fbpx
Spread the love

It’s become our summer tradition for the girls and I to host a charity lemonade stand to benefit The Confetti Foundation, which supplies birthday party kits to children who are spending their birthday in the hospital. We’ve got a process pretty well down, so today I’m sharing our best tips on how to plan a lemonade stand.

How to plan a lemonade stand by The Party Teacher

You can see our first snow cone stand here and last year’s retro bake sale here. Be sure to check out those posts for loads of tips on how to host a lemonade stand or snow cone stand or bake sale.

Pink Lemonade Stand by The Party Teacher-4

Last summer, I wanted to do a more traditional lemonade stand, with pinks and yellows. Of course, Love the Day had the perfect printables. Lindi customized them for us, so we had:
• Lemonade stand banner
• Price tags
• Thank you tag
• A sign, reminding people the stand was for charity
• Giant lemon slices – great for waving in customers!
• Snow cone juice labels

Pink Lemonade Stand by The Party Teacher - 6

I’m a working mom, so I’m always about planning and doing as much as I can in advance, whenever I can squeeze it in. (If you want my secret party planning sauce, be sure to sign up for my free Party Planning Cheat Sheets.)

Here’s how I planned this lemonade stand.

Four weeks in advance

  • Pick your theme – once you’ve narrowed this down, everything is easier.
  • Choose and buy printables – this also will give you your party colors. If you want things personalized, you’ll need to know your food items and pricing at this stage.
  • We charged $0.50 for lemonade, $0.50 for lollipops, $1 for 3 cookies, $1 for snow cones, $1 for lemon squares, and $2 for cupcakes.
  • Brainstorm décor ideas – try this on your own before turning to Pinterest, and be sure to get ideas from your kids.
Pink Lemonade Stand by The Party Teacher - 8

Three weeks in advance

  • Send your printables to an Office Depot-type store for better quality than you can get from printing at home. With a coupon, I can usually get what I need printed for about $25.
  • Decide on your lemonade stand structure. I used a four-foot folding table and tea cart on the side. The girls and I skulked around Lowe’s until we found white-primed porch posts and finials. We also picked up lightweight planters and pea gravel. On the morning of the lemonade stand, it was easy to secure the posts in the planters with the pea gravel and then tie our banners to the posts. (You can’t lean on the posts, but they are secure enough if left alone.)
Pink lemonade stand by The Party Teacher - snow cone station

Two weeks in advance

  • Plan your “bake sale” items, if you want to offer more than lemonade. Make sure to include some items you can make up to a week before the sale. (Find the recipe for Jolly Rancher lollipops here.)
  • Grocery shop – I definitely recommend adding some hard candy to the mix. It’s popular with the kids and holds up in the sun.
  • Trim your printables and string your banners.
Pink lemonade stand by The Party Teacher

One week in advance

  • Make any décor. I made lemon slice banners and giant lemon fans using Love the Day printables.
  • I make party buntings for my shop, so I always have fabric scraps, and from those I crafted a pink lemonade bunting.
  • Make a table runner out of a few yards of fabric. Just iron the fabric and hot glue pom-pom trim to cover the raw edge.
  • I didn’t want to put my breakable serving pieces outside around sugared-up kids, so I picked up some plastic trays and candy dishes from Party City. (White is always your best bet: you can use white from party to party.)
Pink lemonade stand by The Party Teacher - Jolly Rancher Lollipops

The day before

  • Bake any remaining treats, like cookies or lemon bars.
  • Pick up any store-made treats, like cupcakes or cookies.
  • Hand-deliver invitations to friends and neighbors. Knocking on doors Girl Scouts-style and personally asking them to attend worked super-well for us!
Pink Lemonade Stand by The Party Teacher - 17
Pink Lemonade Stand by The Party Teacher - 3

The morning of the lemonade stand

  • To avoid summer afternoon rain, we held our lemonade stand from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The girls and I started setting up at 7 a.m. and we were ready right on time.
  • Of course, set out food and drinks at the last minute.
  • To fend off flies, have pop-up food nets or wax paper ready to put over your food.
Pink Lemonade Stand by The Party Teacher - 26

This year, our neighbors were crazy generous and we raised $296. The Party Teacher will match that, so we’ll be donating $592 to The Confetti Foundation this year. That’s 23 birthday kits (they cost $25 each) for kids spending their birthdays in the hospital. I couldn’t be more proud of my little sellers!

Pink lemonade stand for charity by The Party Teacher
You Can Do It! Signature
Party Course Blog Ad 3-13-24- Horseback
Party Plan Club Blog Ad 3-13-24- Disco
Dessert Course Blog Ad 3-13-24- Boho Picnic

Vendor Credits


Spread the love
TPT 14 Party Planning Cheat Sheets 11-23-1

Party planning should be fun— not stressful!

Don't miss my FREE party planning cheat sheets.

These are the exact 14 worksheets I use to plan all my parties!

Have fun planning your party (and stop worrying about what you're forgetting).

Plus, you'll get all the latest parties, tutorials, and discounts from The Party Teacher.

You have successfully subscribed! Thanks for joining the party!

TPT 14 Party Planning Cheat Sheets 11-23-1

Don't miss my FREE Party Planning Cheat Sheets!

Don't miss my FREE party planning cheat sheets.

These are the exact 14 worksheets I use to plan all my parties!

Have fun planning your party (and stop worrying about what you're forgetting).

Plus, you'll get all the latest parties, tutorials, and discounts from The Party Teacher.

You have successfully subscribed! Thanks for joining the party!