Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Koolaid! Get your Koolaid!

I am a country girl. Raised on a wheat, sod, and tree farm. Speed limit 50 mph on the road in front of my house. You DON'T have lemonade stands on 50 mph roads. I don't think I ever sold lemonade as a kid. Plus there were no neighbors really to sale to. So in my mind, lemonade sales don't work, are a flop, and you just shouldn't do them. My born-and-raised-in-a-neighborhood-kids disagree.

They beg EVERY summer to have a lemonade stand. And the answer from me is always "no". I just can't stand the thought of them getting their hearts broken when no one buys their lemonade.

Today the begging was so incessant that I finally said "yes", and silently thought to myself, "Fine, go learn you lesson." I told them to go get their chairs and things set up and then I would come and make a pitcher of Koolaid for them.

Before I even had time to come downstairs, they came running in the house yelling, "Hurry Mom! We've got three customers waiting!" HUH?? Customers? Good night, I guess someone learned a lesson and it wasn't my kids.




Really it was so adorable. Three grown teenage kids stopped and dug through their pockets for quarters. Several other little neighborhood kids stopped in. A couple from church drove by and stopped. Carter drummed up his own business by telling the next door neighbors to come buy (we had to have a little etiquette talk about that one). The lawn mowers across the street even bought a few glasses.

All in all, they made $5.25 in about an hour. They were on cloud nine. And I was pleasantly pleased with their success.

12 comments:

Tonya said...

Too fun...I am very proud of them!

but.... I am hurt that you don't remember the lemonade stand you and I did. I called many of my friends and had neighbors stop by.

You thought you were quite the sales women, having no idea I had called them to come.

becky ward said...

that is so awesome! that is almost minimum wage ya know! (;

Gina said...

We live in the BEST place for lemonade- or Otter Pops in the throes of summer- and my kids hit gold if the daycare kids happen to be walking to or from the school playground.

Lula! said...

I love it...I love that they did this, and successfully. It's such a rite of passage for childhood...

...that my girls will never experience, as the only people who'd purchase lemonade from them would be the inhabitants of the cemetery at the edge of our land.

And they're dead.

So we can't sell lemonade.
Sigh...

Wendy said...

Awww. So cute. So glad they had a good experience! :-)

Tamie said...

pretty fun....glad that it wasn't a flop for your kids :)

Lee Ann said...

You're just getting more mommy brownie points every day :-)

I try to never pass up a lemon aid stand! I definitely would have bought some from your cute kids.

LouandAngela said...

You know, my mind is going. . .I think the Koolaid stand is a better idea than what my kids are always wanting to do--garage sales! Maybe next time they bug me for that one, I'll give in and let them do a drink stand. Hmmm. . .I guess there are benefits to the neighborhood living for the kids--I know, there are lots, I'm just sick of it! :)

Keys to the Magic Travel said...

We live in the back of the neighborhood...tucked away on a culdesac side street...so a lemonade stand is so not in our future. But...the kids at the front of the neighborhood...seem to actually do big business. They even pull a wagon full by the pool every day.

Trish said...

My kids used to do Lemonade stands on our street!

One time they made $37! That was the day it was 95 degrees out and there was consturction going on at the end of our road....all the truck drivers stopped on each of their rounds in and out!

Next time encourage your kids to pick a charity to donate their earnings to. We have held lemonade stands to raise money for the Walk to Cure Diabetes, in honor of one of Ben's good friends who has juvenile diabetes. The kids feel so good about contributing to a good cause!

Deidra Smith said...

It must be your neighborhood, 'cuz I would have had the same attitude as you and I even lived in town when I was Halle's age. That 's good that the neighborhood supported them.

Jennifer P. said...

very cute! I let Zane and Ethan do it when they were 5 and 7 and they made close to $20....mostly from my mom buying every cookie and paying a dollar per glass of lemonade!

I'm glad your kids got the experience. They'll love you forever for letting them do it :)!