What do you use to serve shrimp cocktail for a party? Looking for a better solution than nesting bowls w ice . ..

Years ago, I received a classic Nambe platter as a gift - not cheap, but very useful - made of some kind of metal alloy that maintains temp for a long time - you can put it in the freezer before serving cold things, or conversely heat it. Works great for shrimp, anything involving raw fish, etc. (Also has beautiful 1950's design.)

I have a fish-shaped glass plate that I freeze until party time. Scatter shrimp over it and place a little bowl of cocktail sauce right on the plate with the shrimp.

Are your guests eating this dish while standing up, eating from a buffet table? Or after they're sitting down at the dinner table?

PS - the nesting bowls (small glass bowl sitting in a larger glass bowl with shaved ice) make for excellent martini glasses on a warm/hot day.

I assume by "party" you mean a cocktail party and not a sit down dinner.
I have used three different methods for a shrimp cocktail.
1 = mini martini glasses, bit a sauce on top of shredded lettuce with large shrimp on edge.
2 = shot glasses, same as above with just one or two shrimp.
3 = individual ceramic serving spoons (like mini Chinese soup spoons), same method, usually one shrimp.
All the above can be bought a places like Crate and Barrel for $$$, or at a dollar-store for $.

I don't know what you mean by better that nesting bowls with ice (or snow!). But, back in the 1950s, my mother's standard for a party was to freeze an ice ring with seashells in it. The sauce went in a container that just fit inside the ring, and the shrimp were strewn around the outside. People who knew my mother's routine positioned themselves near the shrimp.

My mother also had the nesting bowls, but I didn't end up with them. So, I use wide-mouthed wine glasses, put some sauce in the center, and hang the shrimp over the edge.