Lunar lemonade is such a fun eclipse party punch to make for the big event – whether it be the solar eclipse party or lunar eclipse parties, or for fun galaxy themed birthday party drinks or fun drink for moon unit studies and kids activities!
Fun Lunar Lemonade Drink For Kids
For The Lunar Lemonade Recipe, You’ll Need:
- Favorite lemonade recipe *see note below
- Clear carbonated sodas (like Sprite, Ginger Ale, etc.)
- Black food coloring (or colors to make black – recipe below)
- Black edible glitter dust
- Yellow / gold edible glitter dust
- White icing
- Black sprinkles
- White sprinkles
- Fresh lemon slices and orange slices, for garnish (optional)
Be sure to check out all the lunar drink tips after the printable recipe card for this kids drink!
DRINK RECIPE NOTES: We made these with our favorite lemonade recipe (or you can use store-bought lemonade) and we also made some with orange juice. They both looked great with the black moon ice cube.
When you swirl in the edible glitter dust it will make the lemonade a little darker.
Don’t worry about the black moon ice cube melting the black into the drink. It makes a cool swirly sky effect kids will love in these fun drinks for kids!
How to Make A Lunar Eclipse Drink Recipe Step-By-Step, FAQs And Recipe Tips
IMPORTANT RECIPE TIP: USE THE RIGHT DRINK GLASS!
One thing that will mess this recipe up is not using the right drinking glass.
You want a small glass with a wide rim or even a short, wide-rimmed mason jar for your lunar eclipse cocktail mocktail.
You need to be able to drop the large “moon” round ice cube into the drink and still have room around it to see the “sparkling sky” (the lemonade). These are larger ice cubes than regular ice cubes!
RECIPE TIP: Be sure to use glass and not plastic so kids can see the glittering, swirling “sky.” It really is a fun part of this party punch recipe!
How To Make Black Punch For The Sparkling Moon Ice Cube
We made black punch for the moon cube using:
- Sprite
- Black Food Coloring
- Black Edible Glitter like this (only use food safe glitter, not regular glitter!)
If you’ve never worked with food safe glitter dust, it really only takes a little to make it sparkle. Add about 1/8 teaspoon and stir the drink. Then, if you need more you can add it.
The drink glitter will settle to the bottom of the drink, but if you give the drink a swirl with the straw or spoon before serving the drink, it will glitter and swirl again easily. Show the kids how to do it with their straw to keep their drink sparkling!
*RECIPE TIP: If the black color is off-putting, you can also use grape juice. My daughter doesn’t like grape juice, so that wasn’t an option for us.
DIY Black Food Coloring
If you don’t have black food coloring, you can make your own DIY black coloring using other food coloring.
You can make black food coloring with:
- 3 drops of blue food coloring
- 3 drops of red food coloring
- 2 drops of green food coloring
You may have to adjust one color (or more), depending on if you’re making a large punch bowl or if you’re making small drink amounts for individual drinks.
How To Make Round Ice Cubes For Drinks
This moon cube is the star of the show!
To make the best round ice cube for the moon, you will need a large ice cube tray with the round top and bottom.
WE USED THIS ROUND ICE CUBE TRAY
The biggest mistake people make when making round ice cubes is not filling the tray up enough. Be sure to completely fill the tray with black colored Sprite to the fill line, then snap the top lid down completely.
Be sure to stir the black punch mixture to swirl the glitter before pouring the liquid into the ice cube trays.
Freeze the ice cube moons for 12 hours or overnight (or longer).
RECIPE TIP: Since ice cubes melt quickly sometimes, be sure to get all of your drink assembled and ready before adding the moon ice cube. Add the ice cubes is the last step right before serving! I would even wait until all the kids arrive for the party and you’re ready to eat before doing this step. Also, make sure your punch is very cold (you may even want to place it in the freezer for a bit to get it cold). This will help with keep the moon from melting fast.
How To Make A Sprinkle Drink Rim
To rim a drink with sprinkles is super easy!
