The lemonade stand

On Sunday afternoon, Claire and Ren had their first lemonade stand.

Thanks to our wonderful neighbours and nearby church goers, the kids sold out very fast, making their first foray into the world of sales a great one!

Claire and Ren had been asking all winter about having a lemonade stand so I was surprised to see how shy they were when it came to the actual selling.

They were bursting with excitement as customers approached but then completely clammed up when they arrived at the stand. Paul and I (taking turns) had to feed them their lines in the beginning until they eventually got the hang of it all.

Occasionally there was a lull with no customers in sight. Claire and Ren then became their own best (non-paying) customers.

To get attention from cars driving by, the kids broke out a few dance moves:

And if the kids happened to be away from their stations when a potential customer approached, they flew into position in a hurry.

Four neighbour girls who are a little older than our two came over and stayed quite a while. Claire and Ren soaked up their attention big time and when the lemonade finally ran out, I think Claire and Ren were glad because it meant their work was over and play with the other kids could officially begin! When I asked Claire later what her favourite part of the experience was, she said it was playing with the older girls afterwards. As for Ren, Paul likes to tease him about wanting to have a kissing booth instead of a lemonade stand next time.

I've been told that our lemonade stand was over the top ... and maybe it was. But with good reason! See, my kids love a project. And I have to admit, I do too. After Claire's birthday, we needed a new "event" to prepare for. Claire always wants to do crafts and I much prefer to utilize a theme, in preparation for an event, instead of just having random crafts around to add to our clutter. Just around that time, Claire began asking again about having a lemonade stand. Ta da, our next project - a lemonade stand - was conceived!

The first task was the most tedious for the kids but in a way, it was a great one because it took a long time (several hours over various rainy days!). Using felt, they hand-sewed little lemon wedges which later became an embellishment for our tablecloth.

Ren was a surprisingly good little sewer (his fine motor skills have grown greatly in this past year!) but he didn't have a lot of patience for this slow-going craft. Claire was able to stick it out a little longer than Ren usually but I did have to do my fair share of sewing too.

The "tablecloth" itself is really just a lace window valance that we inherited when we bought the house. I really tried to use stuff we already had around the house. I did have to buy the felt but we had everything else (old scrapbooking papers, ribbons, bling, etc.)

We used an old international coffee tin for a money holder and an old IKEA frame I had painted in this green years ago (a lucky coincidence, since it matched the green in Claire's skirt perfectly!). That's Claire's cute handwriting on all signage.

 Claire made the banner and the pinwheels a few days in advance.

Our original plan was to use a regular pitcher for the lemonade. However, after several practice sessions in the backyard with water, it became clear it would be too challenging! I had been eyeing up a drink dispenser anyway, so I decided now was as good as time as any to finally make that purchase.

And that's it! Thanks to the kids' planning and hard work, they now have a little lemonade stand kit they can bring out whenever there is good weather and nothing else to do!

Over the top? Maybe. But I am happy to have worked alongside my little ones for their big summer plans.  :)