Family Happenings, Product Spotlight
My Favorite Lemonade Stands
Aug
The best part of Summer is watching kids set up their lemonade stands all over town. How can you not smile back at those hopeful faces?! I think I see at least one or two stands every time I leave the house. When I see them, I remember the man in an expensive truck who once stopped at my kids’ stand to give them a $20 bill and praise their hard work. Their eyes just about popped out of their heads. They were BEAMING. It still makes me smile when I think of it.
So I try to pay it forward and stop whenever I have cash.
I’ll always be grateful to that guy because these little interactions are such a treat:
I picked up these paper flowers from a cute little girl who made them herself. A dollar each seemed like a fair price to ask for her work. They’ve brightened my windowsill in a lemonade cup from Hot Dog on a Stick since May.
And I HAD to circle back to another stand this week because the three little boys running it reminded me so much of my own. Just one was there when I arrived. When asked what he was selling, he silently held up his sign, “Lemonade $1.” I guess even lemonade stands aren’t immune to inflation. So I handed him my dollar and he handed me half a dixie cup of Country Time. Then he promptly rang it up on a plastic cash register and deposited my money in the drawer. It was ADORABLE!
I’ve learned that a mom down the street makes AMAZING chocolate chip cookies. I asked for three and the cute little salesman grinned from ear to ear. He carefully wrapped each in a napkin and thanked me for stopping by. They were still warm! In retrospect I wished I’d bought a dozen. He was out there again the other day but I was penniless after buying the Country Time.
One brave little girl sat under an umbrella in the pouring rain selling her handmade bracelets. I paid her a little extra for her perseverance.
Another had handmade potholders like I remember making when I was little. It was a trip to hold one in my hands again.
But easily my favorite, that I will always regret not stopping at: Three little girls had set up a bake sale in front of our small town cemetery. One was waving a sign, one was working the booth, and the third was dressed like a ghost and waving at passing cars. MARKETING GENIUS!!!
Honorable mention goes to the neighbor kids, years ago, who set up a booth using scrap wood from our side yard when we were finishing our first basement. My husband and I came home from work that day to a curb-side bar lined with soda and bottles of beer. Their sign read, “Soda: $.50 or Beer: $2. Ask for a bottle opener.” I’m 90% sure their parents didn’t know they were out there. It wasn’t up for long.
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I made an effort to capture a bit of Summer nostalgia with this design. It’s an ideal indoor activity to get out of the heat — or a fun addition to your lemonade stand 🙂
Share a smile wherever you can 🙂
