Cocktail Making for Children’s Parties

A Feature Blog by Sophie Field, Bookings Manager for Purple Fizz.

Reading time: 4 minutes.

I have often struggled to keep up and find exciting entertainment for my children’s parties. Be it leaving things too late or just generally struggling to find something age appropriate that hasn’t been done over and over, that will excite the kids and impress the parents! It’s safe to say that finding entertainment hasn’t been the most positive part of my party planning experiences…that was until mocktails came into my life!

The idea of cocktail making for a kid’s party actually came to me after a visit to a maths demo class at my son’s school. The children were using ratios to create smoothies and it was great. Educational, fun and delicious too!

We loved it, the kids loved it, all the parents loved it and so this got me thinking about special parties that were on the horizon in our family, and how this could help other parents struggling to come up with something fun to suit every age. Whether it’s a summer BBQ, a Christmas party or a child’s birthday, cocktail making will hit the spot at every occasion. People just love it and it ticks two boxes; refreshment and entertainment.

DO YOUR OWN COCKTAIL WORKSHOP

YOU WILL NEED

• A safe work space such as a sturdy table or a kitchen worktop.
• Some cocktail shakers and strainers.
• Glassware (bio-plastic or quality paper cups for the children).
• Shot glasses.
• Mixers and fruits for your chosen cocktails (we can help you here).
• A ‘mixologist’ or a capable host to conduct the workshop for you.

THE FORMAT

We’ve found that 80% fun to 20% educational is the perfect mix for a successful cocktail making experience. Most people just want to have fun; but, there is always an appreciation for a little ‘ooohh’ and ‘ahhhh’. Follow this format for a fun experience for the kids and parents too…

• Introduction to cocktail making with an overview of the cocktails you will be making. Ask some easy cocktail related questions that the kids can try to answer.
• Demonstrate the first cocktail and then let everybody have their turn.
• Demonstrate the second cocktail and again, let everybody have their turn.
• Usually for children, two is enough but for some added surprise, let the kids design their own cocktail with some paper and colouring pencils, they can then come up with and create their signature cocktail. If you’re an ‘anything goes’ kind of parent, let the kids loose on the ingredients to actually make their cocktail creation come to life.
• You can then crown the winner with a prize

THREE SIMPLE RECIPES

SUNNY JUICE	WATERMELON SMASH	SPIKEY BASIL
100ml Orange Juice 100ml Pineapple Juice 1 Lemon halved Cubed ice Mint head	200ml Watermelon Juice Dash Vanilla Syrup Juice of half a lime Cubed ice 3 slices Ginger Mint head	150ml Pineapple juice 50ml Grapefruit Juice 4 Basil Leaves Cubed ice
Pour the juice along with the juice of half a lemon into a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a hi ball glass over ice. Cut a couple of wedges of lemon and add with a mint head to garnish.	Pour the watermelon juice, vanilla, 2 pieces of ginger and lime juice into a shaker with ice. Shake and then strain into a hi ball glass over ice. Garnish with a slice of ginger and mint head.	Pour all ingredients but one basil leaf into a shaker. Add ice and shake. Strain into a hi ball glass over ice and garnish with a basil leaf.

 

Check out more ideas with our Alcohol Free Cocktails Menu.

DID YOU KNOW?

Drinking large volumes of fruity drinks will cause the acidity to harm your teeth. Eating something alkaline in between, such as cheese will help dilute the acidity! One more reason to bring out the cheese board.

Do you want to know more about cocktail making? Become a pro with our HOW TO guide and share your knowledge at your very own cocktail workshop.