Highlights:
- A fun, hands-on way to teach your kids real money skills
- Boost your child’s confidence, independence, and problem-solving
- The step-by-step guide to a profitable lemonade stand!
Want a good activity to ease kids into the back-to-school season?
Have a lemonade stand!
It’s the perfect way to keep them entertained, and learn real-life money skills along the way.
The other weekend I helped my neighbors with their stand, and it gave me all the feels. My first lemonade stand is a core memory!
This is a great summer activity, and a perf way to help kiddos gain money (and math) skills in a fun way.
Here are 5 steps to planning a lucrative lemonade stand!
Step 1: Plan your stand
Weather
Sunny weekend afternoons are best, especially on warm days when people are looking for a refreshing drink.
Avoid windy days (napkins and signs tend to fly), and consider having a backup date just in case.
Hours
1–3 PM or 11–2 PM is often the sweet spot. Choose a 2-hour window so your kiddos don’t get too tired.
Location
Your driveway or front yard is easiest.
But if your street is quiet, you kiddos can always team up with a friend who lives on a busier street.
Or, see if they can set up at a family member’s home - Grandma and Grandpa are also great customers!
Partner up
If you know someone who is planning a garage sale, offer to set up a lemonade stand!
You both get more traffic, and people tend to mill around the garage sale while sipping lemonade and buying more goodies. Win!
Step 2: Choose your products
Start with the classic: lemonade.
Keep it simple by using a powdered mix or frozen concentrate.
Then, consider a few fun upsells to boost profits and help your kids practice more math:
🍿 Popcorn – Buy a bulk bag from Costco and portion it into small Zip-Lock bags
🥔 Chips – The mini variety packs from Costco are perfect
💧 Cans of Bubly or sparkling water – Great for grown-up
❄️ Freezies – Keep them cold in a cooler with ice packs
Set your prices
Make it easy on everyone by keeping prices simple, like $1 each.
Write out a menu so it’s easy for people to see, and for kids to calculate.
Step 3: Spread the word
Now that you know what you’re selling, it’s time to get the word out!
Here’s how to help your kids invite customers:
• Make bright posterboard signs and post them at the end of your street
• If you want, you can make flyers (Canva has cute templates!)
• Share in local Facebook groups or Nextdoor
• Post in your child’s class WhatsApp group
• Invite a few neighborhood friends or cousins to join in for extra fun!
Even if it's just a few customers, that still gives your child a chance to practice key money concepts.
What to include on your sign
Headline: Something eye-catching, like “Ice-cold lemonade!” or “Lemonade stand today!”
Products: List what you’re selling with prices
Address: Where people can find lemonade stand
Hours: So they know when they can get the goods
Direction: It’s helpful to add an arrow pointing where to go!
Step 4: Get your gear together
Most of this you probably have lying around the house, but you might need to add to your Costco list or do a dollar store run for things like cups.
Here’s what you’ll need:
• A table and chairs
• An umbrella or some sort of shade (especially important for younger kids)
• A cooler with ice for drinks and freezies
• Cups, napkins, and serving containers
• A cash box or fanny pack with small change (loonies, toonies, quarters)
• Hand sanitizer or wipes
If you want, you can decorate your stand - but it’s totally not necessary!
If you want to go all out, Pinterest has a ton of cutesy ideas.
Step 5: Run the stand!
Let your child take the lead where they can - greeting customers, handling money, and tracking sales.
Be there to guide or step in when needed (especially for little ones), but resist the urge to run the whole thing for them. Mistakes are part of the learning.
And of course, don’t forget to enjoy ‘testing the products’ by pouring yourself a glass of hard-earned lemonade!
Lemonade stand money skills
One of the best parts of running a lemonade stand is how many real-life money skills your child can practice, without it feeling like a lesson.
Whether they’re in preschool or middle school, they’ll walk away with a stronger foundation in how money works.
Here are some of the key money skills your child will pick up:
Counting money
Handling real coins and bills helps kids practice basic counting, recognize denominations, and get comfortable with physical money.
Making change
When someone pays with a toonie or a $5 bill, your child will learn how to figure out the right amount of change to give back.
Adding up totals
Selling more than just lemonade? Kids can practice adding multiple items together quickly (e.g., 1 lemonade + 1 bag of chips = ?).
Tracking sales
Use a simple tally sheet or notebook so they can track how many items they’ve sold - and compare it to how much money they made.
Understanding costs and profits
Show them how much was spent on supplies (cups, lemonade mix, popcorn, etc.) so they can subtract that from their total earnings and see their actual profit.
Counting their earnings
After the stand is over, talk about how much they want to save, spend, or give.
Money lessons really stick when kids get to make real choices with the money they earned themselves.
It helps them feel proud of their work and start building healthy money habits - like delayed gratification, generosity, and setting goals.
These small, hands-on experiences build skills and confidence with money that they’ll use throughout life!
Speaking of which,
It’s great for kids to see parents managing their money.
Passiv makes it easy to manage your family’s investments - including your children’s RESPs!
See all your accounts in one place, track your progress toward goals, and even automate your portfolio so you stay on track towards big goals - like your retirement or your kiddo’s education fund.
Start using Passiv and see how much easier it is to manage and grow your family’s wealth!
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