Sunshine Sips & Sip Happy

How to Start Your Own Lemonade Stand in Georgia

Starting a lemonade stand in Georgia is easier than most families realize.  It's a fun, confidence‑building project for kids. When my girls launched Sunshine Sips & Sip Happy, we learned exactly what the law allows, what kids can sell, and how to set up a stand that’s both adorable and fully compliant with Georgia rules.

If your child is dreaming of running their own lemonade stand, here’s the simple, parent‑approved guide to getting started.

Know the Georgia Lemonade Stand Law

Georgia passed the Georgia Lemonade Stand Act, which makes it incredibly easy for kids to run small drink stands without permits or licenses.  Kids can legally operate a lemonade stand in Georgia as long as:

• They are under 18

• They operate on private property (your yard, driveway, or garage)

• They sell non‑hazardous drinks (lemonade, tea, sodas, flavored waters)

• They make less than $5,000 per year

That’s it. No business license. No inspections. No fees.

Choose the Perfect Spot

The law requires the stand to be on private property, which actually gives families a lot of flexibility.  Great locations include:

• Your driveway

• Your front yard

• Inside your open garage

• A friend or family member’s private property (with permission)

We run Sunshine Sips & Sip Happy from our driveway or garage depending on the weather. The garage is amazing for shade, safety, and keeping everything organized.  At Sunshine Sips & Sip Happy, the girls mix everything at the stand, not inside the house (another Georgia requirement).

Decide What Drinks to Sell

Georgia allows kids to sell non‑hazardous beverages, which means: lemonade, sweet tea, flavored teas, iced coffees, dirty sodas, powder‑based drinks, shelf‑stable syrups mixed with water or soda

Kids cannot sell: milk‑based drinks, smoothies, anything requiring refrigeration for safety, homemade perishable foods.

Create a Simple Menu

A kid‑friendly menu works best when it’s short, easy to read, colorful, and priced in whole dollars.

Example:

Classic Lemonade – $3

Strawberry Lemonade – $4

Dirty Soda – $4

Add a flavor shot – $1

Kids love helping choose names, colors, and flavor combos.

Set Up the Stand

Your stand doesn’t need to be fancy - just clean, cute, and functional.  Our girls love decorating with chalkboards, balloons, and their colorful logos.  Helpful items include:

• A small table or cart

• A tip jar

• A cooler with ice

• Cups, lids, and straws

• A trash bag

• Paper towels

• Hand sanitizer

• A simple cash box or mobile payment sign

• A big, bright sign customers can see from the road

Spread the Word

Georgia law allows kids to advertise their stand however they like, as long as they’re not implying they’ll be operating on public property.  Kid‑friendly advertising ideas include:

• Yard signs

• Flyers

• Neighborhood Facebook groups (posted by a parent)

• Nextdoor

• Texting friends and neighbors

• Cute social media posts

• Chalk art on the driveway

The girls have had the most success with a simple “OPEN NOW” sign at the end of the driveway.

Teach Kids the Business Basics

A lemonade stand is a perfect way to introduce: making change, customer service, pricing, tracking sales, setting goals, and saving & spending wisely.  Our girls love seeing how their hard work turns into real earnings and they take so much pride in running their own business.

Easy Tips to Keep Costs Low, Waste Minimal, & Preserve that Homemade Quality

• Don't buy premade teas, coffees, or lemonades.  Don't even buy that fake powdered stuff!  It's super simple and low-cost to make your own concentrates that can be added to individual cups or to a gallon of water.  Keep in mind that once you make your drinks, it must be used within the same day.  HOWEVER, we've got some tricks you can use so that your products can be reused the next day (see more tips below).

• Make a tea or coffee flavored simple syrup using real tea bags or coffee grounds.  Our tea flavored simple syrup recipe calls for 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, and 6 tea bags steeped for 15 minutes.  Our coffee flavored simple syrup recipe calls for 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, and 3 oz of VERY strong brewed coffee (ratio of 6 Tbsp coffee grounds : 12 oz hot water, steeped for 4-5 minutes).  You can add 2-4 Tbsp of these syrups to a cup of ice with 12 oz of water.  Using tea/coffee flavored simple syrups to flavor your water instead of brewing concentrates means you can reuse your syrups for 1-2 weeks as long as you keep them refrigerated.

• Speaking of simple syrups,  our standard recipe is 1 cup water + 1 cup sugar, heat until all sugar is dissolved, and allow to cool before putting into a squirt bottle.  Condiment squirt bottles are 2 for $1.25 at Dollar Tree and they are perfect for our syrups.  You can even flavor your simple syrups by using 1 tsp of flavored extracts, 1 Tbsp of Kool-Aid powder, or 1-2 herbal tea bags.  We add 2-4 Tbsp of simple syrup flavorings to our drinks.  Keep your simple syrups refrigerated and you can reuse them for 1-2 weeks. 

• While kid's lemonade stands aren't legally allowed to use fresh fruits, they CAN use freeze dried fruit that has been blended into a powder.  They can also use store bought lemon juice.  We like the Italia brand (not from concentrate).  You can add just 1 Tbsp of either (or both) to 2-4 Tbsp of your plain simple syrup and top it with ice and 12 oz of water for the perfect beverage.  

• Kid's lemonade stands also aren't allowed to use milk-based products - UNLESS they are shelf-stable!   However, these shelf-stable milk products must be used the same day they are opened.  Our trick is to buy the mini-cartons, like what the Silk and Horizon brands offer on the grocery store shelf.  These mini-cartons are more expensive than the 32 oz cartons BUT it greatly reduces waste (when you have to throw out the leftover milk at the end of the day) which saves money in the long run.

• Have a large cooler handy (or a mini-fridge if you are setting up in your garage) so that you can keep items cold while you are at the stand.  We use around one to two 7 lb bags of ice ($2 at Dollar Tree) and a couple large ice packs at the bottom of the cooler.  This will last us several hours and should be enough for 30+ drinks.  

Final Thoughts

Starting a lemonade stand in Georgia is simple, legal, and incredibly rewarding. With just a few supplies and a little planning, your kids can run a fun, safe, and successful stand just likes us!

If you’re ready to help your child launch their own stand, we hope our experience inspires you to jump in and make it happen. There’s nothing sweeter than watching kids shine.

With Love,

Heather