Kids Fund Raiser - Need Lemonade Stand Help

[TupperMom7]

Okay people - with your wealth of knowledge , I know you all have the best ideas, so please help my son and daughter (twins age 9) have the best lemonade stand this summer.

What are some good things to have on a lemonade stand, besides lemonade? Should they make a huge jug of lemonade and serve it in paper cups? Should they buy drinks in individual containers like those little jugs of juice or juice boxes? They had the idea of making popcorn and selling it in baggies I thought that was a good idea, but I'm hoping for more ideas.

Also, what should the prices be?

 

[TupperMom7]

bump

 

[tinkgirl2007]

You could also sell things like cookies and other baked goods. As for pricing just figure out how much everything costs then put on a decent mark up. HTH

 

[DVCLiz]

Best tip - they should have plenty of customers like me!!!!! I always pay $5.00 for a cup of warm, sour lemonade - if I have a $5.00 bill in my wallet. Otherwise, I'll pay at least $2.00 - enough so the kids realize they are getting A LOT of extra money from me!!! It's one of my favorite things in the world to do - listen to them as they realize how much it is and see if they ask me if I want any change (They almost always do!!! Bless their hearts.)

The lemonade is always pretty gross so I wait until I get home to pour it out, but I will stop for any lemonade stand and wildly overpay - I just love to do it.

The little girl down the street always used to have a lemonade stand - then once when I stopped she and her friend were selling sticks - yep, just sticks out of their yard. She asked me - deadly serious - if I wanted a "gun" or a "spear" - I bought the "spear" for $2.00, she said, "Thank you." - still not batting an eyelash or cracking a smile - and I went on my merry way, laughing my head off and properly armed.

I still have my "spear" - a two inch piece of a tree branch - and I still bring it up to her dad, who is our orthodontist!!!

 

[CastleCreations]

That is so funny...I wouldn't have been able to do it...I would have died laughing...

 

[Chris]

Best tip - they should have plenty of customers like me!!!!! I always pay $5.00 for a cup of warm, sour lemonade - if I have a $5.00 bill in my wallet. Otherwise, I'll pay at least $2.00 - enough so the kids realize they are getting A LOT of extra money from me!!! It's one of my favorite things in the world to do - listen to them as they realize how much it is and see if they ask me if I want any change (They almost always do!!! Bless their hearts.)

The lemonade is always pretty gross so I wait until I get home to pour it out, but I will stop for any lemonade stand and wildly overpay - I just love to do it.

The little girl down the street always used to have a lemonade stand - then once when I stopped she and her friend were selling sticks - yep, just sticks out of their yard. She asked me - deadly serious - if I wanted a "gun" or a "spear" - I bought the "spear" for $2.00, she said, "Thank you." - still not batting an eyelash or cracking a smile - and I went on my merry way, laughing my head off and properly armed.

I still have my "spear" - a two inch piece of a tree branch - and I still bring it up to her dad, who is our orthodontist!!!

Awesome story! I can imagine how excited the children are to get 2 or 5 dollars for a cup of lemonade!

OP` are they doing this at a yard sale or a stand at your house??

 

[merekc]

I personally like it when someone is selling fruit snacks or some other inexpensive packaged item. I can buy it and toss it in the car for sometime when I need it.

 

[TupperMom7]

Best tip - they should have plenty of customers like me!!!!! I always pay $5.00 for a cup of warm, sour lemonade - if I have a $5.00 bill in my wallet. Otherwise, I'll pay at least $2.00 - enough so the kids realize they are getting A LOT of extra money from me!!! It's one of my favorite things in the world to do - listen to them as they realize how much it is and see if they ask me if I want any change (They almost always do!!! Bless their hearts.)

The lemonade is always pretty gross so I wait until I get home to pour it out, but I will stop for any lemonade stand and wildly overpay - I just love to do it.

The little girl down the street always used to have a lemonade stand - then once when I stopped she and her friend were selling sticks - yep, just sticks out of their yard. She asked me - deadly serious - if I wanted a "gun" or a "spear" - I bought the "spear" for $2.00, she said, "Thank you." - still not batting an eyelash or cracking a smile - and I went on my merry way, laughing my head off and properly armed.

I still have my "spear" - a two inch piece of a tree branch - and I still bring it up to her dad, who is our orthodontist!!!

Your reply to me brought back memories. My friend and I went around our road collecting large rocks and then went door to door selling them for free. I guess I hadn't gotten the knack of the sales profession yet - no money, lol. We did find one nice neighbor who wanted all of our rocks for her flower garden. She gave us lemonade and cookies whenever we brought her rocks - sort of a payment I guess.

 

[MomofCKJ]

My kids have lots of stands during the late spring/summer. They donate all their proceeds to our local animal shelter, their idea, and therefore people do tend to pay more than the .25 they are asking. It is very sweet!

