KIDS SUMMER LEMONADE STAND

I needed to purge my house of a lot of clutter, so I thought about having a Garage Sale. In planning for it, I wanted to include my kids in the process and help them have their own money-making experience; so I thought they could run a Lemonade Stand to go along with our sale.
I'm excited to offer them little entrepreneurship opportunities so that they grow up with a healthy money mindset, and hopefully feel empowered with the process. In this post I'm sharing how we made our Lemonade Stand, how the boys were included, and what they were able to learn!

Getting The Boys Into It

So to keep the boys involved with the entire process, I had them go through their toys and books to see what they could contribute to the Garage Sale. It was a good experience to examine what they had, and select what they no longer wanted (nod to Marie Kondo). I was happy to see them let go of some items.  I explained to them that the money we made from the Garage Sale would be theirs to spend on fun throughout the Summer.

We planned out the Lemonade Stand, looked at designs online and I chose which I thought would work best for us. But with keeping it an open learning discussion. I'd ask the boys what they thought we would need for a good lemonade stand. This helped them get their wheels turning on what we would need to sell lemonade and cookies for our stand.

We talked about ingredients, supplies, cookie flavors, and how much we thought it should cost for what we sold. I loved hearing the boys' though process and we decided to sell:
Chocolate Chip and Shortbread Cookies at  (my mom later added oatmeal raisin)
$1 for a cup of cold lemonade and one cookie.

Building a Lemonade Stand

This was the simplest design I could find and to make your own, you'll need:

- 4 wooden crates (which you can find a craft or hardware store)
- sandpaper
- 2 wooden dowels or square rods (found at local hardware store)
- Screws and drill
- Heavy Duty adhesive or Heavy Duty tape
- Paint
- Signage (I got mine from Etsy)
- We added a top to the stand so the boys would have more space, this is optional. We used a piece of wood we had around the house. You could get something custom cut at hardware store. We drilled it onto the top of the crates.

Step 1) We sanded the crates with sandpaper
Step 2) We drilled the 4 crates together with two facing out for display and two facing in for storing money, cups, etc.
Step 3) We did a coat of white spray paint then added this blue semi-gloss paint over the crate and posts
Step 4) Once the paint was dry we attached the posts with heavy duty tape (if we used screws it would have broke the rods)
Step 5) I purchased the banner off Etsy and printed, cut, and put it together to hang across the posts

​Easy Peasy!

Garage Sale & Lemonade Stand Day

The morning of the Garage Sale, I had the boys help to make the lemonade. We did not do it all from scratch. But I did have the boys cut slices of lemons, squeeze fresh lemons into the batch, and add water. The boys also helped in the cookie baking process the day before.
They were instructed how to scoop ice into the cup, then fill it with lemonade with the from the cooler. And myself or their dad (who came to help) would help with the cookies (so that that the kids didn't get their bare hands on them).

Getting People There

I made 3 signs to put up around our neighborhood that said "GARAGE SALE & Lemonade Stand". I also made a quick flyer on Canva and texted it to our family and friends, inviting them to come support the boys' lemonade stand & check out our Garage Sale. Additionally, I posted the flyer to social media.

We had a GREAT turnout! Lots of Garage Sale shoppers came through bright and early in the morning, most of them buying lemonade and cookies as well. Loads of friends stopped by throughout the day to show love to the boys; and neighbors came over to support as well.

The boys were excited to make cups of lemonade for "customers", take money, and make change. Although they didn't stay out for the entire day, they did get to see all the money we made from our Garage Sale & Lemonade Stand.

The boys got to learn some math, building skills, worth ethic, and enjoy the fruits of their labor. Such a fun experience, I believe we just started a new tradition!

Let me know if you and your kids would love to DIY a Lemonade Stand too!!

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