Celebrate Beverage Day with Fun Activities for the Whole Family

1.  Beverage Taste Test

Organize a taste test of different beverages. You can use small cups and have a variety of drinks such as different types of milk (almond, soy, dairy), juices, and flavored waters. Discuss the flavors and textures with your kids, turning it into a fun and educational activity.

2. Homemade Rooibos Iced Tea

Enjoy a refreshing, caffeine-free, and preservative-free beverage by making homemade Rooibos iced tea. Here’s how:

1.  Brew the Tea: Start by brewing two cups of Rooibos tea. Allow it to cool completely.
2. Add Flavor: Enhance the taste by adding any 100% fresh fruit juice of your choice. Feel free to experiment with different flavors; a splash of lemon juice or a few mint leaves can make a delightful difference.
3. Make It Sparkling: For a fun twist, turn your Rooibos iced tea into a mocktail by adding some sparkling water.

Have fun experimenting with flavors and enjoy this healthy and refreshing drink with your family!

3. Cool It Down with Fun Ice Cubes:

Make hydration exciting by creating interesting ice cubes to add to plain water. This creates different unique tastes and turns a simple drink of water into a colourful and fun educational experience for the whole family! 

Here’s how:

1. Create Unique Ice Cubes: Use ice cube trays of different shapes and sizes. Add fruit pieces, herbs, or a few drops of natural food coloring to the water before freezing.
2. Teach About Temperature and States of Matter:  Use this activity to teach your children about the conversion of water to ice and back to water. Discuss how temperature affects these changes.
3. Sensory-Rich Learning:  Experimenting with various shapes, sizes, and colors provides a sensory-rich learning opportunity. Your kids will enjoy the visual and tactile aspects while learning about science in a fun, hands-on way.

4. Froth it up: Homemade Milkshakes

Making homemade milkshakes is easy and fun, requiring only three ingredients: ice cream, milk, and your favorite flavoring. Here’s how:

1. Basic Recipe: Combine ice cream, milk, and your preferred flavoring (like chocolate syrup, vanilla extract, or fruit puree) in a blender. Blend until smooth.
2. Dairy-Free Option: If you’re lactose intolerant, simply use dairy-free ice cream and milk alternatives like almond, soy, or oat milk.
3. Add Extra Flair: Jazz up your milkshake by adding fruits like bananas, or top it with whipped cream and fun sprinkles. The possibilities are endless!

For more inspiration, try some of the super tasty dairy-free recipes over at Orchids+Sweet Tea. Enjoy creating and savouring these delicious milkshakes with your family!

5. Color changing water

7. Mix it up

Make some delicious smoothies. This is an absolute go-to favorite for me, because it’s a great way for children to explore with different tastes and textures, as well a way to incorporate those often-dreaded vegetables like spinach. The coldness of smoothies also tends to have a sensory calming effect and is thus a wonderful way to assist a sensory sensitive child or picky-eater to explore a wider variety of fruits and vegetables.

9. Bubble fun

So this might not be everyone’s first choice of activity, but it’s an easily doable, always loved by kids’ activity, and it actually has some oral motor developmental benefits.  You can use any type of cup, glass or bottle for this activity, but it’s best to use something with a lid and straw hole or perhaps a tall bottleneck.  Pour is some water or milk, add your straw(s) and start blowing bubbles! Using descriptive words like blowing hard/soft, fast/slow or perhaps blowing on the beat of a song, are ways to make it even more fun.

11. Make it count

Create and decorate a family water intake chart.  Here’s a link to one I have created which you can download (Pdf) and decorate.