This summer, my kids are finally old enough to get excited about running their own lemonade stand. We get lots of foot traffic in our neighborhood, so it’s a great place to set up shop. I helped them make an official lemonade stand to make them legit. All we needed for this set up is a refrigerator box and some paint! Make sure to click through for the instructions. PS – Three amazing lemonade flavors!

Materials: Giant Cardboard Box, Pencil, Ruler, X-Acto Knife , Butcher Paper , White Tape, Scissors, Red Paint, Paint Brush

Step 1: Design the structure of your lemonade stand, draw it onto the cardboard box, and then cut it out with an X-acto knife. We cut a window into the front of the box and doors into the side. We used the extra cardboard from the window to make a shelf that would hold the lemonade. We also cut off the top of the box in a diagonal so that a paper awning would sit on a slope.

Step 2: Cover the box in butcher paper. We attached it with white tape so the seams wouldn’t be as noticeable.

Step 3: Inside the box, brace the shelf that sits in the front window with extra strips of cardboard. We taped them diagonally and horizontally so they wouldn’t budge.

Step 4: To make the striped awning, first measure the sides of the box top. Draw these dimensions onto a piece of butcher paper, making sure to leave a few extra inches for the scalloped edge that will hang over the top of the box. Measure and draw the stripes so they’re all of equal length, then paint every other one with red paint.

Step 5: Add any other decorations (painted stripes, price sign, etc.)

Step 6: Bring outside to the sidewalk and start selling!

Photography by Paul Ferney for Oh Happy Day

Production by Alison Piepmeyer

Styling by Caitlin Barker

Crafting by Tais Horta