Kids' Mocktails: 6 Fun, Colorful Drinks Kids Love (and Parents Can Spike)
Six easy kids' mocktails with magic colors and fun garnishes: a mermaid lagoon that changes color, sunrise surprise, strawberry lemonade slush, and more. All alcohol-free and caffeine-free.
The best kids’ mocktails have a trick: a color that changes, a layer that sinks, a garnish they get to make themselves. These six are all alcohol-free and caffeine-free, need no special equipment, and are simple enough that kids can help make them. Parents get something too. Each card has a spiked twin for the grown-ups’ table (tap 🍸 Cocktails at the top).
Sparkling Pink Lemonade
Mash a few raspberries in the bottom of a glass, add lemonade and ice, and top with sparkling water. It’s pink, fizzy, and made with real fruit, and it’s the drink kids will ask for all summer.
Sparkling Pink Lemonade gets its color from real raspberries.
Cocktail recipeZero-proof recipe
Pink Lemonade Vodka Fizz
Sparkling Pink Lemonade
Raspberry lemonade with a splash of vodka and soda.
Glass
Collins
Method
Shaken
Time
4 min
Strength
Light· ≈ 7% ABV
Glass
Collins
Method
Shaken
Time
4 min
Strength
Zero-proof· 0.0%
Servings
Units
Ingredients (1 drink)
Garnish: Raspberries, lemon wheel
Batching it? Stir in of cold water for the dilution the ice would add, chill at least 2 hours, then pour over fresh ice. Skip the water if you’ll still shake or stir each drink with ice.
Method
1Muddle the raspberries in a shaker, add the vodka and lemonade, and shake with ice.
2Strain over fresh ice and top with soda.
Ingredients (1 drink)
Garnish: Raspberries, lemon wheel
Batching it? Stir in of cold water for the dilution the ice would add, chill at least 2 hours, then pour over fresh ice. Skip the water if you’ll still shake or stir each drink with ice.
Method
1Mash the raspberries in the bottom of a glass with a spoon (or in a shaker).
2Add ice and the lemonade, stir, and top with soda.
How the swap works: Kids' version first: just more lemonade in place of the vodka. Mashing the berries in the glass means no shaker needed.
Enjoy responsibly, of legal drinking age only ·Zero-proof twin ·· 1 oz = 30 ml
Sunrise Surprise
Orange juice with a “sunrise” of grenadineGrenadineReal grenadine is pomegranate syrup; the bright red corn-syrup kind is sweeter and flatter. sinking to the bottom. It’s the same trick as the classic Tequila Sunrise, and it never stops being magic for a six-year-old.
Let the kids pour the grenadine themselves; it's the best part.
Cocktail recipeZero-proof recipe
Tequila Sunrise
Sunrise Surprise
Tequila and orange juice with a grenadine sunrise.
Glass
Highball
Method
Built in glass
Time
2 min
Strength
Medium· ≈ 11% ABV
Glass
Highball
Method
Built in glass
Time
2 min
Strength
Zero-proof· 0.0%
Servings
Units
Ingredients (1 drink)
Garnish: Orange wheel, cherry
Method
1Fill a highball with ice and add the tequila and orange juice.
2Slowly pour the grenadine down the inside of the glass so it sinks. Don't stir.
Ingredients (1 drink)
Garnish: Orange wheel, cherry
Method
1Fill a tall glass with ice and add the orange juice, lime, and a splash of soda.
2Slowly pour the grenadine down the inside of the glass so it sinks. Don't stir.
How the swap works: A squeeze of lime and a splash of soda make it taste like a special drink instead of breakfast juice.
Enjoy responsibly, of legal drinking age only ·Zero-proof twin ·· 1 oz = 30 ml
Strawberry Lemonade Slush
Frozen strawberries and lemonade in a blender: two ingredients and thirty seconds. Because the fruit is frozen, you barely need ice, so it’s all flavor.
Two ingredients in the blender, thirty seconds, done.
Cocktail recipeZero-proof recipe
Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri
Strawberry Lemonade Slush
Rum, lime, and frozen strawberries, blended thick.
Glass
Hurricane
Method
Blended
Time
4 min
Strength
Medium· ≈ 18% ABV
Glass
Hurricane
Method
Blended
Time
4 min
Strength
Zero-proof· 0.0%
Servings
Units
Ingredients (1 drink)
Garnish: Fresh strawberry
Method
1Blend everything with ½ cup of ice until thick and smooth.
2Pour into a chilled glass and garnish.
Ingredients (1 drink)
Garnish: Fresh strawberry
Method
1Blend the frozen strawberries and lemonade until thick and smooth (add a little ice if you like it thicker).
2Pour into a glass and serve with a spoon straw.
How the swap works: Lemonade provides both the sweet and the sour, so the kids' version is just two ingredients.
Enjoy responsibly, of legal drinking age only ·Zero-proof twin ·· 1 oz = 30 ml
Reindeer Fizz
A holiday favorite: cranberry and orange juice with lemon-lime fizz, decorated with pretzel antlers, a red candy nose, and candy eyes stuck on with a dab of frosting.
Set out pretzels and candy eyes and let the kids decorate their own.
Cocktail recipeZero-proof recipe
Reindeer Cranberry Vodka Fizz
Reindeer Fizz
Cranberry, orange, and fizz, dressed as a reindeer.