Spread white icing in the bottom of a small bowl. We use store-bought icing in a tub and you can use whatever color you want.
Pour sprinkles onto a small plate or into a small bowl.
Turn your glass upside down and dip the rim into the white icing.
Then, dip the icing rimmed glass into the sprinkles.
(THESE SPRINKLES ARE CUTE FOR ECLIPSE DRINKS OR GALAXY DRINKS)
You may need to turn and tilt the glass several ways to get the icing completely covered.
The icing-sprinkle mixture will dry on the rim and won’t fall off easily.
IMPORTANT DRINK RECIPE TIP: Be sure to do this step ahead of time and give your rimmed glass time to rest and harden before adding the drink to the cup.
We also garnished our drinks with slices of lemons using these cute planet or galaxy picks. The lemon slice is optional, but they’re cute for parties.
NEED ECLIPSE PARTY FUN? TRY THESE ECLIPSE PARTY GAMES!
Lunar Lemonade Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 ounces favorite lemonade
- Yellow or gold edible glitter dust*
- 2 12- ounce cans Sprite or other clear carbonated drink
- Black food coloring
- Black edible glitter dust*
- 2 frozen round moon ice cubes make ahead
- White icing from tub
- Black and White sprinkles
- Fresh lemon slices for garnish (optional)
Instructions
BEFORE MAKING THE DRINKS, FREEZE THE ICE CUBES:
- Pour Sprites (or other clear, carbonated drink) in a medium glass bowl or measuring cup. Add 2-3 drops of black food coloring and stir. (Add more food coloring to get desired color, if needed.)
- Add 1/8-1/4 teaspoon black edible glitter dust to black Sprite. Stir to mix (and ooh and ahh over the swirling glitter effect!). Add more glitter dust, if needed, but a little goes a long way!
- Stir the liquid to mix and swirl the glitter. Immediately pour black liquid into round ice cube trays. Freeze for 6-12 hours overnight, at a minimum.
TO MAKE A CANDY DRINK RIM:
- Spread white icing in the bottom of a small bowl.
- Pour black and white sprinkles into another bowl or a plate.
- Dip rim of glasses into the white icing until the rim (opening) of the glass is completely covered. Immediately dip, tilt, and twist the glass in the sprinkles until the icing rim is completely covered. Repeat with second glass. Set glasses aside to dry and harden.
TO ASSEMBLE AND SERVE THE LUNAR LEMONADE:
- Pour lemonade (you can use our favorite homemade lemonade recipe or store-bought lemonade) in a medium glass bowl or measuring cup. Add 1/8-1/4 teaspoon edible yellow or gold glitter dust to the lemonade. Stir to mix (and ooh and ahh again over the swirling glitter effect!). Add more glitter dust, if needed, but a little goes a long way!
- Once the sprinkle rims are dry on the glasses, use a small kitchen funnel to carefully pour the lemonade mixture into each glass to 3/4 full. (We used a small measuring cup to pour it into the funnel.) DO NOT FILL THE GLASS ALL THE WAY TO TOP! You need to leave room for the ice cube.
- Place the assembled glasses (to this point) in the refrigerator if not serving immediately. DO NOT ADD THE BLACK MOON ICE CUBES UNTIL READY TO SERVE.
TO SERVE ECLIPSE LUNAR LEMONADE:
- Immediately before serving, stir the lemonade in the glasses again to swirl the yellow glitter.
- Carefully add in the round moon ice cube, taking care not to knock of the sprinkle drink rim.
- Serve with a metal straw and a side garnish of lemon slices (optional). Show kids how they can stir the drink to activate the swirling glitter effect!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Note
Nutrition calculations are approximate. If you're following a special diet, please calculate your own nutrition values.
ALSO MAKE THIS PARTY PUNCH RECIPE: Solar Splash Eclipse Party Punch Drink For Kids And Try This Fun Solar Eclipse Bark Candy Recipe And Solar Eclipse Suckers
I hope you enjoy the lunar lemonade for your big event or fun activities for kids!
