One thing on our summer bucket list this year was for Capri to have a lemonade stand, so last week we finally got it done - just in time before she starts school. She had never done a lemonade stand before and I thought this would be a perfect summer to do it since she is 3 years old. We had her cute friend Luke over for the day and it was a really fun thing for them to do together. They helped me mix up some fresh lemonade and then we put the stand together and I had some lemon poppyseed cookies for them to sell as well. It was pretty funny to see them sitting out there yelling "Fresh Lemonade!" to anyone that passed them by and then when a car would stop they got so excited and didn't quite know what to do when they walked up. It was a good opportunity for them to practice their customer service skills by serving up drinks and saying "thank you, have a great day!" before they walked away. When we got to add up their change in their jar at the end of the day, they were so excited! And each of them went home with a few more dollars to add to their piggy banks. It took me back to my childhood when we would have lemonade stands all the time on the corner of our street and then they turned into mini garage sells where we would try to make money from all of our old toys so we could go get slurpees at 7-Eleven. I love sharing these memories with Capri and I hope she will remember these fun days and first experiences of trying new things.

- GET A SMALL TABLE AND CHAIRS [you want to have a table and chairs for the kids to sit on that will be their own size and height and make the experience work for them. And you don't want too big of a table with lots of extra space.]

-MAKE A SIGN WITH YOUR GOODS AND THE PRICE [you can use a poster board or banner or any type of sign to market your sale - just make sure it's big enough for people to see and that they can read it. I used a chalk pen on our chalkboard and it's so much easier than regular chalk, I would highly recommend picking some up!]

-USE A CUTE CONTAINER FOR YOUR DRINKS [it never hurts to make your table more appealing with some cute drink dispensers and decorative napkins or straws. the cuteness will draw more customers in;]

-OFFER MORE THAN JUST LEMONADE [it's always a good idea to have some candy or baked goods to offer with your lemonade because who can resist some tasty treats from cute kids?? and they'll probably be snacking on them while they sell so it gives them a treat]

-HAVE THE KIDS HELP WITH EVERYTHING [let the kids make the food and stir up the lemonade so they can see the work it takes to put it all together and then they will be so excited when they make some money doing something they worked hard at. it was really cute to see capri greet the customers and then I told her she needed to pour them a glass of lemonade and she was so eager to help]

-MAKE SOME NEW FRIENDS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD [little kids are the best ice breaker for adults because they aren't afraid to talk to anyone and having our lemonade stand brought out some neighbors on our street that I haven't had the chance to meet yet and it was so great to make some new friends]