Glass
Highball
Method
Built in glass
Time
5 min
Strength
Light· ≈ 8% ABV
Glass
Highball
Method
Built in glass
Time
5 min
Strength
Zero-proof· 0.0%
Servings
Units
Ingredients (1 drink)
Garnish: Pretzel antlers, red candy nose, candy eyes
Method
1Tuck two small pretzel twists on the rim as antlers, and stick on a candy nose and eyes with a dab of frosting.
2Fill with ice, add the vodka and juices, and top with soda.
Ingredients (1 drink)
Garnish: Pretzel antlers, red candy nose, candy eyes
Method
1Tuck two small pretzel twists on the rim as antlers, and stick on a candy nose and eyes with a dab of frosting.
2Fill with ice, add the vodka and juices, and top with soda.
How the swap works: Lemon-lime soda makes it a little sweeter and fizzier for kids; use half club soda if you want it less sweet.
Enjoy responsibly, of legal drinking age only ·Zero-proof twin ·· 1 oz = 30 ml
Mermaid Lagoon
The showstopper. Sunny pineapple juice on the bottom, deep blue butterfly pea teaButterfly pea teaCaffeine-free flower tea that brews deep blue and turns violet-pink when citrus hits it: the easiest "potion" effect there is. floating on top, and a violet band where they meet, because the pineapple’s acidity changes the tea’s color. Stir it and the whole drink shifts.
Pour the blue tea over the back of a spoon so it floats.
Cocktail recipeZero-proof recipe
Mermaid Lagoon Rum Cooler
Mermaid Lagoon
Pineapple and coconut under a floating layer of blue butterfly pea tea.
Glass
Collins
Method
Built in glass
Time
5 min
Strength
Light· ≈ 4% ABV
Glass
Collins
Method
Built in glass
Time
5 min
Strength
Zero-proof· 0.0%
Servings
Units
Ingredients (1 drink)
Garnish: Pineapple wedge
Method
1Fill a tall glass with ice and add the coconut rum and pineapple juice.
2Slowly pour the butterfly pea tea over the back of a spoon so it floats on top. Where it meets the pineapple, it turns violet.
Ingredients (1 drink)
Garnish: Pineapple wedge
Method
1Fill a tall glass with ice and add the pineapple juice and coconut water.
2Slowly pour the butterfly pea tea over the back of a spoon so it floats on top. Stir at the table to watch it change color.
How the swap works: Coconut water brings the coconut flavor without the rum. Butterfly pea tea is naturally caffeine-free.
Enjoy responsibly, of legal drinking age only ·Zero-proof twin ·· 1 oz = 30 ml
Apple Pie Sparkler
Fresh cider, cinnamon syrup, and sparkling apple cider in a flute with a cinnamon-sugar rim. Kids feel very fancy holding a champagne glass, and it tastes like apple pie.
The Apple Pie Sparkler makes kids feel very fancy in a flute.
Cocktail recipeZero-proof recipe
Apple Pie Bourbon Sparkler
Apple Pie Sparkler
Apple cider, cinnamon, and bubbles with a cinnamon-sugar rim.
Glass
Flute
Method
Built in glass
Time
3 min
Strength
Light· ≈ 8% ABV
Glass
Flute
Method
Built in glass
Time
3 min
Strength
Zero-proof· 0.0%
Servings
Units
Ingredients (1 drink)
Garnish: Cinnamon-sugar rim, thin apple slice
Method
1Rim a flute with cinnamon sugar.
2Add the bourbon, apple cider, and cinnamon syrup, then top with sparkling cider.
Ingredients (1 drink)
Garnish: Cinnamon-sugar rim, thin apple slice
Method
1Rim a flute with cinnamon sugar.
2Add the bourbon, apple cider, and cinnamon syrup, then top with sparkling cider.
How the swap works: Simply more cider in place of the bourbon: cinnamon syrup and the sugar rim do the apple-pie work.
Enjoy responsibly, of legal drinking age only ·Zero-proof twin ·· 1 oz = 30 ml
Throw a Kids’ Drink Bar
For birthday parties, set up two dispensers (pink lemonade and orange juice), a jug of grenadine, fun straws, and bowls of berries and orange wheels, and let the kids mix their own. Keep any spiked versions for adults on a separate table, in different glasses.
The Sparkling Pink Lemonade, Sunrise Surprise, and Strawberry Lemonade Slush each take two or three ingredients and no special equipment. Kids can make most of them with a little help.
Are these mocktails caffeine-free?
Yes. Butterfly pea tea is a caffeine-free flower tea, and none of the kids' versions use black tea, coffee, or cola. Check your lemonade and sodas if you're strict about it.
Is it OK for kids to drink 'mocktails'?
Fun, colorful drinks for special occasions are a treat many families enjoy. Some parents prefer to call them 'party drinks' or 'fancy drinks' rather than cocktails, and to keep bar-style rituals for grown-ups. It's your call.
What can I use instead of grenadine?
Pomegranate juice reduced by half with a little sugar is real grenadine. In a pinch, a splash of cherry juice or raspberry syrup gives the same sunrise effect.
How do I keep kids' drinks and adult drinks separate at a party?
Use different glasses (plastic cups with fun straws for kids, real glassware for adults), keep spiked versions on a separate table, and never add alcohol to a shared dispenser.