around. And if you're a frozen margarita fan, there's one appliance above any other that can help you perfect your cocktail offering for guests: a Slushie machine, the most affordable of which is a brand new product from Tower (for £179 via Amazon).

Of course, the original Slushi machine was dreamed up by Ninja (and is newly available in an array of different pastel colours). But if you're looking for a cheaper option, Tower's version comes in a lot cheaper compared to the Ninja's RRP of £349.99.

Tower

Frozen Drink Slushie Maker

Pick from Slush, Cocktail, Frappe, Milkshake and Wine settings with this bargain frozen drinks machine.

It's a simple process to get this Slushie machine unboxed and up and working – the first real learning curve comes with getting the right sort of drink to input into it to get slushed up.

Low sugar or diet drinks should be skipped with this machine – there needs to be a certain sugar content to get things freezing correctly – but carbonated or non-carbonated drinks will both work wonderfully with this model.

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Testing the Tower Slushie machine at home — (Image credit: Future)

As with other Slushie machines I've tried, Tower's version is equipped with a thickness setting. That means you can change the consistency of your drink (once you've chosen whether you want a Slush, Cocktail, Frappe, Milkshake or Wine) to your liking. For something like a frosé (frozen rosé wine) you want more of a liquid base whereas something like a frappe is served icier.

This Tower machine works very quickly, so it's not something you need to prep hours in advance of hosting. Simply add your ingredients, leave to freeze for around 30 minutes and serve (or allow your guests to self serve) via the 'Easy Pour Tap'.

The frozen margaritas from this Slushie machine certainly went down a treat with the Ideal Home team and as far as a first try goes, this affordable option has our seal of approval ahead of the busiest hosting time of the year. You can find other options we've tried, tested and loved below if you want to shop around ahead of New Year's Eve.

Ninja

Slushi Frose Pink

If you want your Slushi machine to add a little more design flair to your kitchen, look no further than Ninja's array of pastel colour options for the Slushi.

Inoviva

Slush Machine

This is another Amazon alternative to the Ninja Slushi that has the Ideal Home seal of approval after trying it out in the summer.

Ninja Slushi

Ninja

Slushi

Keep things classic with the OG Slushi machine (which has seen some great discounts applied to it recently).

Would you make space for a Slushie machine in your kitchen?

Molly is Ideal Home’s Kitchen Appliances Editor, the Ideal Home Certified Expert on Appliances. An all-around cooking and baking enthusiast, she loves finding the next must-have product for readers that will their kitchen a better place. She joined the team in September 2022 after working on the editorial teams of Real Homes, Homes & Gardens and Livingetc.

For the last 4 years, she's been reviewing hundreds of small appliances; conducting tests at home or in the Ideal Home test kitchen. She would be hard-pressed to pick a Mastermind specialist subject but air fryers are her ultimate area of expertise, after testing just about every single one released since 2022.

To keep ahead of trends and new releases, Molly has visited the testing and development spaces of multiple kitchen brands including Ninja Kitchen and Le Creuset as well as attended consumer shows such as IFA, hosted in Berlin to see the cooking innovations of the future.