BUT their biggest "draw" is my girls (who are 10 and 8) have my son (who is 5) dress up in various Halloween costumes. The boy is going to help a character at Disney someday I think. He will be out there in a cow costume or a lion costume or sometimes in a surfer get up with snorkel mask and all and he is such a ham he attracts many people to stop. It cracks me up!

Allyson

 

[krkruger]

My kids did the same thing from our yard and had a blast.

 

[ltl engine]

I am not sure the details but you may want to check out the website for WLIT in Chicago. They mentioned something about giving kids free lemonade stands..again not sure the details since we live on a street no one would see the stand so I wasn't really paying attention too much...also other radio staions probably have something similar. Good Luck

 

[timmac]

Best tip - they should have plenty of customers like me!!!!! I always pay $5.00 for a cup of warm, sour lemonade - if I have a $5.00 bill in my wallet. Otherwise, I'll pay at least $2.00 - enough so the kids realize they are getting A LOT of extra money from me!!! It's one of my favorite things in the world to do - listen to them as they realize how much it is and see if they ask me if I want any change (They almost always do!!! Bless their hearts.)

The lemonade is always pretty gross so I wait until I get home to pour it out, but I will stop for any lemonade stand and wildly overpay - I just love to do it.

The little girl down the street always used to have a lemonade stand - then once when I stopped she and her friend were selling sticks - yep, just sticks out of their yard. She asked me - deadly serious - if I wanted a "gun" or a "spear" - I bought the "spear" for $2.00, she said, "Thank you." - still not batting an eyelash or cracking a smile - and I went on my merry way, laughing my head off and properly armed.

I still have my "spear" - a two inch piece of a tree branch - and I still bring it up to her dad, who is our orthodontist!!!

You should swing by my house sometime... I'll make sure in addition to lemonade my children also offer some great insurance, timeshare units, and just about anything else you might "want" to buy

 

[audrey2580]

Check out sunkist website http://www.sunkist.com/takeastand/success/

Also don't forget to click the link for a FREE lemonade stand http://www.sunkist.com/takeastand/request.asp

Proceeds should go to a local charity

 

[bellebuzzandpooh]

My kids ran a lemonade stand last summer and loved it. They're already begging to do it again this year.

We did a mixture of homemade fresh squeezed lemonade with koolaid. That way it still had a homemade taste, but the koolade stretched it further.

If they sell goodies, make sure it's something that won't melt. So don't do chocolate chip cookies. Brownies and rice krispy treats were a huge hit here.

I also made about a dozen trays of lemonade ice cubes and ever so often, I'd go out and dump some into their lemonade to keep it cold, but not water it down like regular ice cubes would.

There was also an anonymous call to the local newspaper reporting the adorable kids out running their lemonade stant and the paper came out and did a story on them. That was super exciting for them!

 

[Steven41782]

Our next door neighbor had a lemonade stand and the little girl put out one of those lacy dainty umbrellas. That drew in a crowd. We live in a big subdivision, so there is alot of traffic in and out around 4-6pm. She set the stand up on the curb and it was a "drive thru". We grossly overpaid for our lemonade and oreo. It was worth it though.


PS have them tack on a 25 cent fuel surcharge. That would be a riot.

 

[java]

I'll be the bah humbug of the group. We have the same 3 girls(ages 10-14) set one up all summer long- First year they did it I bought the warm lemonade and tipped them - thought it was cute. The next time - a day later again bought a drink for the kids this time as I wasn't drinking it again. Well when it was up again the next day I drove on by.
I will support all the charity ones- but just kids looking to make some cash- bah humbug- I'll do the first one but that's it for me.

 

[HeatherC]

For past lemonade stands...in busy spots, we' ve actually sold ice pops...like the big box at Walmart. We've also bought the big box of candy bars from BJ's and resold them. Kids made a lot of money doing this and had a great time.

 

[grlpwrd]

My first business experience was selling Bubble Yum stickers on the playground in the 2nd grade and then I started delivering newspapers. I also participated in Junior Achievement. Since then I never miss the opportunity to support entrepreneurship. I have owned many businesses and now I am a WAHM who plans to open up shop next year. I am also a Girl Scout leader and Cookie Mom.

I support all those small businesses that might encourage a young person, especially a girl, to make it their career. Women-owned businesses are growing in leaps and bounds. A lemonade stand is a good experience.

I'll be the bah humbug of the group. We have the same 3 girls(ages 10-14) set one up all summer long- First year they did it I bought the warm lemonade and tipped them - thought it was cute. The next time - a day later again bought a drink for the kids this time as I wasn't drinking it again. Well when it was up again the next day I drove on by.
I will support all the charity ones- but just kids looking to make some cash- bah humbug- I'll do the first one but that's it for me.

Wow.

Of course, I encourage supervision. Children should be well supervised for safety and to follow good business protocol.

 

[dward1961]

When my kids (21 and 24) were young they painted rocks and sold them one summer !